King Lear Character Analysis - 796 Words

In the play King Lear by william Shakespeare, Lear decides to give up his throne and retire because of his age. Lear decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters because he has no heir to the throne. Before splitting the country up, Lear asks his daughters to tell him how much they love him and only then will the receive their part of the kingdom. His eldest daughters, Goneril and Regan, shower their father in insincere flattery trying to show their affection. In contrast his youngest and most beloved daughter,Cordelia, gives him a short simple answer, not indulging in his game of who loves me most.Which angers lear Lear and results in him disowning Cordelia. Now that his kingdom is divided into two, Lear is under the care†¦show more content†¦Seeking the throne, Edmund has a man go and kill Cordelia and Lear. But this murder was later intercepted by a knight sent by ALbany, after Edmund, who was stabbed by Edgard, confesses his wrong doing on his deathbed. The servant reveals that Regan and has also died, being poisoned by Goneril, who took her own life. When Lear carries Cordelia’s dead body he thinks he sees her take a breath before he lays down and dies. Major characters: King Lear: The former king of Britain and the protagonist of the play who values appearance of love over actual love and wishes to have the power of a king without the responsibility. Cordelia:Lears youngest daughter who loves and stays loyal to Lear despite him treating her wrongly. Goneril: Lear’s eldest daughter who is amoral and will do anything for power even if it means betraying a family member. Regan: Regan is Lear’s middle daughter who is virtually undisguisable in personality from Goneril. Gloucester - A nobleman loyal to Lear who misjudges which of his children to trust and blames all is problems on the gods. Edgar:Edgar - Gloucester’s older, legitimate son who in the beginning is gullible but later shows his bravery cunningness. Edmund: Gloucester’s illegitimate son who obsession for revenge and power mixed with his cunningness leads to his and many others downfall. Minor characters: Kent: The servant to KingShow MoreRelatedKing Lear Character Analysis1258 Words   |  6 Pagesrespect and honesty is expected. Yet to the demise of many of the characters this expected attitude is only portrayed through a few of them. When this attitude is not portrayed it is not looked upon as odd or out of character it is almost normalized. The king goes mad, Kent’s breaking of a stereotype, Gloucester is naà ¯ve nature, Edmunds superb manipulation, and the fool is the most knowledgeable of all. The first is the king. He goes mad, completely loses all sense of sanity. â€Å"Nature’s aboveRead MoreCharacter Analysis Of King Lear963 Words   |  4 PagesA Child King At first glance, King Lear appears to be simply a selfish man who loses his wealth, his mind, and his life in that order. Sure, he learns a lesson, but it does not do much good because both he and his daughter, Cordelia, die before really making amends. In fact, most everyone dies before really getting anything good done. So why did Shakespeare bother writing this play? Well, Shakespeare was well known for having a deep understanding of mankind and portraying that understanding inRead MoreKing Lear Character Analysis714 Words   |  3 PagesIn Act III scene 7 of Shakespeare’s King Lear, Gloucester returns to his castle after secretly guiding Lear to safety. Gloucester hoped to avoid any confrontation by Cornwall and Regan, but his son Edmund, betrayed him and revealed the information. When Gloucester finds Regan and Cornwall, they accuse him of being a traitor. They are both enraged that he has disobeyed their orders by helping Lear who was just kicked out during a terrible storm. After some interrogation by Regan, Gloucester justifiesRead MoreKing Lear Character Analysis1511 Words   |  7 PagesA character study written of a mortal man full of unpredictable mental illnesses and insanity can be as confusing as a thing to write as the thoughts within his very own mind. King Lear had a mind that could be compared to a light switch. His emotional states change from one extreme to the other with just that flip of the switch. Lear had a vast need for power and control; this combined with his temper and enormous selfishness created room for many mental outbursts. Best stated by Henry Hudson (1911)Read MoreKing Lear Character Analysis1222 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Obey thy father† (King Lear III-IV 75). What that means is, to honour your father.Edmund, who broke a sin by dethroning his father Gloucester and, as a result Edmund was slain by his brother Edgar. Next, King Lear was betrayed by his three daughters. During act I, scene IV, Lear said. â€Å"Degenerate bastard, I’ll not trouble thee. Yet have I left daughter.† (Lear I IV 242-243). This advises us that King Lear will not be bothering Goneril as Goneril is promptly an extraordinary character. Goneril breaksRead MoreKing Lear Character Analysis1196 Words   |  5 Pageswritten play, King Leir, published on May 15, 1594. In the play, the single father, King Leir, was betrayed by his two oldest daughters as he realizes that they do not love him. â€Å"He fled the land, and sailed to Gallia, there to seek some comfort of his youngest daughter Cordeilla, whom before he hated† (Holinshed: Chronicles). Out of all of his children, he favored his youngest Cordeilla due to her â€Å"motherly† personality of caring and love for him. Shakespeare’s version of King Lear is very similarRead MoreA Comparative Analysis of the Characters of King Lear and Hidetora526 Words   |  2 Pagesin human history dont just resurface in critical analysis but are also given new life when channeled through modern media. This is well-exemplified by legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawas 1985 epic, Ran. The highly regarded and high-budgeted film, based on William Shakespeares 1606 play King Lear, demonstrates the power retained by the original play even when dramatically recontextualized. Indeed, in a comparative discussion of King Lear and Hidetora, his counterpart in the Kurosawa filmRead MoreEssay on Character Analysis of King Lear600 Words   |  3 PagesKing Lear, the protagonist of the play, is a truly tragic figure. He is driven by greed and arrogance and is known for his stubbornness and imperious temper, he often acts upon emotions and whims. He values appearances above reality. He wants to be treated as a king and to enjoy the title, but he doesn’t want to fulfill a king’s obligations of governing for the good of his subjects. Similarly, his test of his daughters demonstrates that he values a flattering public display of love over realRead MoreKing Lear and the Genre of Tragedy Essay960 Words   |  4 Pagesof the hero. Written between 1604 and 1606, ‘King Lear’ falls into the genre of tragedy, depicting the destruction and downfall of the main character (Abrams). The play centres on Lear, an aging king who, in his retirement, decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters while retaining the title and privileges of being king. However, King Lear’s actions lead to the destruction of his family, tearing up his kingdom and creating a war. ‘King Lear’ is a tragedy as it follows the codes and conventionsRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Othello And Timon Of Athens1259 Words   |  6 Pages Of the many people to have critiqued King Lear, A.C. Bradley arguably does the most through job as seen in Lecture VII and VIII of his work Shakespearean Tragedy. In Lecture VII, Bradley begins by discussing the similarities King Lear has to Shakespeare’s other works including Othello and Timon of Athens (245-246). For instance, in Othello, Iago reminds of Edmund and Othello’s trickery reminds us of the deceitfulness of Gloucester. Additionally, the scene where Othello watched Iago and Cassio

Comparing Economies Free Essays

To see how well a country has developed, people mainly judge by the total GDP value, there are also many type of indicator, such as the HDI, number of mobile per person etc. In this essay I have mentioned 3 countries- Kenya, Hong Kong and UK, to see how they have developed in the past 10years and what is the problem that hinder its improvement. Kenya is a tropical country which lies on the equator. We will write a custom essay sample on Comparing Economies or any similar topic only for you Order Now Agriculture and tourism are two of the most flourish industries, they bring the country with the major part of income. 5% of the Kenya population made their living by taking part in the primary production, but their income can merely support the cost of living of the whole family. In 2008, total nominal GDP was $30. 2 billion and $857 for GDP per capita. With exchange rate considered, the total GDP in Purchasing Power Parity was $60. 4 billion. Human Development Index of Kenya in the year of 2006 was only 0. 491, which stated an extremely low civilised level in this country, people could not receive proper education and the life expectancy were comparatively low.Unemployment rate reached 40% in 2009; the main cause is the increasing population. Economic reform and liberalization began to carry out in the early 90s. Kenya government undertook a series of economic measures with the assistance from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. However, in the 2000, the bad weather condition made the economy to slow down. Furthermore, as the government didn’t carry out action to meet the commitment, the IMF and World Bank refused to give financial support. The Kenya Economy was in a depression at that age.The situation was slightly improved in the next few years when the new president Kibaki took up the post. Various economic reforms were put into practice and had finally resumed the cooperation. In the recent years, Kenya government has been more ambitious. The annual growth rate keep on increasing from the 2005, they are now in a growth by encouraging agricultural production and more public and foreign investment. Kenya developed quite a lot in the past 10 years as the government began to made use of the natural resources and even further expand them.Besides, they started to sign partnership arrangement with other country to gain more trading opportunities, like the oil exploration contract with China in 2006 which was series of deals designed to keep Africa’s natural resources flowing out. Hong Kong is autonomous capitalist region of China, it is known as the Global Metropolitan and International Financial Centre. The composition of Hong Kong GDP is special, re-export contributed a lot to the figure by distributing the imported goods mainly from the China to the rest of the world. Nominal GDP of Hong Kong in 2008 was $223. 7 billion and $31,849. In terms of PPP, the figure was $293. billion and $44,413 respectively. Hong Kong managed to be one of the top 10 countries by GDP at PPP per capita. HK also ranked the 22nd in the year 2008 on the HDI table. It has an index of 0. 942 in 2006, which shows it did well on life expectancy, literacy, educational attainment and GDP per capita. All of these indicators show that people in Hong Kong enjoy a high living standard. Unemployment rate in the end of 2008 was only 3. 8% that was quite low when comparing with rest of the world. Most population in Hong Kong is employed in the tertiary production, like retails and tourism, thus largest part of the GDP.Primary and secondary productions only take up a tiny proportion, due to the limitation of resources and high running cost. Stock Exchange in Hong Kong is also world famous, because of the free market economy and low taxation system. The government adopted a passive attitude towards the industry; power is left to the market forces and the private sector. This policy attracts a huge inflow of foreign investment to the local market. From the late 90s onwards, with a rapidly growing Mainland China as its hinterland, the paramount location enables it to serve as a point of entry for investment flowing into the mainland.The China and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement signed on 2003 ensured favorable trade and investment co-operation for both sides and promote joint development; it helped to gain enterprises and investors faith in the local market. However, Hong Kong’s inflation rate is markedly varying in the past 10 years, the challenges of economic globalisation from China and the outbreak of SARS led to a deflation from ’99 to ’04. The situation was soon improved afterwards.The problem which hinders HK development is the lack of raw resources, so the volume of import is huge which lower the value of GDP and even held back the development of other aspects. The total output of HK is over-relied on th e tertiary production, especially the financial market. When there was once a financial crisis, the whole economy fall into a distress. United Kingdom is the sixth largest economy in the world and the third largest in Europe. Nominal GDP of this country in 2008 was $2. 7 trillion and $43,785 per capita; $2. 2 trillion and $36,523 respectively when expressed in PPP. Its HDI calculated in 2006 was 0. 42, which ranked just above Hong Kong; this additionally shows the high literacy rate and long expectancy. There was 7. 6% of the work force in UK was unemployed in July 2009. And a Gini coefficient of 36 shows the inequality of income and wealth, although more resources are held by the rich, the problem is not so serious. UK was a strong country ever since the Industrial Revolution started, yet it began to lose its competitiveness in the 20th century when other countries also develop. The role in the global economy of UK became more stable at the start of 21st century, due to the huge GDP and the influential power on finance of London.Services industry is now the major sector in UK, it makes up more than 70% of the GDP. Like Hong Kong, financial services and tourism are the dominant part of the whole country. The country capital- London is an international business centre, which also has the world’s largest Stock Exchange transactions. After a recession, UK had achieved a growth in every year from the late 90s until the year 2007. The UK managed to maintain a strongest economy between all European countries, both on interest rate, inflation and unemployment.The boom is then ended because of the global financial crisis and the rising commodity prices as well, the UK economy was seriously harmed. Many companies and even banks failed and became nationalised, this also bought the country with a deficit in finished goods and commodities. The UK is still facing a hard time now, the GDP for 2009 is forecasted to decline by 3. 8%, the negative growth may continue until early 2010. The UK economy was already well developed, so the government should undertake fiscal policies to modify the market and improve the efficiency. How to cite Comparing Economies, Papers

Shaping Identity Using Social Structure free essay sample

Social structure and social interaction are integral in evaluating a person’s identity. Identities are the sets of meanings people hold for themselves that define â€Å"what it means† to be who they are as persons, as role occupants and as group members (PJB article) People are generally influenced by the norms and beliefs of society. A person’s identity is formed through a combination of factors derived from social structure (macrosociology) and social interaction (microsociology). The self influences society through the actions of individuals thereby creating groups, organizations, networks, and institutions (PJB a soiciological approach to self and identity). Reciprocally, society influences the self through its shared language and meanings that enable a person to take the role of the other, engage in social interaction, and reflect upon oneself as an object. (PJB, a sociological approach to self and identity). This essay explores how components of social structure can be more important in shaping an individual identity than social interaction. Social structure refers to the framework that surrounds us, consisting of the relationships of people and groups, which gives direction to and sets limits on behaviour. (Sociology, A Down to Earth Approach SDEA) K Plummer defines social structures as the patterns of predictable human actions that cluster around key problems in living and they vary in all societies. Social structure is all around us and is what helps to dictate our behaviour and keep our life in order. It sets the scene for an individual to behave and act appropriately in different settings at different times. Social structure is made up of culture, social class, social status, roles, groups and social institutions (SDEA). Social interaction is the way that people interact with one another (SDEA). According to K Plummer, human beings engage continually in social action and interaction with others – changing their own lives and others. We are never solitary individuals and always depend on others for a sense of who we are (K Plummer). A person’s action is influenced by the actions or awareness of others. Social interaction includes stereotypes, personal space, touching, eye contact, smiling, applied body language, dramaturgy, role performance, conflict and strain (SDEA). The difference between social structure and social interaction is that social structure provides a guide to everyday life and social interaction provides a meaning of sense (ref)? PARAGRAPH 2 Social status refers to a position that someone occupies (SDEA). Statuses can be prestigious or less prestigious and range from mother, daughter, spouse, lawyer to criminal. Most individuals are found to occupy several statuses simultaneously thus giving us the term ‘status set’(SDEA). For example, an individual can take on the status of mother, wife, employee and friend. Out of all the statuses we occupy, there is one significant status that tends to override all the other statuses one may occupy, this is termed as a ‘master status’ (SDEA). Status can be further divided into two types, ‘achieved status’ and ‘ascribed status’. To illustrate ‘achieved status’, Usain Bolt is best known for being the fastest man in the world. Despite our state of affairs, it is our status that guides our behaviour. For instance, a colleague may turn up to work one day after facing some difficulties at home, however in a work environment, he would continue to work and behave in a professional manner regardless of his personal situations. In addition, individuals can also reinforce their identity by using status symbols in as part of their appearance. This can be in the form of a work uniform to signify an occupation, or in a fashion sense, the type of clothing worn is a silent statement of what sets you apart from others. As Linton states, â€Å"a person holds a status, and performs a role†. Simply put, a status is a position and a role is a set of behaviours. With each status, follows a certain role for us to take part in. People tend to adapt to roles, moving through different roles in fluency as student, son, friend. Because people tend to have many different statuses and therefore, many different roles, conflict occasionally occurs among the various roles. The concept of role conflict is conflict among the roles connected to two or more statuses (ref). A good example of role conflict lies in the working mother; she must take on the responsibilities of mothering the children at home while taking on the responsibilities of working outside the home, away from the children, in order to earn an income (RR). This kind of conflict involves roles which arise from separate statuses, but the same sort of conflict can occur from the roles of a single status. Role strain, then, is tension among the roles connected to a single status. A teacher, for example, can be friendly with his or her students, but must remain objective in grading them. Roles help to keep our behaviour aligned to our particular status. Roles are an essential component of social structure because they lay out what is expected of people. Role performance is the way in which someone performs a role, showing a particular ‘style’ or ‘personality’ (SDEA). Role performance allows us our own unique individuality to show through. PARAGRAPH 4 â€Å"Knowledge is power, information is liberating, education is the premise of progress in every society in every family†. These famous words quoted by Kofi Annan refer to a few social institutions that are a part of social structure. Social instituitions consist of family, religion, education, economics, medicine, politics, law, science, military and mass media (SDEA). Each one functions separately but together they enable society to maintain order and create a sense of community. The mass media influences our attitudes toward social issues, the ways that we view other people and even our self-concept (SDEA). Information in the media can be extremely persuasive, it can easily alter our perception if we are not careful or have very little experience in the topic of interest. They not only provide information and recreation but also mould public opinion and attitudes. The information and knowledge which we accumulate through life from media is part of creating an identity for ourselves. To demonstrate, smoking advertisements have been around to promote awareness and advises us of serious health implications. However, today’s youth may view it differently and partake in it because of peer pressure. On the other hand, media can also bring nations together when there is an important event such as the Olympics, press conferences and so on (RR). The topic of religion is another social institution as it involves patterns of beliefs and behavior that help a society meet its basic needs (steven Burkan). Emile Durkheim (1915/1947) [1] observed long ago that every society has beliefs about things that are supernatural and awe-inspiring and beliefs about things that are more practical and down-to-earth (Durkheim, E. (1947). The elementary forms of religious life (J. Swain, Trans. ). Glencoe, IL: Free Press. (Original work published 1915)). Religion teaches us to practise a way of life that is fulfilling for self and others, thus enabling individuals to become better people. This can also create a meaning of identity for some. The other social institutions such as education, politics, law and the military keeps society safe and in order. They inform us of rules and regulations so that society can function and maintain order. Each social institution establish the context which we live, shaping our behaviour and colouring our thoughts. (SDEA). Social institutions form the pillars of society, they are not only a set of rules, but markers for society to develop an identity that is aligned with culture. CONCLUSION Which is more important in shaping individual identity? Studies of social structure attempt to explain the significance of shaping one’s identity and in combination play a vital role in defining an individual. It is the content, which provides a way of making sense of who we are. This provides development to an identity which individuals are embedded in and therefore understood, communicated, and shared with others in culture. For example, individuals can define their identity upon meeting someone for the first time by describing what they do, where they are from or whether or not they are in a relationship. Social structure as we can see today can shape opinions, attitudes and thought which leads us to our behaviour and thus our identity.

Sacrifice Within The Israelite Religion Essays - Book Of Leviticus

Sacrifice Within The Israelite Religion The primary religious rituals of Israelite religion involved sacrifices and offerings. The ritual system within the Israelite cult evolved around gifts and offerings that were presented before Yahweh. In examining the book of Leviticus, the sacrificial system of the Israelites can be identified. It is this sacrificial system that was handed down by God through Moses that allowed the people of Israel to cross over the gap between their own weaknesses and corruption to the expectations presented by God. Sacrifices symbolized an acknowledgement of guilt and a need for divine grace and forgiveness. Understanding the Israelite Cult The Israelite cult is set apart from other cults in that the people were bound together to worship one God. ?The distinctiveness of the Israelite cult is nothing other than the limitation of cultic activity to one particular patron deity? (Anderson, 1987;3). The cult's foundation of worship centered on those sacrificial gifts and offerings that were given to Yahweh. In addition, the Israelite cults were village centered. In the beginning of the 12th century BC, settlements on the hill country of Judea and Ephraim began to increase in number and density. The farming that took place on these hills allowed Israelites to gain an independent economy from surrounding cult economies (Anderson, 1987;23). Sacrifice within the social context can be transgressed into two aspects, one relating to the offender, and the other being the offended one, God. ?If individuals entered a state incongruent with good relations with God, they had to undergo rites to restore them to a normative status? (Davies, 1985;155). Thus the sacrifice encompassed this social dimension. The part played by God in the social lives of man and the action of his divinity. The Meaning of the Sacrificial Ritual Man's very nature is sinful and redemption during this time was found in the rituals that they performed. It served as a medium between the people and God as a means of redemption for their sins. Sacrificial rituals were the mechanism by which disruptions within God's world were acknowledged and made right. ?A complete act of worship implies not merely that the worshipper comes into the presence of god with gestures of homage and words of prayer, but also that he lays before the deity some material oblation? (Smith, 1996:43). Thus, sacrifices created a ritual framework within the community, providing the Israelites with a system of order in their society. Sacrifices often took place within the temple. The tabernacle itself was established to be a place of communion between God and Israel. Here the rituals performed to God revealed not only their guilt offerings but it also was where God revealed his will anew to Israel. The physical structure here is important. The tabernacle is the threshold by which the ?transition from normal to abnormal, this world to other? is consecrated (Leach, 1985:144). The altar was a gateway to the world of God through which offerings could be made but also the channel through which the power of God is visible to man (Lev 9:24, 10:2). Sacrifices defined Defining the sacrificial rituals is complex. Some sacrifices were part of the daily rituals and considered voluntary. Other sacrifices took on deeper meaning and were considered compulsory, or to be performed on more special occasions. Nelson breaks down sacrifices into three separate categories: status maintenance rituals, status reversal rituals, and status elevation rituals (Nelson, 1993:55). All three categories share the same common practice of transference over some type of boundary. Maintenance rituals were intended to keep the daily life of the Israelite in equilibrium and to prevent disorder from occurring within the community or households (Nelson, 1993;55). The Day of Atonement, for example, was a day of rest where the people kept Sabbath and under the provisions of the Lord were not to perform any work during that day (Lev 23). The reversal rituals were designed to restore affairs to their proper condition by reversing impurity into purity and guilt into innocence. The cleansing ritual of the Leper transferred the individual from the unclean to the clean again prior to their entrance back into society (Lev 14). ?The elaborate anointing which follows the healing served to remove the person from his status of seclusion into a position of