A foil of Macbeth and Walter White (It had to be done)

Pre-Note: I haven't finished Breaking Bad, so if you are going to comment a spoiler *cough* Evan *cough* please don't.

So for those of you who haven't seen Breaking Bad, I know we watched the trailer in class but I'll expand a little bit more. Basically Breaking Bad is a TV show about a man named Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher who finds out he has lung cancer. Even worse, the doctor told Walter that the cancer was practically incurable, and then he would only have a matter of months before his death. Walter realizes he needs to make a large amount of money and fast before he dies, to provide for his wife, disabled son, and on-the-way baby. Walter is conflicted about what he should do until he sees a news report about a meth lab bust, and how the police found thousands of dollars in this one meth lab. With this idea planted in his mind, Walter asks his DEA brother in law to go see a drug bust happen. It is at this drug bust that Walter sees an old student of his, Jesse Pinkman. Walter ultimately decides to go to Jesse and ask him to partner up and cook crystal meth. Jesse agrees, and thus begins one of the greatest shows on TV ever.


As we talked about before our reading of Macbeth, one of the main themes in Macbeth is how Macbeth crosses legal and moral boundaries in order to achieve the one goal he wanted to achieve before his death. He wanted that throne. He wanted it so badly he ended up seeking help from the most unlikely of people. He ended up committing murder, not only a legal crime but also incredibly taxing on his moral boundaries. He ended up putting the important people in his life in danger (or killing them... same thing) for what? To get the goal he so desperately needed to reach.

Now, let's compare the two.

Differences:
Macbeth wants to be king, Walter wants to make money for his family before his inevitable death. These two motivations are completely different, as Macbeth wants to be king because it's what he wants, whereas Walter wants to make money because he doesn't want his family to go poor after his death.



Similarities:
Macbeth turned to the unlikely and mysterious witches for help, Walter turned to drug addict, chemistry flunker Jesse Pinkman. This is a huge similarity between Macbeth and Walter, for they both go to people they otherwise would not have spoken to for help.

Macbeth murdered the important people in his life, Duncan, Banquo, and even put his wife in a position where she drives herself so crazy that she ultimately commits suicide. Walter, with getting involved in the drug world, puts his wife and entire family in trouble. There are many instances throughout the show where Walter meets some crazy drug dealer. Sure Walter operates under a fake name, but he is still putting his family in jeopardy, for resourceful drug dealers can track down anyone. The act of putting significant people in one's life in danger is someone both Macbeth and Walter do to ultimately achieve their goal.

Wow that was long, did I beat Emma? I'd be super proud. Anyway, if you have any TV shows or stories that have characters truly foilable to Macbeth, feel free to use a comment.

And also, please watch Breaking Bad. Finish all of your homework, and watch it. It's worth your time.