King Lear and a Thousand Acres

fairy Lear and A thousand acres comparison The one social final payment that hasnt evolved since the 17th century is the ever present schisms between families. commonwealth fool always cheated, p arents engage always chosen favorites, and the struggles for wealth and effect have always torn families a stop. Most nonably, these conflicts have been portrayed in Shakespeares indicant Lear and Romeo and Juliet, simply the theater of family argument has also shone finished in modern works such as Jane Smileys A thou democracyed estate.Both faggot Lear and A special K country are persistent pieces of literature that have redefined the family complex, portrayed the death of families through jealousy and greed, and examined the reoccurring newspaper of fate versus waive will. Both fagot Lear and A thousand Acres focus on the patriarch of a family and how he decides to advance his assets. female monarch Lear focuses on how Lear, the faggot of England, will distri no nwithstandinge his kingdom amongst his three lady friends, Cordelia, Regan, and Goneril.A Thousand Acres, on the other hand, takes a much more modern nestle by detailing the life of Larry make water, a successful Iowan farmer, and how he attempts to cook inheritance taxes by dividing his farm amongst his daughters, Caroline, rose, and Ginny. In some(prenominal) literary works, the drive distri besideses his holdings forward his death, which, while at the time searchs like a reason tactic, ends up having detrimental repercussions for twain men. To highlight the actions undertaken by the main characters, both authors also develop a subplot focusing on a assistant of the respective begets and how he deals with his two sons.In queen mole rat Lear, Lears friend, Gloucester, debates upon the sexual moralitys of his two sons, Edmund and Edgar, reluctance in his decision on which of his sons is loyal and which son will needfully betray him. Similarly, in A Thousand Acres, Sm iley develops the subplot of the tensions between Harold and his two sons, Loren and Jess. A major theme in both pieces is the issues of get laid, family relationships and the homage that can each be steadfastly present or blatantly nonexistent. In queen regnant Lear, Lear essential decide how to distribute his kingdom.Instead of dividing it equally among his heiresses, he relies on shallow declarations of love from his daughters. Regan and Goneril flatter their set about claiming unyielding love, while Cordelia, the daughter that Lear previously held closest to his heart, doesnt quite flatter her sire so blatantly. darn Lear takes this as an insult, Cordelia is simply sure that her loves/ More richer than her tongue, so there is no reason to sluice attempt to articulate her unabiding love for her founder (I. i. 81-82).Lears egotism, however, pr chargets him from realizing that Cordelia actually does love him the most, so he freakishly foreswears and banishes her from h is kingdom. While King Lears naivete makes him disown a daughter that does love him more than the others, the distinction in the quantity of how much a daughter loves her father is not nearly as evident in A Thousand Acres. In the sweet, Caroline upbraids her father against incorporating the farm prematurely, which is take the standn in this dialogue between herself and Ginny Hes handling all over his all in all life, dont you understand that?We have to receive it in the chastise spirit. And Rose and Pete and even Ty are ready to receive it. Just do it this once. Last time, I promise. Thats another social function. Im not ready to receive it. I think its a stinking idea for him, and its certainly a bad idea for me. cad was appalled when I told him. (Smiley 34) Like how Cordelia will take no part in complementing her father, Caroline refuses to go along with the transfer of the farm, citing that it will not only have deleterious effects on establish, but herself as well.I n A Thousand Acres, it doesnt seem like Cook chooses how to distribute his farm based on how much each daughter loves him, but the extent to which each daughter will stand up to him. Rose and Ginny go along with the farm transfer, but when Caroline stands up to her father, he took the door in his hand and slammed it shut in her face (39). So while Larrys motives for why he disowned his daughter are jolly different, it doesnt change the fact that out of rage and lack of ideal he whimsically disowns a loving daughter.In both King Lear and A Thousand Acres, the pattern of the true is ever present in regards to how the daughters administer their father once he no longer is in control. In King Lear, Lear chooses to divide his kingdom amongst his daughters Goneril and Regan. While initially doing so has no negative effects for Lear, ultimately his daughters begin to treat him with uttermost disrespect. The downstairs excerpt from the play depicts the turning point when Regan and Go neril begin to try to curb their father and remove every ounce of his previous power Goneril non only, sir, this your all-licensed fool,But other of your insolent retinue Do hourly carp and dustup breaking forth In rank and not-to-be endured riots. Sir, I had thought, by reservation this well known unto you, To have found a safe discipline but now grow fearful, By what yourself too late have spoke and through. (I. iv. 191-197) In this section, Goneril is complaining to her father about his contingent of knights that have been causing distraction and disaster at Gonerils palace. While her complaints are somewhat sensical, this shows the turning point where Goneril and Regan begin to no longer apprehension about Lears own soulfulnessal mental standing.The continued encumbrance of Lears knights represent the last remaining token of Lears kinghood. By attempting to, and later succeeding in, disbanding Lears knights, the daughters take away the one thing that Lear still controls. He no longer rules over his kingdom, or even his own house for that matter. This really shows how the daughters seem to care only for themselves and move into little thought on Lears perspective. By contrast, in A Thousand Acres, Rose and Ginny dont take away Cooks power, but he actually forfeits it.Instead of staying active in the farm, Cook seems to be willing, on the surface, to take a backseat in the farms operation. Ginny describes Cooks mentality accurately in the below adduce I paused at the kitchen door and watched the unyielding back of his head for a few seconds. When I drove past the front of the house again, he hadnt moved. I couldnt shake the sense that his attention menaced Ty, the ingenuous cultivator, concentrating innocently on never deviating from the rose laid out before him. The green tractor inched back and forth, and my fathers look followed it like the cask of a rifle. 67) While Cook may wish to be have-to doe with in the farm, he seems content sitting in his chair gazing over the fields that were previously his. Unlike Regan and Goneril, Rose and Ginny actually want their father to be more involved. When Cook drives under the influence and crashes his car, Ginny is incredibly unbalance with her father, saying that They arent preventing him from working. He doesnt want to do anything. He never goes out to the barn even to stand around. They do everything now, and that isnt easy either (116).So while Regan and Goneril want their father to become slight active and be completely complacent, Rose and Ginny are urging their father to help with the farm and be a more active farmer. A major contrast in the two pieces is the differing motives fueling the daughters actions. In King Lear, Goneril and Regans actions seem to be empowered by greed and the accumulation of power. The daughters could care less about their father, but they get on him with complements because they know it will help them gain control over more of the kingdom.In A T housand Acres, on the other hand, it seems that Rose and Ginny want what is exceed for their father and the farm. While it is indisputable that their own interests are also at heart (due to the fact that the incorporation of the farm does leave Rose and Ginny with operative holdings), the characters initial empathy for their father shows that unlike Goneril and Regan, the Cook daughters do care for their fathers best interest. Caring for their fathers standing shows that they are still loyal to him unlike Regan and Goneril, Rose and Ginny do not betray their father, but their father betrays them.The characterization of the dramatis personae in King Lear, and especially how his daughters treat him, paint the character of Lear as a tragic hero. We relish for Lear and his tragic circumstances, while in A Thousand Acres, readers feel very little empathy for Larry Cook. Instead, Rose and Ginny act as the tragic heroes, who must face their fathers wrath and their sisters dizzy demeano r. As with the main plots, the subplots in both pieces discuss the relationships between family members and the presence of loyalty versus betrayal. In King Lear, we note great loyalty in the character of Kent.Kent is the only character who stands up for Cordelia, and is the only character to warn Lear against her banishment. When Lear banishes Kent as well, Kent returns in disguise and acts once again as a loyal servant. This loyalty is repaid by Lear at the end of the play, when Lear decides to reward loyalty by passing the throne to Kent and Edgar. Conversely, the subplots in King Lear also show elements of betrayal, specifically in the relations between Gloucester and his two sons. Gloucester initially damns and mocks his illicit son, Edmund, and praises his legitimate son, Edgar, as is typical in the natural order.Edmund schemes against his brother, and eventually convinces his father that Edgar is in fact the one scheming against Gloucester. By turning in Gloucester to Cornw all, Edmund creates the situation that leads to Gloucesters blindness, ultimately betraying him to the utmost degree. In addition to the concepts of loyalty and family relations, both authors breach the topic of womens role in society. As an example, both the authors disrupt the natural order. Traditionally, kingdoms (and farms for that matter) would transfer from fathers to sons, not fathers to daughters.In both King Lear and A Thousand Acres, the male patriarch decides to pass on his land to his daughters. While it would be custom for the female heir to forfeit power to their hubbys, neither Goneril or Regan allow their husbands to take control. In the following quote, Goneril debates with her husband on the merits of his passivity Milk-livered gentlemans gentleman That bearst a cheek for blows, a head for wrongs Who hast not in thy brows an eye discerning Thine honor from thy pathetic that not knowst Fools do those villains pity who are punishedEre they have done their mischie f. Wheres thy drum? France spreads his banners in our noiseless land With plumed channelize thy slayer begins threats Whiles thou, a moral fool, sitst still, and criest Alack, why does he so? (IV. ii. 55-64) In this excerpt, Goneril is asserting herself against her husband, Albany. While Albany sympathizes with Lear, Goneril argues that all sympathy towards Lear and the french will end the noiseless state of the English kingdom. Goneril, the wife, is standing up to her husband and telling him how things should be done.Finally, Goneril ends the argument by saying Marry, your mankind now (IV. ii. 75). By saying this, Goneril is essentially asserting herself as the man in the relationship who will be making all incoming decisions. In A Thousand Acres, Smiley also invokees on the theme of feminism, but more specifically womens independence. Similar to the circumstances in King Lear, Rose and Ginny take over their fathers farm. Instead of the girls pickings over the cursory runnin g of the farm, their husbands handle all of the farming and the women chase away to their original roles cooking, cleaning, and homemaking.When Pete dies, Ginny runs off, and Ty eventually leaves for Texas as well, Rose is left to handle many an(prenominal) of the daily farming tasks herself. At one point, Rose is the only person farming their thousand acre farm, which is undoubtedly an arduous task. By ending the novel in this manner, Smiley is showing that while women in the sixties still had a demeaned role in society, they did have the ability to match or even supersede their male counterparts actions. A final theme present in both pieces is whether fate or free will dictate our daily actions and routine. In King Lear, the prevailing life force is definitely free will.All of the characters, even Lear, make numerous decisions (note these are decisions made by the characters, not decisions thrust upon the characters) that determine their final circumstance. An example would be h ow Goneril and Regan chose to treat their father. Their brusk treatment of their father leads to a family schism, a war between nations, and their eventual death. Lears opinion of fate versus free will is also preferably interesting. You see me here, you gods, a poor old man, As full of distress as age wretched in both If it be you that lambast these daughters hearts Against their father, fool me not so muchTo bear it tamely touch me with noble anger, And let not womens weapons, water-drops, Stain my mans cheeks (II. iv. 294-300) While Lears actions seem to fall under the category of free will (for he chose to disown Cordelia and to distribute his kingdom), his above statement makes it seem like he places merit with the Gods. He says to the Gods that if it is in fact them who have been meddling with his daughters hearts, then they should nevertheless put him out of his misery by ending his life. In A Thousand Acres, by contrast, the bulk of the characters lives seem to be guide d by fate.Rose didnt choose to get cancer, Ginny didnt bring on her miscarriages, and hazards decision was out of the daughters hands. Similar to how the gray figure has opposite beliefs as the majority of the other characters in King Lear, Cook seems to believe in free will. Ginny, describing her fathers beliefs The lesson my father might say they prove is that a man gets what he deserves by creating his own good luck (137). Cooks thought is that waiting for fate to act in your favor will do nil for you, but instead, you need to make your own luck, which is a major concept in free will.Many people believe that A Thousand Acres is simply a copy piece of Shakespeares King Lear, but in fact, many elements give autonomy to Smileys novel. A Thousand Acres is a unique piece, with unique characterization, unique circumstances, and unique narration. In King Lear, Lear is the tragic hero and Goneril and Regan are the antagonists. In A Thousand Acres, however, Larrys abuse of the daughter s make him much more of the antagonist, with Ginny and Rose as the tragic heroes.While the readers alliances change between literary works, both pieces show the necessity of loyalty and the consequent disaster of betrayal. Additionally, the thematic determine of both pieces at points can differ greatly while King Lear focused on womens independence, A Thousand Acres takes on a more modernistic approach by discussing what women must do to gain this independence. Overall, while the pieces do have many similarities, when read congruently, the contrasts only further enhance the overarching themes and morals of both works.