Morals and Intentions Nicholas Garrigan from the film The Last King of Scotland and Lady Macbeth from the play Macbeth have intimate relationships with their king. Many murders take place throughout both of the stories while the kings are in power. Garrigan and Lady Macbeth have the power to influence the kings. Readers of Macbeth and viewers of The Last King of Scotland might assume that Lady Macbeth and Nicholas Garrigan have the same motives and influence the kings to commit the horrendous murders.
However, in further investigation Lady Macbeth and Nicholas Garrigan have extremely different morals and do not share the same intentions when advising the kings. After hearing the witches, Macbeth writes of the prophesty to inform Lady Macbeth that he will become king. Her desire for her husband to be king drives her strongly to encourage him to murder King Duncan. However, Macbeth is not keen on the idea of murdering his king because they have a good relationship. Macbeth questions his own morals whereas Lady Macbeth does not and instantly badgers Macbeth to kill King Duncan. What thou wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false/ and yet wouldst wrongly win. Thou’d’st have, great/ Glamis,/ That which cries ‘Thus thou must do,’ if thou have/ it, / and that which rather thou dost fear to do” (Mac. 1. 5. 20-27).
When finally Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to kill the king, Macbeth soon becomes the new king of Scotland because Duncan’s sons have fled Scotland. Nicholas Garrigan in The Last King of Scotland is a doctor who travels to Uganda for a new experience. Shortly after arriving, he is cheering with a crowd of Ugandans for the new president, Idi Amin.
The Essay on Macbeth King Lady Economy
Does this country's bad luck ever seem to end? Just as we were starting to come to terms with the death of Great King Duncan we seem to be faced with yet another drama and a crisis. Insiders claim that the freshly appointed King Macbeth has been diagnosed with a serious mental illness. If that is the case than this might answer some of the peculiar rumours that have been surfacing around about the ...
Garrigan does not assist Amin to become president like Lady Macbeth does with her husband Macbeth. Not only does Garrigan not assist Idi Amin in becoming president, Garrigan has not been informed of Amin’s true intentions for Uganda. When he is finally aware of the true works of Idi Amin, he is disgusted and wishes to leave the country. Garrigan never purposely encourages Amin to murder another person. Lady Macbeth, however, is an advocate for Duncan’s death. When Lady Macbeth is persuading Macbeth to kill Duncan, she claims that if he really loves and is loyal to her, he will kill Duncan.
He then finally murders Duncan after her pleas to do so. Idi Amin is attached to Nicholas Garrigan. Amin gives him the opportunity to be his personal family doctor and therefore rewards him with some wealth. When Garrigan learns of Amin’s evil treatment of Ugandans, he reveals to Amin that he would like to go back home to Scotland. “I can’t. It stinks. I can’t help coming back to that moment when I asked you to talk to him. This isn’t me. I have to go home now” (Last).
Amin then has henchmen ransack Garrigan’s place in search of his passport.
He then replaces his Scotland passport with a Uganda passport, therefore prohibiting Garrigan from ever leaving Uganda. Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to be loyal and kill Duncan, and Idi Amin forces Nicholas Garrigan to continue to be loyal to him. Garrigan is a victim of having to be loyal, and Lady Macbeth is an instigator of making her husband loyal. Lady Macbeth and Nicholas Garrigan both eventually feel guilty for being a part of the murders. In The Last King of Scotland, Amin takes Garrigan to a hanger and has Garrigan witness Obote followers killed because they attempt to kill Amin .
When the shots are fired at the Ugandans, blood spats onto Garrigan. This is the point in the film when Garrigan truly realizes what he is a part of in Uganda. When arriving at his home, he crazily tries to wash the blood from his hands. It is evident to viewers that he is deeply distressed by what has just happened. Lady Macbeth is initially confident and is not the least bit opposed to King Duncan being murdered by her husband. However, after the deed has been done, she constantly has trouble sleeping because of the guilt she feels about the murder.
The Essay on Macbeth Lady Duncan Kill 2
In The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth is a strong influence on Macbeth to murder King Duncan. Macbeth must withstand the pressure that Lady Macbeth exerts Lady Macbeth is not a monster without feelings, however she is tricky and cunning when she influences Macbeth to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth's ability to influence her husband leads the audience to believe that she is the ...
She also had claimed when the murder took place that she was not responsible for it. “A little water clears us of this deed. How easy is it, then” (Mac. 2. 2. 86-87).
Even though she says she has nothing to do with the murder, her conscience constantly torments her with guilt. “What need we fear who knows it, when/ none can call our power to account? – Yet who would/ have thought the old man to have had so much blood in/ him” (Mac. 5. 1. 40-42).
Both Lady Macbeth and Nicholas Garrigan feel remorse for being a part of the murders.
This leads the readers and watchers to believe that both do have a conscience and possibly are actually good, moral people. Garrigan eventually sleeps with one of Amin’s wives, Kay. Amin kills Kay and Garrigan finally attempts to murder him. Amin is informed of Garrigan’s attempt to kill him and has him hung up by his skin from meat hooks. “You dare try to poison me? After everything I gave you? I am Idi Amin! President-for-life and ruler of Uganda. I am the father of Africa” (Last).
The men let him down and leave the room for awhile before they finally kill him.
One of the Ugandan doctors patches up his wounds and sends him on a plane that will take him back to the United States. “You deserve to die. But dead, you can do nothing. Alive, you might just be able to redeem yourself” (Last).
Lady Macbeth commits suicide when she can take her guilt no longer. Taking her own life prevented her from being killed by someone else or having to live with her guilt. Though Garrigan escapes Uganda, he returns to Scotland feeling remorse, grief, and guilt. However, he does have a chance to redeem himself. She does not.
Lady Macbeth and Nicholas Garrigan both seem to be accomplices to murders. Lady Macbeth is certainly an accomplice to King Duncan’s murder. She planned it and encouraged Macbeth to murder the innocent king. Garrigan, however, is not an accomplice for Idi Amin’s rise to power. Instead, he witnesses Amin poorly ruling Uganda and does not try and stop him until the end. Garrigan and Lady Macbeth both end up feeling remorse for their actions. This leads the watchers and readers to conclude that though both characters made mistakes, they both are not terrible human beings.
The Essay on Reaction To Duncan's Murder Seen In Macbeth And Lady Macbeth
When two people are in the same situation one would assume that their reactions would be similar in nature. However, each person has his or her own unique personality traits and emotions, which are reflected in their response to the event. One can see the distinct personality of each character in his/her response. This is clearly illustrated through Duncan’s murder in Shakespeare’s ...
Lady Macbeth dying from suicide and Nicholas Garrigan living the rest of his days with guilt also assures the readers and viewers that though they made foolish mistakes, they did suffer some consequences. In all, both Lady Macbeth and Nicholas Garrigan are somewhat responsible for murders. However, the two characters do not have the same intentions. Works Cited Last King of Scotland, The. Dir. Kevin Mcdonald. With Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2006. DVD. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Washington Square Press, 1992. Print.
