Similarities Between King Lear And A Thousand Acres

King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare that illustrates his journey as a tragic hero seeking redemption for his mistakes as a father to his daughters and as a king to society. The contemporary film, A Thousand Acers directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, revisits the classic tragedy of Shakespeare through a modern-day approach. Similar to Lear’s resigning of power to his three daughters, Goneril, Regan, and Cordilea; Larry Cook divides his land and power to his three daughter, Ginny, Rose, and Caroline. The parallelism of both story lines shares many similarities and differences. Both story lines are able to develop themes such as compassion, reconciliation, and appearance versus reality; but still differentiate in some aspects of those themes. In both literature works, King Lear and A Thousand Acres, illustrate the diverse characterization of parallel characters through, Lear and Larry, and Cordilea and Caroline.
Lear and Larry different characterization not only shows the difference personality in both character but as well as the results in different

illustration of themes such as compassion and reconciliation. In the play King Lear, Lear is seen as a very egotistical, blind and foolish man that puts him in downgrading situations. However, Lear matures and learns self-effacement throughout his journey of redemption in the course of the play. Lear’ humility is seen when he asks The Fool, “Come on, my boy. How dost, my boy? Art Cold?” (Shakespeare, III, ii, 66). When Lear asks The Fool about his wellbeing it shows an ironic yet strong change in his egotistical character. Moreover, we again see the change in Lear’s character when his daughters, Goneril and Regan, put him out in the storm. Lear then begins to reflect upon the poor and the homeless for he too now is dispossessed with no protection but only The Fool as a companion:
“Poor naked wretches, whereso’er you are.
That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm.
How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides…
Oh, I have ta’e. Too little care of this!”(Shakespeare lll, IV, 28-30).
Conspicuously, Lear’s change in his arrogant and egotistical nature is evidentially replaced by compassion and humility, by showing concern for others. In addition, the reconciliation of Lear and his daughter, Cordilea, is established upon the theme of compassion. At the end of the play, the audience witnesses Cordilea’s forgiveness to Lear by saying “No cause, no cause” (Shakespeare IV, VII, 73) in respond to his admission that she hates him. Evidently, as the audience we are able to analyze Lear’s character change through compassion which allows him the ability to reconcile in time of misfortune.
Furthermore, the character of Larry Cook, from A Thousand Acres, differentiates from Lear’s compassion and reconciliation by not changing or humbling himself through the course of the film. If anything, Larry Cook remains audacious and arrogant, rejecting redemption of incest and mistreatment to his daughters, Ginny and Rose. Moorhouse highlights the compassion for Ginny and Rose, when the audience comes to realize their sexual abuse as children by their own father. Rose tells Ginny: “Daddy's always had rages. You don't remember how he used to come after us, do you... I don't mean when we got strapped or whipped. I mean when he went into your room at night… He was having sex with you”. (Moorhouse) Because Larry lacks remorse and compassion, it leaves him with no true reconciliation or redemption with his children. He then turns into a madman, and fails to recognize Caroline when they are at court. Even though Larry is capable of physically seeing his daughter, he proclaims, “She’s dead!”… Caroline! Caroline’s dead! I think those sisters stole the body and buried her already” (Moorhouse). At the end of the film the audience observes Larry’s non-changing arrogant character falling apart along with no signs of any reconciliation and redemption for him and his daughters. Therefore, the theme of compassion and reconciliation is illustrated in both storylines, but through distinction of Larry’s character to Lear, who both experience different outcomes.
Additionally, the characters, Cordilea from King Lear and Caroline from A Thousand Acres, both depict the theme of appearance versus reality.

The theme of appearance versus reality in King Lear is a theme that reoccurs throughout the play. In the beginning of the play, Lear falsely believes in the proclaimed love that Goneril and Regan have for their father. Lear’s egotistical character brings the false flattery as truth and blinds him from the ability to distinguish the actual truth. Ironically, Lear banishes Cordilea for speaking the truth about her honest appeal to Lear’s love. Even though Cordilea does in fact truly loves her father, she refuses to flatter him unlike Goneril and Regan by saying: “I love your majesty according to my bond, no more nor less” (Shakespeare I, I, 91-92). Again, because of Lear’s egotistical blindness, he lacks the ability to distinguish between appearance and

reality.
However, in A Thousand Acres, there is difficulty to Caroline’s character when dealing with the idea of appearance versus reality. In the film Caroline is seen as the ‘picture perfect’ daughter of the three daughters. Like Cordilea, she did not take any part of the power or wealth when she questioned the division of the farm; however, unlike Cordilea, Caroline, is not the ‘picture perfect’ daughter she portrays to be nor does she uphold pure love for her father. The only reason she is capable of loving her father, Larry, freely is because she is protected from his dark side of abuse. Although the county sees Larry as a successful farmer and a well-respected man, he is actually an erroneous person who has sexually abused and mentally abused his two eldest daughters Ginny and Rose. Caroline on the other hand is pleasurably ignorant of her father’s wrongs and poor judgment about Ginny and Rose when Ginny says to Caroline, “We did everything for you! We saved you from daddy” (Moorhouse); Caroline then responds with, “Did I really have to be saved from Daddy? From my own father?” (Moorhouse). Caroline criticizes Ginny and says, “I realize that some people are just evil.” (Moorhouse). Clearly, Ginny and Rose continue to keep up the appearance that everything is all right to protect Caroline from the reality of their father’s ill repute doings. The development of the theme appearance versus reality is seen through Caroline’s character and highlights the importance of the role of appearance in the film. In both narratives, the theme of appearance versus reality is seen throughout the action of both daughters Cordilea and Caroline.
In Conclusion, the parallelism between characters in King Lear and A Thousand Acres, allows the development of themes such as compassion and reconciliation and appearance versus reality. The similarities and differences in both narratives found in King Lear and A Thousand Acres serves as reminder that time passes by, but the relationships that we have with one another will never change unless we push to change and fix our wrong doings as people