Hana El Sayad Mr.

Vachon Grade 10 English Honors May 27, 2013 Meaningful Suffering

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Everything without a purpose is useless. It is agreed that there is a reason for every downfall and every success, but when times really start to get rough that belief starts to fade away. King Lear is a play that illustrates characters, who at different points of their life, were burdened with heavy suffering. Because of their suffering, some characters gained strength to fulfill their purpose, realized hidden truths or let themselves get crushed under their pain. In one his most thoughtful plays, Shakespeare is saying that while suffering is part of the natural order of life, how each person endures it and gets meaning out of their suffering is what differentiates individuals. Most sufferings begin when a person starts to lose his track or put his hope and faith behind, but what if a persons suffering began since he was born? This is exactly how Edmund was brought up. Edgar the legitimate. Edmund the bastard. His life was spent in isolation from his father and older brother so that he would not be a humiliation to the rest of the well- deserving family. By law, it was known that Edmund did not have any chance to be granted with land or power even after the death of Gloucester. Still, Edmund sought to bear his sufferings until he would be treated as a person who is worthy of land and power. Although he was degraded to such level, his confidence was not damaged. Edmund focused on being seen as an equal, if not a superior to the rest of society. At that point he was the only one who believed that he possesses all the qualities of his brother. A bastard son could top a legitimate brother. Edmund was labeled as a bastard and expected to act as a person with such manners, but after struggling to escape his pain he was slowly turning into a truly corrupt individual. Edmunds desperation to end his suffering is seen when he neglects the gods, who his father believes in and follows nature instead. This seems like a road Edmund would choose to put his trust in so that he is not bound by any rules. His willpower to acquire his rights comes from the awareness that he does not have to bound himself within the walls that society has trapped him in even as he exclaims, Why brand they us With base, with baseness, bastardy, base, base (King Lear. Act one. Scene two). He begins his quest by eliminating the people closest to him, making them think that he is working for their best interest. The way to do that is fear. Edmund easily deceives Gloucester into believing that his legitimate son is after his death in order to gain his fathers wealth. This idea horrifies the old man and when Edgar is tricked into running

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away, feeling threatened that the dukes are after him; Gloucester quickly listens to Edmund and exclaims a death warrant for Edgar. At no point is Edmund guilty or regretful towards his actions, he is only eager to continue fighting for himself. His next target is Albany. Again, Edmund proves his loyalty to the duke over his father by telling Albany that Gloucester is planning on helping Lear. Edmund uses this to his advantage because he knows that Albany has ordered to take all of Gloucesters possessions when he had been on Lears side. Edmund shows no sympathy towards the command of plucking Gloucesters eyes; he is only focusing on taking his place. It was only a matter of time that Edmund started to plot against Albany himself and feels indifferent towards both Goneril and Regan. Edmund never felt loved before and is never able to show this kind of affection towards someone. His own father claimed to love both sons equally but at the same time mentions that he has had a hard time acknowledging the fact that he owns a bastard son. Gloucester even recalls the pleasure of making Edmund and still remembers the beauty of his mistress while expecting Edmund not to be humiliated and damaged by the fact that this is the way his father speaks of him among others. Now Edmund has gained the title of The Earl of Gloucester when both his father and Edgar are still alive. This is a symbol of Edmunds power rising and the rest of his familys suffering beginning because of his actions. Edmund truly breaks away from the worthless person he used to be when he becomes an equal to Albany, fighting beside him to successfully defeat France. Another side of Edmund suddenly appears when he experiences the suffering and sour pain of death after a time of superiority. He gives an order to save Cordelia and her father just minutes before they were supposed to be killed. This change in nature came with a realization that while trying to overcome his suffering and achieve his desires his sense of empathy and morality had dissolved. Edmund has transformed himself into a cruel person through his actions, yet he was the only character able to achieve his purpose in life; all he ever wanted to be was a wealthy, land-owning man, and that is what he got. From the start he had never been treated with respect, which makes the prediction that he will never grant it back to anyone quite obvious. Because of his suffering, Edmund found in him a person who achieved more than his fate offered him. Without being the bastard son he would have still remained the youngest, least deserving son. The root of Lears suffering is the confusion of where his problems are coming from. He does not understand himself or the people around him but continues to make unreasonable decisions. His insular mind could not grasp the thought that his favorite daughter, Cordelia had refused to praise him, while trusting that his other two daughters were true to him. From that point onwards, Lear was only taking every step towards his enlightened death. Before his true sufferings began, Kent tried to repeatedly alert Lear of the loss of his throne, which in Lears mind was still under his control. The Fool

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constantly gave him advice which Lear took no notice of and claimed that it was nothing. The only way for Lears fog of confusion to rise is to pass through the storm. One of the biggest hits Lear felt was betrayal. As he turned to Cornwall and Regans house for comfort after being pushed away from Gonerils house, both of them refused to talk with him. It was only after he insisted that he would talk with Cornwall that they came to greet him. This meeting did not grant Lear the consolation that he was willing to find at his daughters home his last chance. Instead he found two insincere women, unwilling to accommodate him and both giving him demanding living conditions, which a person like Lear would find humiliating. Even with his desperate situation, Lear did not accept to be forced into living by his daughters rules that he simply rode his horses and escaped the place that he once ruled over. Patience is the key that helped Lear abide most of his suffering. He was only moving closer to his demise, yet he vowed to himself that he will not break down and cry or allow his mind to go insane. After he made this promise to himself, a storm, and for the first time, began to erupt. The continuous storm is a sign of his sorrow worsening and the fortitude he had from the start. Lears awareness begins with the truth about society and the human race in general. When Gloucester claims that he cannot see because of his recent blindness, Lear has a completely different outlook on the matter. He explains that our eye-sight does not contribute to our idea of the world, but our sense of hearing and thinking closely will make a person the best judge on all topics. Lear has already begun to understand that every single person will be vulnerable to sinning but that does not mean there will be someone to blame; in fact, no one could be blamed. After losing all his wealth and being dumped in the forest, Lear realizes the endless and evident struggle between the social classes. It is a very rare feeling among rulers, but Lear is overcome with compassion towards the poor and is assured that every person who falls under that class will always be caught in the name of justice. On the contrary, if a wealthy man has sinned, then he will have no trouble covering it with gold. It has always been that simple but seeing the world through a rich kings eyes will never expose such truths. Lear no longer holds the power to adjust the kingdoms society but is troubled with guilt, for he can only blame himself for allowing his people to live in the exact way that he is suffering. Lears first encounter with Edgar in the forest was when he was disguised as poor Tom; his condition was so terrible that he claimed that Edgar would be better off dead. His hair is filthy, his cloth stained and his body wretched. Suddenly, Lear notices that all human beings are only animals. People are constantly trying to develop and evolve, but no matter how much they advance, in the end, humans are powerless and weak. Lears comment on Edgars clothing is just like comparing himself with his crown. The crown gives him this image of authority and wealth, but as soon as it slipped, Lear becomes an old, foolish man.

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Day after day, Lear has lived with no idea when his suffering will end. He comes to a conclusion that life only gets harder. The pleasing thing about that thought is that soon the trifling issues will no longer be painful, but that is only because of the greater burden a person will be forced to hold. He even brings up the thought that every single person cries at the time of his birth, proving that our suffering begins from the start of our life as we continue to endure it. Unlike many characters in this play and others that Shakespeare has written, Lear is the only one who had a spark of hope during the toughest times. After France got defeated in the war between the two kingdoms, Lear and Cordelia were captured as hostages. The idea of being imprisoned, especially after being a king, should be devastating. However, Lear invites Cordelia to come to prison and promises that they will have a marvelous time together as a father and his beloved daughter re-unite after a long while. He compares their situation with two birds singing in a cage where they will laugh and pray until they die together. With these tender words Lear shows his hope for sharing a happy ending with Cordelia even after all his suffering. What he did not know was that his greatest anguish was about to begin when he enters the British camp with the dead body of Cordelia carried in his fragile arms. Just then had Lear reached the nadir of his life as he learns the most painful truth; Cordelia was his only hope. His mind begins to grasp the idea that the truth is not what is said, but what is felt. Feelings might not always be expressed but they will always be honest. It is tragic that Lear became to understand the true, unspoken love of Cordelia after she was killed. It is worse that the least deserving daughters, Regan and Goneril used the care that Lear gave them against him. Before he dies he understands that maybe true love is never visible till it is too late. He also acknowledges the reality of his state as he finally confesses, I am a very foolish fond old man (King Lear. Act four. Scene seven). He would have continued to trust the unworthy, give up the loyal and misjudge the weak. Because of Lears initial stubbornness, it was too late to fix anything after he came to understand every aspect of his life. Gloucester holds the highest rank in society succeeding the king, of course. He has always known that his legitimate son, Edgar would be his heir. His other son, Edmund would not inherit any land or power because he is not only the youngest, but also the bastard. In his efforts to change the situation, Gloucester becomes Edmunds first victim for suffering. When Gloucester reads the letter that was supposed to be written by his favorite son, Edgar, Gloucester is left in disbelief and overall shock. He learns that Edgar is supposedly planning his death in order to enjoy his fortunes in his youthful years. A son killing his father is the most painful thing to hear. Without questioning either of his sons any further, Gloucester goes on living with a broken heart thinking that he has lost his most valuable son. He even warns anyone from trying to help Edgar and orders his instant death, if found. All this seems unreasonable and confusing, but all Gloucester

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could do is blame his sudden troubles on nature, instead of thinking through it and taking responsibility for himself. Gloucester experiences the most pain, yet the more he suffered the more he lost himself to the suffering. His most agonizing moment is when he is told about Edmunds betrayal while Cornwall was plucking both his eyes out. He is then left to wander his was way to France with bloody sockets and a simple, old man to guide him. Gloucester is in total darkness with no glimpse of hope to help him overcome the anguish. While losing both his eyes is a tremendous loss, Gloucester cannot find their use since he has already lost everything else. His speech becomes very simple as he mourns over his sorrowful life in attempt that the gods will take his soul before he has to do it himself. Gloucester asks to be lead to a cliff showing that he is even unable and too weak to do such a thing on his own. He steps off the cliff thinking that he will die, but Edgar has only improvised everything so that he would not lose his father. Gloucester is met with Edgar again, thinking that he is another man, who tells him that it was a devil leading him to his death. Now that Gloucester is sure that the gods are back on his side, he begins to tell himself that he will endure the pain until it all wears out. Knowing the state that Gloucester is in it is hard to believe that he will suddenly feel motivated to keeping going just after attempting suicide. His frail and discouraged nature is back as soon as Oswald threatens to kill him for being disloyal to the dukes. Gloucester takes the punishment as an offer to escape his unwanted and hopeless life and wishes Oswald to have the strength to put his words into action. Again, Edgar defends his feeble father so that he does not die before his time. All characters in the play are scared to lose their sanity except Gloucester, who sees relief in living in hallucinations. He argues that it would be better not to be aware of all the things that are happening around him and that way, his sorrows will be forgotten. The last thing we hear from Gloucester is A man may rot even here (King Lear. Act five. Scene 2), as Edgar leaves him to go find news about the war. Edgar later explains that as he confessed to Gloucester about his journey, he was overcome with mixed emotions of sadness and happiness that he could not take his breath any longer. Gloucesters life followed a circular path that is driven by his suffering rather than the will to learn from it. HIs suffering began when he was tricked into thinking that Edmund is the good son and Edgar has become the evil one. By the end of his suffering he is brought back to believing that Edgar has always been the better son. Gloucester is merely the same person he was before his suffering because he did not gain any new realizations. He did not try to understand his suffering; instead, he tried to commit suicide and when that did not work, he was only left waiting to die. Life is only a useless routine if a person does not continue to learn about themselves or fulfill their goal. People tend to take whatever life hands them and just learn to accept it;

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thats the first step but not all a person should do. From there, each person has to find their own meaning towards anything life offers. Edmund, the most dishonored character in society, took his low-life condition and turned into a life equally as powerful as the dukes. His father, on the contrary lived aimlessly as soon as his comfortable life began to darken. King Lear, who was put through similar suffering as Gloucester, gained self realization as well as the truths behind his family. Within the suffering there will always be meaning, it just depends on where the person is looking.