Sidney Kaufmann

Period 1
10/23/15

MACBETH VS MACDUFF
Albert Einstein once said, Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become
a man of value. A man of value puts others first, and always acts for the greater good, while a
man of success puts himself before others and does everything for his own ambition. In
Shakespeares play Macbeth, the two main characters of Macbeth and Macduff represent these
type of men. Macbeth is the man of success, while Macduff is the man of value. Macbeth and
Macduff differ in the beliefs in manhood and in their motivations when it comes to their actions
and achievements.
Macbeth and Macduff have different views about being a man. We see Macbeths belief
when the rebels are attacking his castle and his is told his wife, Lady Macbeth, is dead. All he
says in response is, She should have died hereafter. There would have been a time for such a
word. (V, v, 20-21). These emotionless words express Macbeths disdain for emotion. Emotion
is perceived as a weak, which in his eyes a man must not ever be. Macbeth also shows the lack of
love he has for Lady Macbeth. She was just a tool for him to achieve his success, and Macbeth is
very much a man of success. In contrast to Macbeth, Macduff feels that men can show emotion,
seen by readers when he finds out that all of his family has been slaughtered. All he can manage
to choke out is, What man, neer pull your hat upon your brows. Give sorrow words. The grief
that does not speak/ Whispers that oerfraught heart and bids it. (IV, iii, 245-248). These words
show that Macduff is not afraid to show emotion, especially when it comes to his family and his
love for them. Macduff also reveals that he believes that he takes a part in the responsibility of
his familys death. Critics may argue that the death of Macduffs family was not his fault, and it
is solely Macbeths. However, Macduff left his family so that they were all alone and
defenseless. His departure to find Malcolm gave a reason to Macbeth to kill them in punishment.

Sidney Kaufmann
Period 1
10/23/15

We see that the two men differ in their definitions of what it takes to be a man through each
mans actions.
Macbeth and Macduff also differ in their factors of what motivates them. Macbeths
motivation factor is seen when he finds out that Malcolm is the next in line to become king, and
he then whispers to himself, The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step/ On which I must fall
down or else oerleap/ For in my way it lies. (I, iv, 55-58). Macbeths soliloquy shows that he
must take action by himself, or he will never get what he truly want- the kingship. Macbeth also
knows that this is not a natural process of order, and that what he is doing is wrong. His
motivational factor of himself convinces him to do it though. Macduffs motivation is seen when
Malcom is testing him for his loyalty to Scotland, and asks if the lies he has told Macduff about
himself make him fit to be a king. Macduff replies, Fit to govern? No, not to live. (IV, iii, 120121). Macduffs response shows that he only wants the best for his country. He even goes against
what Malcolm is saying and proves that everything he is doing is motivated by Scotland and the
well-being of its people. Critics may argue that Macbeths is indeed motivated by the benefit of
everyone else- he actually thinks that he is the best person to rule Scotland. However, Macbeth is
making the country ill. He thinks that killing everyone is poses as a threat to him is the answer,
but that just makes things worse. Macbeth and Macduff clash when it comes to what they are
being motivated by.
Some people may argue that Macduff is in the wrong to kill Macbeth, because Macbeth is
the king and Macduff should be devotedly loyal to him. However, this is incorrect because
Macbeth was not doing any good for Scotland. He in fact can be a parallel to the real life King
John of England. King John took all the wealth of the country for himself and gave nothing to

Sidney Kaufmann
Period 1
10/23/15

anyone in need. Macbeth does the same thing, and proves to be a disease to his country. Macduff
also never swore his loyalty to Macbeth, and in doing so can attack him without the end title of
traitor. The reasons these two men are each others foil is that they are exact opposites. They
have completely different opinions on manhood and ways of motivation.