Beginning of Essay
Heart of Darkness and MacBeth Joseph Conrad and William Shakespeare are not traditionally paired up for a critical analysis. However, the characters MacBeth and Kurtz in MacBeth and Heart of Darkness, respectively, prove to be worthy of comparison. MacBeth ....

Middle of Essay
.... are dominated by ambition. MacBeth chooses to overthrow King Duncan for the sole purpose of his own political gain. He even admits that he "[has] no spur/ To prick the sides of [his] intent, but only/ Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself/ And falls on th’other" (Act I, sc. 7). Despite many other good reasons for overthrowing a king, such as for the good of the state or if the king is infringing on the people’s rights, MacBeth claims only selfish intentions. Like MacBeth, Kurtz, too, starts his road to evil with ambition. Kurtz, in order to earn his Intended’s hand, goes to Africa to make something of himself. Instead of going o ....