Best of Week: Revolutions

I think this week's best idea (or concept) that we discussed was the use of revolutions (or full 180 degree rotations) in certain characters and situations in King Lear. I hadn't been noticing these in the reading until they were first pointed out in class about a week ago; however, as we were reading specific scenes in class this week, the concept came to the forefront of my mind. I had always been taught to look for character development and change, but the fact that a character could do a full revolution was astonishing. For example, King Lear went from being the most powerful man in the land to a man who had to rely on his daughter (who he had previously put into exile). Another example of a revolution is on page 95, when Kent says, "Fortune, good night. Smile once more; turn thy wheel." I thought this quote was especially interesting because the revolution isn't taking place within a person, but appears in a man's plead for his luck to be changed. I hope to use the concept of revolutions in my writing. I think this concept gives more depth to the character (or scene) and adds complexity to a person's writing. It also allows the reader to see a character or scene from multiple angles and perspectives. I will definitely be looking out for revolutions in future reading!

Connection: Cordelia and the Lost Son

When we were introduced to Cordial in the novel King Lear, I immediately thought that she had many similarities to the Lost Son from "The Parable of the Lost Son" in the Bible (Luke 15: 11-31). Just like the Lost Son, Cordial had a father who was dividing up his wealth among his children. In these stories, Cordelia and the Lost Son are the youngest children in the family. The older children in both of the families do exactly what the fathers want. Goneril and Regan tell their father that they love him with all their hearts. This is exactly what he wanted to hear. The Lost Son's older brother graciously takes the money from his father, but he stays with his father, works the land, and saves his new money. Cordelia and the Lost Son, on the other hand, do not do the same things as their older siblings. They do not take full advantage of the help that their fathers offer them, and they do as they please. They do this in different ways, but they both do. In Cordelia's case, she doesn't tell her father that she loves him with all her heart. This does not make her father very happy, and therefore she does not receive wealth and land from her father. In the parable, the Lost Son does receive his money from his father. He just chooses to squander it and to use his new money for parties. He ends up losing all of the money he inherited from his father. Both Cordelia and the Lost Son choose not to follow their fathers, and do what they please. I found this very insightful because I believe completely in the Bible and by making a connection to something that plays such a significant role in my life, I could connect better to this novel and specifically, to Cordelia. I found myself a little bit more interested in Cordelia than the other characters in the novel because I had connected her to another character that I knew well, and I also wanted to see if she would turn out like the Lost Son.