King Lear-Climax

We have finally read the climax of King Lear. In class today, we were talking about the turning
point of the play. Our group thought that the lines from 108~120 on page 141 was were the turning
point was. We thought that Lear's shedding of clothes represented his going back to innocence,
his rebirth. Throughout the whole play, Lear was a very prideful king. He had lived with everything
he wanted because of his title. However, in this scene, we see that Lear is letting go of his title and
going back to a more humble state. Our group previously discussed how we thought it was
very curious that as Lear grew older, he seemed much more like a baby. Him becoming naked shows
this baby-like state because when babies are first born, they come out of the mother's womb naked
and without any clothing. Lear also strips himself from all of his clothing, connecting to nature.
We also thought that this passage of the play was important because up to this point, Lear
had identified himself similar to God. However, he now saw and realized that he was nothing but
a man, a very insignificant man. He became a lot more humble and less prideful than before.
He didn't see himself as king but as a single man in the world.
I was surprised to see that in the beginning, every group thought that this passage was the turning point
of the play. With the whole class agreeing that this passage of the play was the turning point, I was
positive that Lear's stripping of his clothing showed the turn in the play. However, when Ms. Graham
said that there was a passage in the section before the one that every group had chosen, I was
taken aback. I didn't think that the whole class could actually be "wrong."
Depending on how the play is read, I think that there can be some (not many, but sometimes maybe more than one parts) in the book that people can classify as the turning point. For now, I still think that
the passage our group chose was more dramatic than any other passage in the section. I am
excited to hear why Ms. Graham has a different thought than us tomorrow!
Honestly, I don't think that there was a clear and very dramatic climax to the play. (Maybe if the play was
acted out, it would seem different because of the setting and storm going on outside) It seemed like
Lear was angry the whole time in the play, since the beginning (when he was angry with Cordelia
for not answering the way he wanted her to) until the end (when Goneril and Regan both betrayed him).
However, although to me, the climax isn't that clear, I can see a clear difference in Lear's attitude
which shows a clear turning point in the play. Although we were not able to find the exact passage
that indicated the turning point of the play, we were able to see the clear change in the play.

King Lear-character analysis

We were able to see conflict between Lear and his two daughters, Gonerill and Regan, in the
scenes we read in the past week. Lear finally sees that the two daughters he trusted were just
putting up a show to get what they wanted. Shakespeare portrays Lear as a very complicated character.
Lear was a powerful ruler who did everything he wanted and got everything he wanted.
He took things for granted such as Cordelia and he wasn't able to see what what were truly precious
to him. Lear is very rash in making decisions and it seems like he has some anger management issues.
When he is offended, he doesn't know how to control his anger and acts without another thought.
Basically, he is blinded by his anger and his pride. However, his actions aren't all that strange.
For one, he is of old age and he doesn't have as much sense in him than he did before. Lear is also
a king, one who was always treated with respect and as the most highest figure of his time.
To him, it was only normal to receive all the respect from everyone including his daughters, his
closest friends, and his servants.
When he realizes that he is growing too old, he decides to divide his kingdom equally among his
three daughters. However, because he wants to feel the power and be shown the respect and love,
he asks his daughters how much they love him. The expectations he has for his three daughters
are so high and to him, it seems obvious that they would praise him with all of their hearts.
However, because of this expectation and his rash and violent personality, Lear slowly loses
his mind. All his misfortunes are the results of his expectations and his need to be respected.
One little scratch and attack from anyone was unacceptable to him. As the play progresses,
and his two daughters quickly reveal their true selves, we are able to see Lear become more and
more insane. In page 117, Lear says how he has all the reason to week and cry because
of his daughters' betrayals and how they belittle him. He is sorrowful and he acknowleges that, however
he says that he will not weep even if his heart is broken into a thousand pieces. He doesn't
want his daughters to see him break down and fall from power although it is already obvious
that he has lost everything he had; he lost the trust he had for his daughters.
Lear is a character that is slowly deteriorating because of his own actions. He is a very pitiful
character who seems like he doesn't know what he is doing. And although he tries to hold
onto his power and senses, he is blocked by age and irrational decisions. I wonder how different
everything would have been if he kept Cordelia and didn't banish her from his kingdom. How
would she have made things different for him and would she have been able to stop her sisters
from anything? It's a shame that Lear is only able to see what is right infront of him and not the whole
picture.

King Lear Act I

This past weekend, we finished reading Act I of King Lear. So far, I like the play.
I thought that it would be much more difficult and hard to understand because it was
written by Shakespeare, but I was surprised to find it pretty easy.I also like the story.
I'm not sure but I find King Lear very pitiful. Although he has two wise advisors, Kent
and Gloucester, who support him from his side, he is too old to even know the
difference between right choices from wrong choices. His greatest fear is that he is mad.
King Lear knows that his judgement is getting weak. He knows this when he sees
Goneril's true being. He realizes that her doings are so much worse than what Cordelia did
to him. Although he lacked judgement, I understand why he could have been mad at
Cordelia. I also think she could have replied a little more warmly towards her father.
But because of his old age, we see that King Lear throws out the one daughter that actually
gave him a truthful answer, the one that loves him the most. He loses that one daughter he
used to love the most and instead shares his inheritance with the other two. Lear is even
more pitiful because his own two daughters use him for their own benefit. He is not wanted
by either and sent back and forth between the two. One way Shakespeare shows the differences
between Goneril and Regan and Cordelia is through their name. We see that Goneril and Regan's
names aren't as pleasant and melodious as Cordelia's name. Also, sometimes we see Cordelia
talking in rhyming poems which shows that she speaks much more beautifully than her sisters.
It's a shame that Lear is unable to see this true love for him but is instead blinded by false
love and artificial words. However, Kent and Gloucester are able to see this. I find it interesting
that Kent would even disguise himself to go back to work for Lear even after he has kicked
him out. This shows that Kent knows that Lear isn't all that stupid and he isn't such a bad king,
the fact that he has loyal followers such as Kent and Gloucester. If a wise man such as Kent
is able to follow Lear and stay loyal to him, I don't see how Lear can be such a bad person.
Another point I found interesting is the fact that the Fool is one of the wisest characters in the play.
It is ironic how his name is the fool. The Fool continues to advise the king and foreshadows
a lot of the correct things.
The play is a corrected version written by Shakespeare. And unlike the original, this play is
known to have a tragic ending. I wonder how the story will end and although I am not a fan
of sad endings, I hope it will have some kind of bittersweet ending to it.

Flannery O' Connor

It's only been three days since we've been back from winter break but
it seems like it's already been 3 months. We didn't do much on the first AP Literature class back
from break and started real work on Friday. We had our first discussion on the second
day of school and it was on a short story by Flannery O' Connor called Good Country 
People. I really enjoyed reading this short story. I thought that it got more interesting
towards the end. A thing that I didn't get until the end was the role of Manley. I didn't
know that he was only using Joy and the love they shared wasn't true. Because of the lack
of time we had in class, we weren't able to go in depth with the discussion questions.
I want to write some of the ideas that I wasn't able to share during the discussion on Friday.
First of all, i think that what Hulga means when she says to her mother,
"Do you ever look inside and see what you are not?" (pg. 23) is that she knows that
her mother is being "fake" and untrue to herself. She deceives herself and others and acts
to be some kind of wonderful and sweet lady. This is why she also lies to the Bible
salesman, Manley, and says that she has a Bible by her bedside when she does not.
I also thought that the fact that Joy changed her name to Hulga was very strange.
It surprised me that she would change her name to make it one of the most unappealing
name she can change it to. Although she was hurt because of her leg and didn't think
that the name Joy fit her, why would she make herself hurt even more by creating
a name like that?
Even though I really enjoyed the story, I thought it had the most random ending ever.
It didn't make sense that Manley would take away Hulga's artificial leg for no reason.
I think it would have been a much happier ending if they ended up together, Hulga
having lived so miserably all her life. :( (Although I still think the age difference was gross)
A question that still remains is why did Manley take her artificial leg? Why does he
collect these kind of stuff from people? The author didn't tell us the purpose of this which
I didn't like because I like clear endings. But on the other hand, I liked the fact
that there was that twist at the end. If they ended happily ever after, there wouldn't
be much to the story and the title of the story wouldn't have much significance.
It's just that if feel so bad for Hulga, left by herself without her leg and even her glasses,
played by a man whom she finally opened her heart to.
First few days of school has been so long. Thank goodness there's no school on Monday! :)