king lear essay

Final essay King Lear and DOAS The theme appearance vs. reality is explored in great detail in both and . Focusing too much on the appearance usually makes one blind to the truth and reality. Neither Lear nor Willy is able to differentiate between appearance and reality and they suffer from it, they both have skewed vision on reality and they apply it as pressure to people around them, and their tragic flaw caused both of them death as a result. Lear’s arrogance and ignorance makes him see only the appearance but not the insides of people. Lear is satisfied by Goneril and Regan’s words of love because it fulfills his pride, and as a result he gives out his land to the two. However, he does not approve Cordelia’s way of expressing her love, as Cordelia refuses to say the flattery words her sisters say. To Lear, he cannot see Cordelia’s heart and judge her correctly because of his blindness. Despite the way they choose to express their love, Goneril and Regan do not love Lear and is only interested in his inheritance, whereas Cordelia truly loves him and cares about him. Unfortunately in the end Lear banishes Cordelia and heavily rewards Goneril and Regan, this tragic flaw leads Lear towards his downfall. Similar to Lear, Willy is also unable to see reality as how it really is. His false values on success makes him blind to the true key of success. He believes that physical appearance is the only factor to judge a salesman but in reality it is knowledge and hard-work, as a result of this Willy isn’t really successful. Because of his stubbornness and ignorance, it is hard for Willy to accept the truth that his values are wrong, so he keeps on telling lies and over-exaggerating his accomplishments. He also refuses to take neither Charley’s advice nor his job, which further reinforces his obsession. Willy is lost between reality and the appearance and he suffers from the confusion.