Leggatt commits the worst of crimes on the ship, mutiny. By killing a shipmate, he destroys the social order of the ship. The theme of social order is best depicted in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Macbeth, the courageous and respected Thane of Glamis meets the witches, who give him prophecies of glory. Blinded by these prophecies, Macbeth plots to murder his king. During a stay at Iverness, Duncan pays the ultimate price for his fatal flaw (a bad judge of character, his life. Upon committing this murder, Macbeth breaks the idea of social order in the most extreme way possible. .
A second theme that is evident in the novels is that of the capacity for evil. As seen, some of the characters in the novels have to capacity to break social and moral order. The strongest example of the capacity for evil is shown within Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth begins the play showing signs of morality and sympathy, but when he is given a foresight of power and greatness, his mind begins to develop thoughts of evil. His true capacity for evil is not shown until Lady Macbeth is introduced into the play. "And fill me from the crown to the toe topfull of direst cruelty: make thick my blood, stop up th"access and passage of remorse"(Shakespeare I, V, 41-43). In that passage, .
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Lady Macbeth proves herself as a character not only with the capacity for evil, but as an evil character in all. After the murder of their king, Macbeth's capacity for evil makes itself more evident. As he is crowned king of Scotland, Macbeth grows more and more detached from reality and commits more acts that can be seen as evil, such as the murder of his best friend Banquo, and ultimately, the murder of Macduff's family. In The Secret Sharer, Leggatt shows his capacity for evil in the most evident of ways, murder. He kills a fellow shipmate whom he believed was a threat to the ship. He performs the act in the best interest of the ship and believes it had to be done.
