Each generation sees its leaders come and go, barack obama, dj khaled, alex curtis. All of these remarkable people started out just like everybody else, a kid, teenager, young adult, When did they truly become remarkable? Donald Trump, one of the most controversial men in this world, is proving to be remarkable. Everybody is shocked at this new form of presidential election, where twitter is the war ground and there are no boundaries. Is this completely new though? Similar to the hip hop that blasts out dorm room windows and is shown around as if it was our creation, 2016’s, Donald Trump is just a new play on an old storyline. Again similar to hip hop, Donald Trump is straight out of shakespeare, Macbeth specifically. The rise to power, the arrogance, slaying of opponents, it is all there. To quote a leader of our generation : join me on the path to shakespeare.
Donald Trump is famous for “starting off in brooklyn, my father gave me a small loan of a million dollars.” In the finance world that is quite a large jump to where he is today, however to everyone else it seems ridiculous, a million dollars and small should not be used together. Shift the gaze to Macbeth and his quest in becoming king, he started off receiving the title of thane of cawdor, almost nothing compared to king, however more than the common man could dream of in that time. He even questions Ross when he is presented with the title, wondering if this could really be true. “The thane of Cawdor lives. Why do you dress me In borrowed robes ?” (I, iii) Towards the start of last year, Donald Trump saw his own promotion, development into a presidential candidate. More recently however, we saw Donald drop out of a presidential debate? Could it be he “lost his head,” similar to Macbeth?
If Donald Trump is to be the next Macbeth, what can be expected from him in the future? He has not fallen yet, and recent developments have show that he is going nowhere but forward in the polls. Donald Trump has pulled the old playground trick of leaving only so people can miss him, expecting them to beg him to return. However the article by The New York Times quotes authors saying “In the absence of Mr. Trump onstage, who can carry his mantle of devil-may-care straight talk?” (Micheal barbaro), or “If Mr. Trump’s presence sucked the air out of past debates, what will fill the vacuum this time?” (Nicholas Confessore). So far it seems that he is getting his way. So what could bring him down? The man seems unstoppable, however since this presidential race is already like a fifth grade recess, other candidates will take advantage of opportunities like this in the future to talk behind his back. Insult him when he cannot defend his policy, and twist his ideas without giving him a chance to clear things up. Was Macbeth victim to similar faults? Macduff is the first to realise that Macbeth should be killed, and soon beheads him. Perhaps with the right dagger a lucky soul will be able to stop the rampage of Donald Trump.
Shakespeare wrote about life, and life still goes on. Even in a world like today his stories are being repeated over and over. The play Macbeth was based off of a real person, and therefore it is bound to be a reoccurring the mem throughout history. There are only so many story lines out there if everything is simplified enough, and most of them can be connected to a play. Name any tragic relationship in the ,Edina and parts of it are bound to be connected to Romeo and Juliet. West side story? Two lovers from different parts of town? It's all the same theme with new takes. The beauty of these new versions is that they are only new for the instant they are created. The world will go on, and repeat itself like a hamster wheel, yet we have to power to change the little things, make Juliet from Latin America, or Macbeth from Brooklyn. It is true that Shakespeare should, not be used as a means of predicting the future, most likely Donald Trump will stay in the presidential race and do very well. However, it is an interesting comparison to make. Looking back on this incident, when Donald Trump is not just leading in the polls but also in the Election, it seems we all dismissed the kid from Brooklyn too early. The thought of a Trump presidency is terrifying to most liberals out there, however we might want to start planning the move to Canada rather than the next social media post mocking Donald Trump.
-Clark Devoto, See the article this post used to compare Donald Trump: http://goo.gl/DCvIoB
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