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Privilege In King Lear

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Privilege In King Lear
In King Lear’s speech he describes what privilege really is, stating that the lower in social and economic class one is, the less they can hide their sins, but the higher in social class one is, the more they can get away with things because wealth has a way of helping people cover up. “Plate sin in gold, And in rags, a pigmy's straw does pierce it.” He claims that the rich are untouchable because of all the privileges that come along with being rich, but the poor are not untouchable because they can’t mask what they have done with expensive clothes and an expensive education. I agree with what King Lear has to say because of my own life experiences with this unjust system, but I would also have to broaden this to say,”Those with privilege and those without.” An example of this would be from the book “Purple Hibiscus” where the antagonist Papa Eugene puts of the facade of being the “ father” and the “the perfect Christian” but in reality he was manipulative and …show more content…
First, Hamlet’s father aka. Uncle demonstrates the theme; on the outside to the people he looks like a king who cares about the country and his people, but in reality he is a man who committed fratricide in order to assume power and be able to marry his brother's wife. On the other hand, Hamlet, puts on the facade of being a crazy and depressed man, but in reality he is a cunning and smart person who devised a plan to find out the truth about his father's death through a play. This relates back to “Plate sin in gold…” because no one would suspect him of murder because the king is “honorable” and rich to behave in such a depraved manner. Per contra for Hamlet, the quote “Through tatter’d clothes small vices do appear.” applies to him better because those around him perceived him as a weak young boy who’s mourning the loss of his father, they think he’s crazy and depressed but he’s actually just playing the

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