Timothy Findley and Shakespeare use the theme of appearance versus reality in their texts: The Wars and King Lear. Characters in the novel and the play: Robert, Goneril, and Regan, intentionally appear to be something they are not in order to achieve a goal. However, they differ in where it leads them by the end, as in King Lear the characters die, unlike in The Wars where Robert cannot escape his true self and goes back to follow his personal morality.
The appearance of a character is not always a good reflection of one’s true personality. In The Wars, Robert attempts to change how he appears to people; he tries to become what he believes a soldier should be. When Robert kills the horse on the ship, he is traumatized; he “began to squeeze the trigger and he squeezed again and again and again” (Findley 68) which indicates he is going insane, having to do an act he did not want to commit in the first place. Robert tries to act like nothing from the shooting has affected him; he exceeds his emotions and acts exactly like an officer by saying “if this damn ship would sell us one I’d buy us both a drink” (Findley 69), by changing the subject, Robert indicates that he is not affected nor cares about the killing of the horse, even though internally, he is. Likewise in King Lear, Goneril and Regan both intentionally appear to be something they are not. When Lear
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divides his kingdom, he asks his daughters how much they love him and both compete to give him the message that “[they] love [him] more than word can wield the matter” (I.i.54). At this point in the play Lear believes the love his two daughters have for him, but later on this is exposed as a manipulation of their father in order to gain power. In the scene where Goneril is conversing with Oswald, she orders him to lie when Lear comes and say that she is sleeping. Goneril expresses her anger by ignoring her father and denying to see him, she says “Old fools are babes again” (I.iii.20) indicating that she thinks he is an old fool and should be trained like a baby for his foolishness. This disclosure of the daughters is paradoxical with what happened earlier in the act as the audience sees the change. This is similar to Robert as his attempt of changing his personality is paradoxical to his strong emotional attachment towards nature and wildlife. Finally, characters from both texts try to appear something they are not. As mentioned, Robert tries to appear like what a soldier should be, and similarly Goneril and Regan try to appear like loving daughters towards Lear. Appearance does not last long in the characters as they are always drawn back to their true self, which in the texts differ with their endings. In The Wars, Robert is unable to maintain the mask of what a soldier should be and ends up following his emotions and being the person he really is. Robert then always put animals before humans; they were his priority to save during the war. To save the horses, “[Robert] kept running for the gates. He could hear the men who were trapped inside the ruin screaming to be let out” (Findley 203). Robert reveals his compassion towards the horses which is the complete opposite of what he was trying to be on the ship when he hides his empathy towards the horse he shoots. By the end of the novel, Robert saves the horses and “[is] riding along the tracks behind a hundred and thirty horses with the dog trotting beside him” (Findley 209). This ending reveals Roberts true self and how it is contradictory with what he was trying to be when his journey of being a soldier began. A clear difference is in King Lear as Goneril and Regan go back to their true self, but experience a downfall which is caused by their evil personalities. After the two daughters reveal their true self to Lear and to the audience, they are seen as the most powerful source in the play as they rule the kingdom. However, their selfish personalities lead them to oppose each other with hatred, as Goneril poisons Regan, and then kills herself shortly after. The Gentleman brings Albany a knife with blood, Albany asks who is dead and he says “Your lady, sir, your lady: and her sister. By her is posion’d; she confesses it” (V.iii.225-226). The two sisters’ death proves the negative ending that is caused by their evil and selfish true self. Unlike Robert’s situation where his acts of nobility are back by saving the horses which proves that it is a positive ending of the character. In both texts, the reality and the ending of these characters differ; where in The Wars, Robert follows his personal morality of being noble and saves the lives of the animals but in King Lear, Goneril and Regan die after their true, evil personalities are revealed. ¬¬¬¬¬In Conclusion, Findley and Shakespear’s texts share the theme of appearance versus reality.
They are parallel in how the characters that are mentioned earlier intentionally try to appear different to achieve something; where in The Wars, Robert wants to be like a soldier, and in King Lear, Goneril and Regan want to appear as loving daughters. However, their reality and where it leads them is what differentiates them. Where in The Wars, Robert regains his true, noble and compassionate self, but in King Lear, Goneril and Regan’s true selfish personality leads them to oppose each other and eventually
die.
Instead of a powerful physical image, like Queen Elizabeth I, Richard implements elegant soliloquies, engages in witty banter, and attunes the audience to his motives with frequent asides. This flexibility demonstrates Richard's thespian superiority and power over the rest of the play's cast, making him a unique character in the play, but why does he do it? This constant battle between characters to claim mastery over a scene leaves the audience with a seemingly overlooked source of power for an actor [clarify/expand].
In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New world and William Shakespeare's King Lear, the reader will find that both works use similar motifs that mirror each other to increase further the similarities and
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a selfish Scottish thane becomes over-ambitious and commits several murders in order to gain and stay in power. After the murders, Macbeth evades suspicion by hiding his guilt and intentions, therefore deceiving others into thinking that he is innocent. Other characters including Lady Macbeth, the witches and the Scottish thanes also use their appearances to hide the truth and deceive others. With these examples, Shakespeare shows that appearances can be deceiving.
Shakespeare's King Lear is a play which shows the consequences of one man's decisions. The audience follows the main character, Lear, as he makes decisions that disrupt order in his Kingdom. When Lear surrenders all his power and land to his daughters as a reward for their demonstration of love towards him, the breakdown on order in evident. Lear's first mistake is to divide his Kingdom into three parts. A Kingdom is run best under one ruler as only one decision is made without contradiction. Another indication that order is disrupted is the separation of Lear's family. Lear's inability to control his anger causes him to banish his youngest daughter, Cordelia, and loyal servant, Kent. This foolish act causes Lear to become vulnerable to his other two daughters as they conspire against him. Lastly, the transfer of power from Lear to his eldest and middle daughter, Goneril and Regan, reveals disorder as a result of the division of the Kingdom. A Kingdom without order is a Kingdom in chaos. When order is disrupted in King Lear, the audience witnesses chaotic events that Lear endures, eventually learning who truly loves him.
Throughout the ages, people have been deceived by appearances. Whether it is a first impression or a superficial relationship, the old adage to “not judge a book by it’s cover” is ageless. In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare captured that aspects of deceit by creating a few characters who seem to be innocent and trustworthy, but as the play proceeds, their heart’s wickedness surpasses the fake outward appearance. People should temper judgment. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s innocent appearance gives way to deceitful and evil desires.
Unquestionably, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth show how ambition mixed with greed and unchecked morales can ultimately lead to one’s downfall. Shakespeare excellently portrays this through the main characters in his play Macbeth. By using two protagonists, Shakespeare allows the reader to view two different ways the meaning of the play can have an effect on people. Undeniably, the Macbeth’s greed based off ambition is thoroughly shown throughout
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy, which contains and portrays many themes in outstanding ways. Throughout this play, the title character, Hamlet, is obsessed with trapping a culprit and bringing him to justice. (Hamlet, 15) Sorting fact from fiction and appearance from reality is a major theme of the play. Appearance vs. Reality encircles throughout the play and remains constant. It’s about those characters that play their roles behind the veil of duplicity. Within the play, everything appears to be true and accurate, but in reality it’s vice-versa. (Hamlet- Appearance vs. Reality) In this play, Appearance vs. Reality is dealt with by many characters. The way Shakespeare used this theme in Hamlet is not only interesting, but quite astonishing in the way it affects the play in general, but the ending tremendously.
How does a person’s appearance affect the way you perceive them? Appearance can hide a person’s personality and their intentions, and can often create conflict. Appearance versus reality is a common theme used in novels to create conflict and help to evolve the plot. 1984 by George Orwell and Hamlet by William Shakespeare have similarities and differences in the way appearance and reality is used. The original purpose of deceit in each novel appears different but have the same meaning. The way the theme of appearance versus reality is conveyed through different mediums such as double lives, actions, and organizations are similar. In the end, the theme of appearance and reality has different outcomes
Despite its undeniable greatness, throughout the last four centuries King Lear has left audiences, readers and critics alike emotionally exhausted and mentally unsatisfied by its conclusion. Shakespeare seems to have created a world too cruel and unmerciful to be true to life and too filled with horror and unrelieved suffering to be true to the art of tragedy. These divergent impressions arise from the fact that of all Shakespeare's works, King Lear expresses human existence in its most universal aspect and in its profoundest depths. A psychological analysis of the characters such as Bradley undertook cannot by itself resolve or place in proper perspective all the elements which contribute to these impressions because there is much here beyond the normal scope of psychology and the conscious or unconscious motivations in men.
At the beginning of the play “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, Macbeth illuminates a heroic character. Conversely, when the reader is introduced to Lady Macbeth one learns Macbeth may not be the heroic person he may seem. The way Lady Macbeth describes Macbeth it appears as if he is a coward and not as heroic as previously learned in the house. As the play proceeds, Macbeth is no longer a heroic character and Lady Macbeth is not as ruthlessness as she was at the start of the play. In the play, “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” written by William Shakespeare two of the main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, experience a role reversal.
You might think you know the objectives of a person until you see the deceitful tactics they use to get what they want. In the play written in 1623, the main character is an ambitious and powerful character who murders, and betrays anyone to get what he desires. Through the beliefs of prophecies and the manipulation of his fellow wife, he goes down a dark road of murder, betrayal and impurity in order to achieve and maintain kingship. In the other literature, the main character lives an average life in a dystopian society where his own thoughts are not even private. He goes through various secretive scenarios to achieve his goal which is to end the corrupt reign of the current political party. Both characters are well developed characters who
King Lear by Shakespeare portrayed the negative effects of power resulting in destruction caused by the children of a figure with authority. Through lies and continual hatred, characters maintained a greed for power causing destruction within their families. The daughter’s of Lear and the son Gloucester lied to inherit power for themselves. Edmund the son of Gloucester planned to eliminate his brother Edgar from his inheritance.
According to Granville Barker, one of King Lear’s production of portrays Oswald as an over dressed, and un insignificant individual. The 1950 production by the Stratford Memorial Theatre, presented Oswald in an overdone green costume. Likewise, Regan represent himself in a scarlet gown . Furthermore, Regan, Oswald, and other evil characters contrast with the Poor Tom, Kent, and Lear. Not only do these factors contribute to visual imagery, but also contrast with verbal imagery. Therefore, it shows the reader the image of beauty, hierarchy, and richness, but the image of nakedness.
King Lear is a play about a tragic hero, by the name of King Lear, whose flaws get the best of him. A tragic hero must possess three qualities. The first is they must have power, in other words, a leader. King Lear has the highest rank of any leader. He is a king. The next quality is they must have a tragic flaw, and King Lear has several of those. Finally, they must experience a downfall. Lear's realization of his mistakes is more than a downfall. It is a tragedy. Lear is a tragic hero because he has those three qualities. His flaws are his arrogance, his ignorance, and his misjudgments, each contributing to the other.