Justice plays an important role in human life. It’s what our court systems are build upon and laws made from. It’s even recorded in the bible where God is the most just being in the entire universe. In Act 1 of the play King Lear, it often feels like humans can’t achieve justice at all. Majority of the decisions being made seem to be unjust. This leads readers to wonder, without the help from God, then does true justice really exist within humanity by itself and if it does, how does mankind achieve it? Throughout the world of King Lear, the excessive cruelty the characters posses towards one another makes justice appear to be nonexistent. This then leads to the question, is it really possible for justice is thrive within mankind? In the instance …show more content…
Justice however can’t exist if man’s morals are blinded by self interest which is mainly exemplified in the play King Lear. King Lear’s main focus of only believing what he himself wanting to hear is what caused his blindness to moral righteousness which lead to him valuing Goneril and Regan’s false loving words over Cordelia’s true loving actions. Since King Lear was mainly focused on his self interest of satisfaction, he missed what was truly important which is that Cordelia’s loving actions are what speak louder than Goneril and Regan's false loving words. This leads him to unfairly disown Cordelia and glorify Goneril and Regan. It goes to show that when morality is being blinded for whatever reason which in this case was self interest, justice cannot thrive. However justice does appear to get serve in Cordelia’s favor later on once there was nothing that blinded King Lear from the truth that Goneril doesn’t truly love him. His wrong decision makings eventually turned to bite back at him. Justice however was only served when King Lear wasn’t blind in any way to his moral values which is an important aspect for justice to actually be served. In order to achieve proper justice, man must put their morals first over anything
Through Lear, Shakespeare expertly portrays the inevitability of human suffering. The “little nothings,” seemingly insignificant choices that Lear makes over the course of the play, inevitably evolve into unstoppable forces that change Lear’s life for the worse. He falls for Goneril’s and Regan’s flattery and his pride turns him away from Cordelia’s unembellished affection. He is constantly advised by Kent and the Fool to avoid such choices, but his stubborn hubris prevents him from seeing the wisdom hidden in the Fool’s words: “Prithee, tell him, so much the rent of his land comes to: he will not believe a fool” (Shakespeare 21). This leads to Lear’s eventual “unburdening,” as foreshadowed in Act I. This unburdening is exacerbated by his failure to recognize and learn from his initial mistakes until it is too late. Lear’s lack of recognition is, in part, explained by his belief in a predestined life controlled completely by the gods: “It is the stars, the stars above us govern our conditions” (Shakespeare 101). The elder characters in King Lear pin their various sufferings on the will of...
It is important to acknowledge that Justice protects our possession and our rights as humans. Without justice, it would be more likely for destruction to occur than that of benevolence in a society. Glaucon and Hume philosophy of justice aligns with each other, in the sense that justice is a contract created to prevent people from killing each other. I agree that the sole purpose of justice is its utility to the public. Although, I cannot help thinking what would happen if I possessed the power to be unjust without ever suffering consequences.
The theme of dishonesty is demonstrated from the start of ‘King Lear’ during the ‘love trial’ when Cordelia dislikes her sister’s “ponderous” words which suggest how dishonest both Goneril and Regan really are. The adjective “ponderous” determines that her love for Lear cannot be measured with words. Cordelia refuses to take part in the contest and Lear comments by saying: “so young and so untender”. The word “untender” suggests that Lear hopes for something that makes him feel valued as a king and father, however this works against him as ultimately both his other daughters better themselves by flattering themselves into trying to get the Kingdom. Arguably in this instance, flattery is a form of dishonesty and although Lear asks for it, their words begin the downward spiral of the tragedy....
Justice is a very important ruling power for both gods and mortals. For instance, in Sophocles' tragedy, Antigone, justice prevails over king Creon's actions. He sentences his own niece to death for giving her deceased brother, a pronounced enemy of Thebes, a proper burial. In return for his rigid ruling he loses his wife and son to tragic deaths. Creon puts his own city?s justice before the determined justice of the gods, and pays dearly for it. Antigone also receives justice for her actions even though she dies. She did go against the law of her mortal king, but did obey the law of the gods, and therefore died a hero and martyr. The laws of the gods gives dishonor to those who do not properly respect their family members. In order to keep her honor and self-respect, Antigone had to break her city?s law, even if it meant death.
Humans, like all creatures on the earth, have the privilege of the freedom of choice. There are two broad ranges of factors that affect the decisions a person makes. The first factor that affects decision making is internal and includes a person's character and intellect. The second factor is external such as environment and interaction with other people. Naturally, each decision a person makes results in a repercussion of some degree, usually either helpful or hindering, and rarely inconsequential. The concept of justice is based on the fact that decisions are always followed by consequences. It strictly adheres to the rewarding of good deeds and the punishment of evil. King Lear, a play by William Shakespeare, is a grave tragedy that is a prime example of the Elizabethan conception of justice. Lear's kingdom turns to chaos because of a break in the "Great Chain of Being" and restores to order when justice prevails. Its tragic labelling stems from the prevalence of death the just punishment for many of its characters. The deaths of Lear, Goneril, and Edmund are prime examples of justice prevailing for evil, and in Lear's case unnatural, acts.
It is noteworthy that none of the truly evil characters in the drama have yet taken a conscious initiative. Up to this point everything centers around the interaction of Lear, Cordelia and Kent and all the terrible sufferings which follow have their source in this encounter. To rightly comprehend King Lear, we must see the true significance of the court and the direct relationship between it and the tragedy that follows. We must discover the source of the great intensity and direction which finds expression in the action of the drama, and carries it to its inexorable conclusion.
It might be useful to view nature as `the natural order of the world' (and, perhaps, the universe). When one goes against the natural order, chaos will follow. Shakespeare has made this point clear in "Troilus and Cressida" where Ulysses predicts that once "the specialty of rule hath been neglected disaster will follow, for take but degree away, untune that string, and hark what discord follows" (I.iii). But what are the natural orders that were upset in King Lear? First, and foremost, King Lear divided his kingdom and stepped down from the throne. A king of divine right is king until he dies; by disinheriting the throne and relinquishing it in parcels to daughters, Lear upset the natural order of his kingdom. According to essayist Sarah Doncaster, "It was impossible for Lear to stop being a king, because that was his rightful position by divine ordination..." (Doncaster, p.3).
Last but not least, injustice does not provide the most good for the most number of people. Just acts spawn other just acts just like unjust acts spawn other unjust acts. If everyone behaved unjustly, mankind would return to a state of nature (everyone is for themselves) which would be very unprofitable for the unjust individual due to a decreased likelihood of survival. An action is clearly unprofitable for the unjust individual if it would eventually create a hostile environment for him. Hence, one should set an example for others by living a just life which would create a better environment for him as well as for others.
The reader can actually foresee the breakdown of King Lear and his loss of control and order. Lear foolishly becomes angry at his youngest and favorite daughter because she refuses to phrase her love and affections. Lear then banishes Cordelia. This foolish act causes Lear to become vulnerable to his other two evil daughters as they conspire against him. After later realizing his mistake and how little Goneril and Regan care about him, he begins to go mad. Yet right from the start I had to question if he wasn't mad already. What king would just retire and divide up a powerful and sturdy kingdom? A Kingdom is run best under one ruler because only one decision is made without any contradiction. Dividing up a Kingdom politically has many disadvantages that Lear doesn't seem to realize. A Kingdom divided means there will be more than one ruler and a difference of opinion will occur. There will always be disagreements and arguments which may end in haste, creating tension between the rulers, especially if they are related and are envious of each others power and are fighting over the same love interest. Although Lear may feel he had a good reason to divide his land there really is no rational reason for his action. He only divided his land so he could be showered with loving words from his daughters. His desire to fuel his ego by abdicating his throne for reward eventually causes him to lose everything, including his family and even his sanity.
Our conclusion can go two ways. Lear deserved what happened to him, and Lear didn’t deserve what happened to him, it’s how you view life which the answer is. I can say that the suffering does point out that there is justice in suffering, it proves that being evil is useless and only by being good to others one can have a positive life and true mutual respect and unconditional love and friendship.
In the beginning, King Lear shows his need for praise is how he chooses to divide his kingdom among his daughters. The one who praises him with the most "love" shall receive the largest area of land. This is even more evident when considering that Lear already has divided up the kingdom before the praising even begins, as he gives each daughter her land before hearing the next daughter's praise. Thus the entire arbitration is just a show and an ego boost to himself. It is because of his love for praise that makes him react so strongly to Cordelia when she chooses not to join in the act with her sisters. King Lear is much like a child and tends to have huge fits when things do not go the way he planned. This is shown in his banishment of Cordelia and Kent. Kent is probably one of the most loyal towards Lear besides Gloucester, and it is Cordelia that truly does love Lear. But because they choose not to contribute to this hypocritical "show of love", they are banished. He even threatens to kill Kent if he is found in ten days. Lear says,
It is said that no other playwright illustrates the human condition like William Shakespeare. Furthermore, it is said that no other play illustrates the human condition like King Lear. The story of a bad king who becomes a good man is truly one of the deepest analyses of humanity in literary history; and it can be best seen through the evolution of Lear himself. In essence, King Lear goes through hell in order to compensate for his sins.
In the period that King Lear was written, the concept of Divine Justice was a source of heated political debate. Blurred lines existed between church and government and political and religious power. Religious based laws were prominent in the government system. The intertwining of government and religion caused society to question who, or what truly held power. (Heinemann, 2008) The concept of Divine Justice suggested that a greater being held the master plan and determines a person’s fate based on an analysis of their life actions. If Divine Justice was the true power logic would suggest that evil characters would receive all punishments or deaths. However, King Lear dispelled that thought showing that the good characters are often punished and killed alongside their evil
The first flaw in King Lear is his arrogance, which results in the loss of Cordelia and Kent. It is his arrogance in the first scene of the play that causes him to make bad decisions. He expects his favorite, youngest daughter to be the most worthy of his love. His pride makes him expect that Cordelia’s speech to be the one filled with the most love. Unfortunately for King Lear’s pride, Cordelia replies to his inquisition by saying, “I love your majesty/According to my bond and nothing less';(1.1.100-101). Out of pride and anger, Lear banishes Cordelia and splits the kingdom in half to the two evil sisters, Goneril and Regan. This tragic flaw prevents King Lear from seeing the truth because his arrogance overrides his judgement. Lear’s arrogance also causes him to lose his most faithful servan...
In general terms, justice is understood as the instilment in self of doing what is just, to act justly and wish for justice. In more restricted terms, it means being fair. However in Aristotle’s virtue ethics, justice is considered as the midpoint that is the “golden mean”. Just as is important for the character to possess the right amount of courage, temperance, patience, wit, goodwill to qualify for being virtuous is justice important for the character. Aristotle’s viewpoint is largely deontological in which ethics is virtue