The Consequences of Avarice

Throughout history, the human race seems to be driven by greed and controlled by the obsession of obtaining power. In fact, greed, at times leads specific individuals in history to become power hungry; in their search for power, their greed is usually never satisfied and their journey carries them through an unfortunate trail to unhappiness, isolation, and betrayal. Leaders in history like Hitler, Napolean, Machiavelli, and Richard Nixon showed great potential to be positively influential, but their power-hungry motives motivated them to be driven by uncontrollable avarice. As a result, people often turn to a lifestyle searching for gratification and, consequently, gain nothing. In response to the aforementioned claim, King Lear and Othello written by William Shakespeare demonstrate that avarice not only engenders unhappiness, isolation, and betrayal, but can also lead to death.

In King Lear, the character, Lear, being greedy for love, asks his daughters to express their love for him, when he says, “which of you shall we say doth love us most, / that we our largest bounty may extend/ where nature doth with merit challenge?/ Goneril, our eldest born, speak first” (1.1 50-53). Initially, Goneril and Regan attempt to prove their love through a speech; however, in untainted adoration, Cordelia does not choose to express her love for her father, and although King Lear is aware that Cordelia loves him most, he chooses to give authority over to Cordelia’s sisters, Goneril and Regan.

Responsively, King Lear’s avarice blinds him from the face that his other two daughters are also filled with greed and are attempting to maneuver their way to great power; as a result, greed drives greed. Goneril and Regan know that King Lear’s avarice...

... middle of paper ...

...social position to influence whether or not he believes his wife over Iago;. Because of avarice, King Lear was abandoned by his daughters, witnessed their deaths, and suffered a fatal conclusion to his life. In Othello, mainly all the main characters lost their lives. Both King Lear and Volpone demonstrate that greed and egocentrism can, extensively, lead to betrayal, abandonment, isolation and, in many cases, death.

Works Cited

Bevington, David. The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Chicago, Illinois: Longman, 2006. Print.

Cooley, Ronald W. “Kent and Primogeniture in King Lear.” Studies in English Literature. 48.2 (2008) 327-348. Web. 20 April 2012.

Lawrence, Sean. “The Difficulty of Dying in King Lear.” English Studies in Canada. 31.4 (2005) 35-52. Web. 28 April 2012.

Philips, Adam. “Othello on Satisfaction.” Raritan. 31.1 (2011) 50-69. We. 28 April 2012.