In the openings of both stories the main characters are opposites in terms of respect from others. We can see this with Scrooge as he is coldhearted stingy and careless. A response from Scrooge when the charity worker Scrooge what shall I put you down for then Scrooge gave the cold hearted response “nothing!”. This response shows exactly the personality of Scrooge throughout the start of the story as he is seen as nihilistic and cold hearted.

In contrast to Macbeth who is seen as a ferocious warrior at the start of the play. During the start of the play the captain speaks of Macbeth as he has just won the battle, the captain says “Like valor’s minion carved out his passage…And fixed his head upon our battlements.” In this quote I think that Shakespeare has used a simile as a language feature to compare Macbeth to an honourable warrior, although often his techniques are seen as over the top. I believe Shakespeare wanted to let the audience know that Macbeth is a savage beast and is known to kill brutally. This was used in this particular stage of the play to show that Macbeth has no problem with killing people, and shows his personality coming out straight away.

in the quote “I wish to be left alone” it demonstrates a really negative vibe within Scrooges attitude. This suggests an elderly man who is very anti social and grumpy. On the other hand, his cold and polite language suggests that he is passive aggressive and could also be scared of interacting with strangers. Looking at this, I think Dickens was trying to prove what the businessmen of the 1800s were like, and how they were unsociable and stingy.

In the next part of the novella we can see a difference between Scrooge and Macbeth. An example of this is when Scrooge meets Marleys ghost, and we see that Scrooge is shocked but also makes Scrooge feel less angry and almost influenced by the spirit. I mention influenced as when he meets the ghost the narrator states “though he looked the phantom through and through, and saw it standing before him; though he felt the chilling influence of its death-cold eyes; and marked the very texture of the folded kerchief bound about its head and chin, which wrapper he had not observed before: he was still incredulous, and fought against his senses”. This quote represents how Scrooge is started to be influenced and potentially believing the ghost of Marley is real although he is still quite stubborn.