“King Lear ” by William Shakespeare

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Table of Contents

“Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe
“Cities of Salt” by Abdelrahman Munif
“Chosen Place, Timeless People” by Paule Marshall
Running in the Family” by Michael Ondaatje
“As I Lay Dying” by William Faulkner
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Works Cited

Similar to Regan and Goneril, political leaders of nowadays are trying all means possible to gain more power at any cost and do not care about people, not even the closest people like the father in Regan’s and Goneril’s case. The outcomes for Shakespeare’s personages are tragic. In his tragedy, the great man of literary art shares the simple truth with the world amounting to the well-known idiom “whatever a man sows, he will reap it.” Regan and Goneril have sown enmity and cruelty. They have also reaped them by losing their very lives under tragic circumstances (Shakespeare 103). It seems that if men possessing power today would pay attention to the wisdom of centuries containing in Shakespeare’s “King Lear”, the world could become a better place.

Shakespeare’s “King Lear” is a classic example of literary work demonstrating that things are often not as they appear to the onlooker. Although Shakespeare teaches his audience this lesson in kind of over-color manner, this peculiarity of his tragedy only adds to its value because, in this way, the author manages to touch more hearts. King Lear appears in front of readers as a man who seems to be blind. Pondering into the inner world of this character, the audience may notice why he is so sightless. The king is blinded by his egoism and thirst for being praised. At the end of the day, the character learns the price of such a fatal mistake which is betrayal and loss of everything he loved in his life. The example of King Lear is an excellent teaching model for all people who do not have a balanced view of their personality.

The theme of the transformational power of suffering is one of the central themes in Shakespeare’s “King Lear”. Through suffering, even a contemptible person can progress into a good man. Shakespeare’s tragedy contains many illustrations of this simple truth. The example of Edmund, the cunning villain, who, upon the death of women he cared about, decides to revert and cancel his death sentence to those he considered his enemies, shows that even the individuals, who demonstrate extreme hostility to the surrounding people, may transform into better personalities under the influence of hardships. However, suffering does not have the same impact on various individuals. Using other characters’ example, Shakespeare demonstrates that very often suffering may harden someone’s heart, and make one indulge in violence. Cordelia is the example of a character that has undergone such changes. Upon suffering from her father’s disapproval and sisters’ betrayal, Cordelia decided to resort to violence against her offenders.

“Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe

The novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe has addressed the theme of replacing traditional Umuofia cultural values by the moral order prevailing in western culture. This literary work describes how the colonial rule impacts traditional social institutions and values in Nigerian communities.

Analysis of the experiences narrated in the novel shows that Okonkwo, the main character, is facing the crisis of traditional values, authority, power, and culture as a result. The example of this interesting character is a good illustration showing how things may fall apart when one is not capable of going hand in hand with time and stick to the rules and practices common in one’s community. When Okonkwo’s community adopts the new religion and begins to live according to the new moral and ethical regulations, the man feels that his entire world has fallen apart. Okonkwo’s tragedy raises important questions on what was wrong in his situation and led to the developments described in the novel.

Constant changes are a normal part of life. This lesson Chinua Achebe is teaching his readers in “Things Falls Apart”. Achebe explains that changes may be caused by different developments, both positive and negative. He also demonstrates that various people handle changes in various ways. Every reader will find a valuable piece of advice on living with the change from this wise author in “Things Fall Apart”. One will also learn about the negative consequences for those who are not capable of handling change. Overall, reading the novel “Things Fall Apart”, an individual will, by all means, derive important lessons on dealing with change for him- or herself.

“Things Fall Apart” shows the consequences of imposing other religious and cultural values on nations in other parts of the globe. It also raises the issue of whether it is morally and ethically justified to intervene in the life of communities living according to their own beliefs. The novel encourages thinking why certain groups dare to interfere in the daily practices of nations they are not even familiar with, and how they can be sure about the positive outcomes of such changes.

In the introduction to this novel, Achebe narrates William Butler Yeats’s poem as his epigraph:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world (Achebe 7).

Although only the author is aware of the overtones he sees in these words in connection with his novel, it seems that he aims to encourage his readers to think about the consequences of interfering with other people’s affairs thoughtlessly. It looks like he is establishing a parallel between “turning and turning in the widening gyre” and subsequent “things fall[ing] apart” and “mere anarchy” enthroning in the world.

“Cities of Salt” by Abdelrahman Munif

“Cities of Salt” is a unique work of literature art tracing the events that took place in the Arabian Peninsula after the discovery of oil when an unexampled financial breakthrough has dramatically changed the human landscape in the area. Analysis of details provided by the author suggests that the setting of this novel is Saudi Arabia. Today, this country is an unconditional financial leader in its region and the entire planet. Such dramatic change from the extreme poverty of the shepherd’s life to the life-long guarantee of luxury and high-quality life is a miracle without any doubt, and of course, being religious people, the Saudi refer this blessing to their God. “Cities of Salt” is unarguably a curious piece of literature art thus because it helps to understand how the miracle mentioned above could become the reality.

“You will be among the richest and happiest of all mankind as if God saw none but you”, states “Cities of Salt” prophetically (Munif 24). Upon discovering oil, the local people are not able to grasp the scope of the happiness that came into their life out of nowhere, the area they have been familiar with for hundreds of years, the desert they thought to be so unchanging and boring all these centuries that come and go. This very plain desert, that the Saudi have known since the days of old, appeared to become the source of incredible power changing their lives because “there are oceans of oil, oceans of gold … oceans of blessings beneath this soil” (Munif 26). The situation that is described in the book is unique to all humanity because there is no other example in the human history of changing from extreme poverty to marvelous riches. Therefore, it seems that there can be no reader indifferent to this invaluable piece of literature documenting how the only miracle in human history happened.

A curious angle in “Cities of Salt” is the nostalgia that the Saudi have in regards to those days of peace and calmness when there was no oil discovered and no presence of global oil extracting corporations ruining the normal tenor of the nomad communities’ life. The narrator telling the readers about all the economic and social changes that have occurred seems to be full of nostalgia for the days of the past when everything used to be so quiet and leisurely. The narrator’s feelings induce thinking that human nature is so complex since being poor and disadvantaged, people suffer, but upon undergoing miraculous changes and becoming extremely rich and fully financially-secure for their entire lifetime, they still miss the olden days.

“Chosen Place, Timeless People” by Paule Marshall

The novel “Chosen Place, Timeless People” is Paule Marshall’s evaluation of the sad consequences of colonialism for the Bourne Islanders. The author explains how exploitation ruins the achievements of numerous cultures and societies in the world in this literary work. Although her focus is the Bourne residents, Marshall pays her attention to other nations in the world suffering from the sad endpoints of colonization and exploitation. Narrating numerous life tragedies of common people living in the economically disadvantaged area, the author seems to appeal to the human rights activists and global policy-makers regarding the wide range of injustices faced by the residents of former or contemporary colonies.

In “Chosen Place, Timeless People”, Marshall is not shy to address the difficult themes that arise in human life from time to time. One such theme is the theme of death. The following quotation from the novel shows how deep the author ponders into the essence of mortality and its inevitable power in human life is:

And in a way, this was how he had come to see his death, as a series of small ones taking place throughout his life and leading finally to the main event, which would be so anti-climatic, so undramatic (a sudden violent seizure in his long-abused heart, quick massive flooding of the brain) it would go unnoticed. It was the small deaths occurring over an entire lifetime that took the greater toll (Marshall 46).

The author makes an emphasis on the fatality of every individual’s life since at the end of the day, everyone dies, and life is a mere series of events leading to it. This thought-provoking comment by the author encourages the readers to reflect upon their own lives and the reality of death. It seems that the author is telling her reader, “death is chasing you, what else is so unique that you can do to leave your small trace in life, and stay in other’s minds?”

The novel “Chosen Place, Timeless People” provides important insights as to feminist issues. Its main protagonist, Merle Kimbona, is an image of a woman defending the feminist values in the form of interracial sexuality. Her life and her strive are the patterns Paule Marshall is using to inspire women to continue their struggle for equal rights.

Running in the Family” by Michael Ondaatje

“Running in the Family” by Michael Ondaatje is a remarkable piece of writing from such exotic land in the world of literature as Sri Lanka. The piece touches upon such an important social theme as the theme of a family. Narrating numerous issues emerging in the contemporary family in Ceylon, he encourages his public to think about the current status of a family and its future. It is highly probable that reading such accounts, an individual may think whether the family is worth efforts at all if it becomes the harbor of such struggling as Ondaatje has described.

The character of Mervyn Ondaatje is a vivid description of how powerful the destructive force of alcoholism is. It ruins the man’s entire world, all his dreams, and endeavors; it corrupts his family and poisons the lives of people surrounding him. Mervyn Ondaatje is an eloquent illustration proving that abuse of alcohol is unconditional evil.

The theme of real friendship is powerfully observed in “Running in the Family”. The opus contains numerous curious lines describing what real friendship is, the one that may conquer empires like that of Alexander the Great and Hephaistion. The following quotation is one of such lines:

You know it is the most relaxed thing when you sit with a best friend and you know there is nothing you have to tell him to empty your mind. We just stayed there together, silent in the dusk like this, and we were quite happy (Ondaatje 180).

The eloquent description of real friendship by Michael Ondaatje encourages readers to keep on seeking strong friendships without ceasing in today’s world of fuss and egoism.

“As I Lay Dying” by William Faulkner

The novel “As I Lay Dying” by William Faulkner is an opus on the themes of the impermanence of existence and identity. As the readers follow the account of Addie Bundren’s dying, death, and subsequent efforts by her family members to fulfill her last will to bury her in her hometown, Jefferson, Mississippi, they are challenged by the eternal questions on what causes people’s living and dying, and how is it possible that at one moment, a person has an identity, and the next moment, one turns into nothing more but a burden for others. This novel by Faulkner is thus an allusion to the works of prominent philosophers speculating on the topics of existence and death such as Plato, Kafka, Hume, Hegel, and Locke.

“As I Lay Dying” has discussed the theme of alienation and loneliness from an unusual perspective. As the audience proceeds through reading, the loneliness of all members in Addie’s family becomes strikingly vivid. This type of loneliness is more aggressive than the mere loneliness of having no people around. It is the loneliness that comes from alienation. Everyone in Addie’s family lives according to one’s values and word vision. The family is separated due to the absence of common interests and shared beliefs. Addie’s family along with its conflicts and troubles is a good teaching example for all individuals who dream about creating a strong and united family on how to avoid the common pitfalls of egoism, treachery, and disloyalty.

Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying” is full of intriguing inferences regarding the very essence of human life, and the overall results of an individual’s very existence on this planet. It contains multiple comments with philosophic implications expressed by different characters both the main and secondary ones. Peabody, a seasoned doctor, comments on Addie’s love to her son Jewel with the following words: “that’s what they mean by the love that passeth understanding: that pride, that furious desire to hide that abject nakedness which we bring here with us,… carry stubbornly and furiously with us into the earth again (Faulkner 46). These lines raise a row of questions on whether egoistic people deserve being loved so self-sacrificially by others, and whether it is morally justified to have such deep affection to someone who does not deserve it. However, understanding that Addie’s motivation could be different judging from the fact that Jewel is her son from a man she loved more than anyone, turns the situation completely by suggesting that her love for the undeserving egoist has far deeper implications.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

“Pride and Prejudice” provides a thorough witness on misery and defectiveness of women’s rights in the days of the novel setting. Even the ladies from the wealthiest families are restricted from basic human rights such as private property ownership, engaging in respected occupations, and having business interests. Reading accounts such as this one, a contemporary lady may only rejoice about the possibility of vindication of females’ rights today.

Austen’s novel addressed the theme of marriage from a perspective being unshakable for hundreds and even thousands of years. From the following quotation, this perspective can be seen, “it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” (Austen 3). In Austin’ times and even a few decades ago as well as it still can be present in numerous societies nowadays, Mr. Darcy had no other choices by to inevitably draw closer to his fate of marrying a decent woman corresponding to his exalted status in society, and live happily ever after. Interestingly, that today Austen’s concept of the fate of a wealthy and reputable can be already incomprehensible by the representatives of progressive western-mannered societies. Thus, Austen’s work is an illustration of how transient human values are; everything comes to its end and even some concepts that could seem unshakable forever.

Finding a husband was the only solution for a woman to realize her inner potential in the days of the “Pride and Prejudice” setting. Reading about this sad fact being the only alternative in the highly-developed British society of the nineteenth century seems outrageous. How consoling it is that the modern-day situation demonstrates considerable progress. It is not without the efforts of such outstanding feminist writers as Jane Austin.

Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart, Bloomington, M.I.: Anchor, 1994. Print.

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice, Charleston, S.C.: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014. Print.

Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying, New York, N.I.: Vintage, 1991. Print.

Marshall, Paule. Chosen Place, Timeless People, New York, N.I.: Vintage, 1984. Print.

Munif, Abderlrahman. Cities of Salt, New York, N.I.: Vintage, 1989. Print.

Ondaatje, Michael. Running in the Family, London: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 1993. Print.

Shakespeare, William. King Lear, London: Dover Publications, 1994. Print.

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