Nowadays, many famous stories have touched on the topic of isolation as it becomes the most prevalent problem that cannot be easily solved in people's lives. Both "Macbeth" by Shakespeare and "The Stone Boy" by Gina Berriault, in fact, deal to a certain extent with the theme of isolation and emptiness. In “Macbeth” and “The Stone Boy”, Lady Macbeth and Arnold feel isolated due to the situation that does not give them the closeness they desire, and they end up not being involved in the relationship they would like with their families even when the end of the story. In fact, isolation forms many kinds of people's modes, which means it forms different states of feelings of Arnold and Lady Macbeth. Being isolated, Lady Macbeth feels empty and lost and has no sense of direction while Arnold has no emotions and is numb. While both stories touch on the theme of isolation, “Macbeth” does a stronger job with the theme than Gina Berriault’s “The Stone Boy.” “The Stone Boy,” in which Arnold accidentally kills his older brother, is all about the separation between understanding and compassion. When the accident occurs, Arnold becomes isolated from his entire family, which in turn makes him feel numb and cold. The two characters, in fact, react completely differently when faced with isolation. Arnold feels he is quite innocent at first and tries to explain what he thinks of his brother after Eugie's death. Just as Gina Berriault wrote: “He expected her to realize that he wanted to kneel by her bed and tell her that Eugie was dead. She didn't know it yet, no one knew it, yet she was sitting on the bed, waiting to be... the center of the card... while Lady Macbeth tends to be overly emotional. Their endings are quite different from each other, as Lady Macbeth chooses to end her life as a coward while Arnold chooses to live sturdily. People have different reactions when they are isolated by someone who was once so closed off towards them. Lady Macbeth and Arnold's reactions are quite different but extremely typical towards isolation. He is surprised to see that Arnold's impassivity is directly opposite to Lady Macbeth's exaggerated emotions. Undoubtedly, Lady Macbeth's reaction appeals to me more than Arnold's emotionless one. Therefore, Shakespeare's “Macbeth” is the story that does the strongest work with the theme of isolation and emptiness. Works Cited http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/http://www.theatrehistory.com/british/macbeth001. htmlhttp://litsum.com/stone-boy/