Over the centuries, thousands of tales have passed from the pages of English authors to the imagination of readers. These tales date from as early as the dark ages to present times. Two such tales are The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy and Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Both tales focus on the trials and tribulations of their main characters "Michael Henchard and Macbeth. .
Michael Henchard followed a strict code of honor. No matter what he did, for good or evil, he did it in an honorable fashion. When his business began to fail and he hired Jopp as his assistant, he instructed Jopp to ruin Farfrae. Jopp inquired as to which method he should use to ruin Farfrae "illegal or legal. To this Henchard answered, "By fair competition I mean of course."" (Page 179) Similarly, when Henchard asked Farfrae for a duel, Henchard tied his hand to his side to make the fight even, an indication of his honor. .
In contrast, Macbeth acted with honor when no more efficient choice appeared. He killed Duncan in complete secrecy. He accomplished this by leaving the daggers in the hands of the drugged guards. When he killed Banquo, he chose not to give him an honorable death on a level playing field but rather killed him clandestinely at the hands hired murderers. The witches informed him, "Beware of Macduff;- (IV, i) he heeded this warning by slaughtering Macduff's family, but did not meet openly with Macduff until their final battle. However, during the final battle between the forces of Macbeth and those of Malcolm, sensing his inevitable defeat, Macbeth felt he had no other choice but to fight to the last straw. In doing so, Macbeth retained his honor, for if he did surrender, he would become the laughingstock of Scotland. As he left for the field outside Dunsinane to fight the battle, Macbeth said, "They have tied me to a stake. I cannot fly, but bear-like I must fight the course.
