If I were to relate one modern event to an event in Macbeth, I’d choose to compare Macbeth’s murder of King Duncan to the Charleston Church massacre that occurred in June 2015. I believe you can make very strong parallels between Shakespeare’s fictional murder and Dylann Roof’s nine murders, given that both events strongly relate to the theme of violating hospitality.
Before committing the murder, Macbeth bemoans the fact that he has to kill Duncan when Duncan is a guest in his home.
He’s here in double trust:
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself (Act I, Scene 7, lines 12-16).
Macbeth realizes that his murderous actions betray his responsibilities as a host, who should protect his guests against harm from the outside world.
The roles are flipped in the case of the Charleston Church massacre. In this case, Dylann Roof attended a Bible study at the church, and his future victims welcomed him according to all of the rules of hospitality. He, as a guest, betrayed the rules of hospitality just as violently as Macbeth did, by shooting nine members of the congregation in an act classified either as a hate crime or domestic terrorism.
No comments:
Post a Comment