King Lear vs. The Stone Angel Essay -- essays research papers fc

It has been said that, Rivers and mountains may change human nature, never.(worldofquotes.com) This is a quote that can be deconstructed when examining William Shakespe ars King Lear and Margaret Laurences The gem Angel. When reviewing the dickens books the master(prenominal) characters, King Lear and Hagar, are easily comparable. The first similarity draws apparent when King Lear and Hagar are both developed as flawed characters. Secondly, because of their flaws the two characters become blind to reality. Thirdly, after being deceived by themselves and others as a result of their blindness, both characters seek refuge outside of their own homes. By leaving their homes the characters are able to gain aspect on themselves and their pasts. Finally, despite these similarities between King Lear and Hagar, a significant diversity prevails after the characters experience their epiphanies and are awarded a lot to redeem themselves. When exploring King Lear and The mark Angel it bec omes clear that although both main characters engage in similar journeys to self discovery a critical difference between the two books exists in the characters ability to redeem themselves after their epiphany. It first became clear that Shakespeares King Lear and Laurences Hagar Shipley were similar main characters when their personalities were developed with flaws. King Lear was immediately revealed as an imperfect character when he was shown in his somewhat conflicting roles as a father and a king. afterwards resolving to divide his kingdom amongst his three daughters Lear develops a way to decide how his power and land will be divided. Looking to his three children Lear probes, Tell me, my daughters/ (Since straightway we will divest us both of rule,/ Interest of territory, cares of state),/ Which of you shall we say doth love us most?/ That we our largest bounty may extend/ Where nature doth with merit challenge.(I.i.49-54) It is at this point in the play that King Lear revea ls himself as superficial. Knowing he had already divided his land in three Lear could have presented it to his daughters as to each one receives one third of the kingdom. However, Lear is flawed in that he is superficial and rather than hand over his land and power he would rather hear his daughters competitively praise him for it. Similarly to Lears flaw Hagar is... ... his faults and change to redeem himself Hagar was only able to recognize her own flaws.In conclusion, when comparing the main characters from King Lear and The Stone Angel it is clear that although the characters endure a similar path to self discovery their outcomes prove them to be very different. This has been shown first by their development as flawed characters. Secondly, as a result of their flaws both characters become blind to others actions as well as their own. Thirdly, both characters remove themselves form their usual milieu where they experience their epiphany and are able to recognize their own fla ws. Finally, despite all of these similarities, the two characters experience very different outcomes of their epiphanies. These two books bring an interesting perspective to the question of whether or not human nature can be altered. In the case of these two authentic characters, one changed where the other could not.Works CitedLaurence, Margaret. The Stone Angel. McClelland & Stewart Ltd Toronto, 1988.Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Harcourt Canada Ltd.World of Quotes. 19 Ma. 2005 http//www.worldofquotes.com/search.php