Analysis of Macbeth Murder Mystery

Analysis of Macbeth Murder Mystery

The Macbeth Murder Mystery written by James Thurber is about two strangers who discuss Macbeth. One of them is an American woman who recently read Macbeth by accident, interpreting it as a detective story and not as a tragedy. She tells the narrator her view of the story which inspires him to reread the book to find his own opinion about the murder and he comes to a different conclusion. With this the author tries to show the reader there are many ways to look at and interpret a story.

Thurber intodruced two very different character to the reader and shows with them that a book can be interpreted differently, this means a book is not only “words on a page”, the story depends a lot on the person who reads it. When the two main characters start talking about Macbeth it first looks like they find a topic they can actually have a conversation about because they both read Macbeth but it soon becomes clear that they have interpreted the story completely different, which shows us the difference of the two characters.  The two main characters of “Macbeth Murder Mystery” are the narrator and an American woman. They did not have a relationship before their chat. First, the American woman is talking mainly, she complains that she bought the wrong book, the narrator does not say much about it. It is clear that he is not that much into detective stories as the woman is. Suddenly he cuts in on her (line 24) and asks her about Macbeth. It seems like he is trying to find a book they have both read so they can have a conversation about it, but it turns out that even they have read the same book they are still talking about different things. The narrator has read Macbeth as a tragedy and the American woman has read it as a detective story, what seemed natural and obvious to her. The narrator is listening and does not really get a chance to mention his opinion (line 34). When he says something he mostly “whistles” or “murmurs” (line 41/47), which shows even more how dominant the American woman is. He still does not seem convinced by the theories of the woman. He is kind of making fun of her because of her “detective skills”, he calls her “the murder specialist” line (42) or “informant” (line 48). The narrator has read the story applying the same criteria to it as the American woman has, but coming to a different conclusion. This shows us that a lot of what a book is about, is not actually the written down words, it is to find in its context and the way you interpret it. It follows that the meaning of a story depends very much of the person who reads it and their point of views. The American woman only interpreted Macbeth this way because she is very much into detective stories. Thurber shows us two very different characters and that there is not really a wrong interpretation on books. When you talk with someone about a book or a story you actually talk about your opinion, your interpretation and about yourself as well. Thurber tries to make people think outside of their box.