Preview

To Kill A Mockingbird Adversity Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
700 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
To Kill A Mockingbird Adversity Analysis
Sitting back at the beach relaxing, watching the sun set! This is how easy everybody wishes their life was but the reality is… it's not that simple.
In all aspects of life there are different obstacles that we have to overcome but overcoming this adversity is different for everyone.

In the play King Lear, both Lear and Gloucester come to realise the mistakes they have made after faced with adversity.
In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, we watch Scout's adversity of transition from a perspective of childhood innocence to one of adult perspective where there is evil all around.
In the poem Home Burial, we witness the adversity brought upon by a child's death and as a result of this adversity a breakdown in marriage.

In King Lear, the parallels between Lear and Gloucester are made clear. Both have loyal and disloyal children, both are blind to the truth and both end up banishing their loyal children and making their disloyal children their heirs.
…show more content…
In Lear's case, Lear had to deal with going insane after being put out into a terrible storm by his two unfaithful daughters, Goneril and Regan. While the storm put into perspective the fact that Lear was powerless it was his own madness that made him realise the wrong he had done by his faithful daughter, Cordelia. This brought the determination to set things right and using his inner strength he comes to cherish Cordelia above everything else to the point that he would rather live with her in prison than to rule as king

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Through ‘The Tragedy of King Lear’, Shakespeare represents a distinctive voice in which influences the way we perceive the role of power play in our world as it broadens our understanding of the universality and complexity of power play. Compared with the 21st century film ‘Brassed Off’, we are presented with an insight into the various means of attaining power and its ability to uncover the true nature of people within their struggle for supremacy and control. Shakespeare presents 'The Tragedy of King Lear' as the struggle for power and the political and filial machinations that the desire for power can create. Shakespeare focuses the distinctive voice around the central character King Lear who represents a conceited oppressor whose fall from power prompts the downfall of the Kingdom that he once controlled. The main cause of his demise is his failure to understand and possess a clear vision of the people around him. In Lear's eyes, he sees his eldest daughter Goneril’s facade to be a loyal and true expression, 'Sir I love you more than word can wield the matter/Dearer than eyesight, space and liberty', although Lear's inability to see the truth results in his manipulation and the banishing of his loyal acquaintances; his youngest daughter Cordelia and his dear friend Kent. Although Lear can physically see, it is the understanding, awareness and direction that he lacks and is blind to. In contrast to Lear being physically capable of seeing, Gloucester becomes physically blind but gains the form of vision that Lear lacks, and consequently Gloucester evades a corollary comparable to Lear's. Here Shakespeare presents his distinctive voice on power play through the depiction of the manipulation and motivation behind the characters struggle for sovereignty. His clever use of his characters and their relationships allows us to gain an insight into the condition of the human psyche throughout their individual attempts at power and highlights the complexities associated…

    • 1100 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ageism in king Lear

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gloucester observes disastrous events occurring in the play, most notably the ones occurring in the kingdom. He notes that love can never last, friendships eventually break up, and brothers become enemies which eventually leads to chaotic behavior. Ultimately, these malicious acts break out into devastating events such as civil wars, the bond breaking between father and son, and lastly the betrayal of King Lear and his noble power. In addition to all of these spiteful acts, it is evident that ageism is also portrayed in the play about the King himself, especially at the end of scene one. The first sign of how ageism begins in the first act is King Lear’s debatable decision to divide up the kingdom between his three daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. Eventually, Lear’s unwise decision causes chaos and havoc throughout the family, leading to multiple conflicts such as the banishment of Cordelia and the insulting comments about Lear’s old age and judgement.…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    He has condemned his one true daughter in a fit of rage. When his daughter Cordelia does not give King the answer he expects, he quickly abandons his role as a flattery seeking father, and flies into a violent rage. His overreaction to Cordelia’s honesty initiates a series of events that strips him off everything that once made him feel important. He is not willing to tolerate anyone who disagrees with his vision of himself as all- important and powerful. This might cause him to loose everything and suffer more. King Lear has become unreasonable and egomaniacal. He has started feeling that the entire world revolves around him and that only his feelings are important. He cruelly banishes Cordelia and Kent for speaking the truth. He is putting one rash, arrogant, stupid act upon another and thus he has alienated everyone who might have supported him. He has made himself vulnerable to the treachery of his scheming daughter; Goneril and Regan” We must do something, and I’ th heat”(I I…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    King Lear Slideshow

    • 417 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This realization causes King lear to reconsider his values and understand himself, and helps him want to tackle the Conclusion of King Lear Order and Chaos is seen throughout King Lear, and one of the more common elements is loyalty and betrayal. Between both sons and daughter towards their parents. Which is something that can be applied in reality that is also seen between parents and children. Now it is just a matter of which…

    • 417 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare's King Lear is a play which shows the consequences of one man's decisions. The audience follows the main character, Lear, as he makes decisions that disrupt order in his Kingdom. When Lear surrenders all his power and land to his daughters as a reward for their demonstration of love towards him, the breakdown on order in evident. Lear's first mistake is to divide his Kingdom into three parts. A Kingdom is run best under one ruler as only one decision is made without contradiction. Another indication that order is disrupted is the separation of Lear's family. Lear's inability to control his anger causes him to banish his youngest daughter, Cordelia, and loyal servant, Kent. This foolish act causes Lear to become vulnerable to his other two daughters as they conspire against him. Lastly, the transfer of power from Lear to his eldest and middle daughter, Goneril and Regan, reveals disorder as a result of the division of the Kingdom. A Kingdom without order is a Kingdom in chaos. When order is disrupted in King Lear, the audience witnesses chaotic events that Lear endures, eventually learning who truly loves him.…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Falstaff and King Lear

    • 1295 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear is a detailed description of the consequences of one man's decisions. This fictitious man is Lear, King of England, who's decisions greatly alter his life and the lives of those around him. As Lear bears the status of King he is, as one expects, a man of great power but sinfully he surrenders all of this power to his daughters as a reward for their demonstration of love towards him. (Cain) This untimely abdication of his throne results in a chain reaction of events that send him through a journey of hell. King Lear is a metaphorical description of one man's journey through hell in order to expiate his sin. As the play opens one can almost immediately see that Lear begins to make mistakes that will eventually result in his downfall. (Neher)…

    • 1295 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    found; A love that makes breath poor, and speech unable; Beyond all manner of so…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play, we see King Lear going through a journey of self-knowledge. The play starts with King Lear who seems to be obsessed with honour. He divides his country, giving the one who honours him the most the biggest part. But the treachery of his daughters, Goneril and Regan, and the loss of the daughter who truly loved him, Cordelia, will make him see clear again. This will make Lear see himself and the world as they truly are. First I 'll show how Lear lacks self-knowledge at the start of the play. Then I 'll shortly discuss what political effects the lack of self-knowledge has on the country. Third I 'll show what causes Lear to regain his self-knowledge.…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Shakespeare’s King Lear, emotional sight is not dependent on physical sight, for many characters are blinded by their own egos and ambitions to see the actual truth. Shakespeare even goes as far as inserting a literal metaphor for sight by making Gloucester finally realize the truth, only when his physical vision is removed. Although this example is most obvious, the theme reoccurs throughout the play. It is not until Lear’s prestige is taken away from him that he can truly see. Lear’s blunder into honest insanity is the perfect storm to start decaying the walls of Lear’s hubris and lack of insight. However, the King is not the only one blinded by his pride. His two haughty daughters, Goneril and Regan, are chasing after a similarly snobby earl, Edmund. Each member of this power driven trio leads themselves to their own inevitable endings, all because of their inability to communicate honestly with one another due to their conceded ambition to get ahead.…

    • 951 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    King Lear demonstrates favoritism between his three daughters, which results in greed and jealousy. No father should favor one child over another, because it causes major dysfunction within the family. “Showing preferential treatment to one child over the other siblings nurtures a kind of jealousy and even hatred in the heart of the one being neglected. And as the experts tell us, this may lead to various psychological and social problems that can last well into adolescence and adulthood”. (Asma Shameem). Regan and Goneril treat their father in a cruel manner due the lack of affection they reieved and the jealousy they harbor towards Cordelia. Through the opening scenes of the play Cordelia is acknowledged as Lear’s most…

    • 1728 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    king lear

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The evidence of old personal order destruction becomes clear when he hand down his power by diving his kingdom, he hands power to those who are plotting against him. i “Meantime we shall express our darker purpose. Give me the map there. Know that we have divided?In three our kingdom” (1.2) .king Lear is blinded by manipulative personalities of his two daughter’s Regan and Goneril, he fails to reveal their true intentions of humiliating him and take advantage of him in order to benefit themselves. Being blinded by the need to be loved by his daughters king Lear delegates his authority to them. The desperation of the king who wanted to hear his daughter declare their love for him is the sign that the king is lost, his a lost king who puts his needs and wants before governing his kingdom. His more interested in being flattered by people who surrounds him.…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    King Lear

    • 1182 Words
    • 5 Pages

    King Lear is a story of a man who loses everything. Yet, contrary to many stories of this type, there is no redemption for Lear in the end. Even in the tragedy genre, some good can usually be gleaned from the text, or at least…

    • 1182 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    When considering the underlying characteristics of Lear and Gloucester, the audience can see two men, who are delusional with power, insecure and illogical. Their uncertainties stem from their children, who they love, but are quick to turn against. Lear turns against Cordelia because she refuses to discuss her love for him and Gloucester, for potentially having a preexisting fear that his children wanted him gone so they could have his power, believes that Edward wants him dead. “The old men inhabit worlds created by the mind and emotions, but which share some of the…

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    King Lear

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages

    King Lear is a play written by William Shakespeare in the early 1600’s. It is a well known tragedy. Throughout Act 1, there are many mistakes made by the key characters. This essay will introduce a few of these and throughout will demonstrate how poor judgements and jealousies in families can have such detrimental and tragic consequences. A wise ruler that has held a kingdom together for so long is about to create irreversible chaos, either through complete ignorance of his daughters feelings towards him or by going insane. This test of love in all its qualities proves to be an eye opening, heart-wrenching plot for the reader and how Lear, who favoured one daughter, has become out of touch with the other 2, resulting in a tangled web of jealousy, plotting and intrigue in which there are no winners at the end of this sad tale.…

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    King Lear Analysis

    • 293 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The play King Lear, written by Shakespeare, is a brutal play. It is filled with human cruelty and avoidable disasters. In the play, insanity and chaos are the reason for many of the events and set the environment.…

    • 293 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays