As one might describe, a dictator is a leader with total power over a nation. This power is typically obtained by force. Many dictators rule in fear and inflict terror upon people in the nation in which they govern. Within a dictatorship, one’s entitlement to speak freely is most commonly revoked because basic rights and freedom are not available. Two dictators that suppressed freedom of speech under their governing nations are Macbeth, a character from the play “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare, and Saddam Hussein, the former President of Iraq. Macbeth, an actual potentate of eleventh-century Scotland, was a radicalist who obtained power and kingship by covertly murdering the then present ruler of Scotland, King Duncan. Similarly, Saddam Hussein, a secularist, rose
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Both Macbeth and Saddam Hussein demonstrate repression of free speech within their dictatorships through their interactions with others, as well as their own behavior.
In Act 2 Scene 3 of the Shakespearean play “Macbeth”, Two Scottish nobles arrive to wake up King Duncan. They return from the room and announce that King has been murdered. The only people who know Macbeth is the murderer is his wife, Lady Macbeth and the two servants that Lady Macbeth drugged the night before in order to gain access to Duncan’s room. Upon entering the king's bedroom, Macbeth stabs the two servants. He claims to have killed them out of pure anguish and heartache for the loss of King Duncan, but in reality, he killed them to make sure they would not be able to provide any evidence that he murdered the king. This example illustrates the lengths Macbeth was willing to take in order to prevent negative things about him from being said, that could potentially impacting his image for the worse. Additionally, in Act 3 Scene 1, Banquo, a commander for King Duncan’s army and a friend of Macbeth, suspects that Macbeth murdered Duncan in order to become king.
Both Macbeth and Saddam Hussein demonstrate repression of free speech within their dictatorships through their interactions with others, as well as their own behavior.
In Act 2 Scene 3 of the Shakespearean play “Macbeth”, Two Scottish nobles arrive to wake up King Duncan. They return from the room and announce that King has been murdered. The only people who know Macbeth is the murderer is his wife, Lady Macbeth and the two servants that Lady Macbeth drugged the night before in order to gain access to Duncan’s room. Upon entering the king's bedroom, Macbeth stabs the two servants. He claims to have killed them out of pure anguish and heartache for the loss of King Duncan, but in reality, he killed them to make sure they would not be able to provide any evidence that he murdered the king. This example illustrates the lengths Macbeth was willing to take in order to prevent negative things about him from being said, that could potentially impacting his image for the worse. Additionally, in Act 3 Scene 1, Banquo, a commander for King Duncan’s army and a friend of Macbeth, suspects that Macbeth murdered Duncan in order to become king.