act III; #2 - gloucester && graphic violence .

The purpose of this particular incident is so that Gloucester can “see” the truth. The truth is that it is his son Edmund that was really betraying him from the beginning. He called out for Edmund, thinking that it is he that truly loves him. However, Edgar is the one who really loves him. Edmund is actually the son that is the illegitimate one who is on Goneril and Regan’s side and wants to take his father’s power and title of earl. I would definitely call this gratuitous violence because it seems like everyone is only fighting and torturing in this scene because they are being selfish and only thinking about themselves. The servant was only trying to protect Gloucester and stop the torment, but in the end the servant was killed by Regan. We are starting to see more in this particular part of the book how selfish humans can be and how they can let their inner selves extremely take over to the point that they are willing to do whatever, like plucking someone eyes out. I do, however, think that this type of graphic violence would necessary for a slasher film because graphic violence are what makes up slasher films. These films are horrific and often gory, but it is not sudden like in King Lear’s play. The violence in slasher films often occurs throughout the whole movie from beginning to end and not suddenly in the middle. I am not that familiar with Grand Theft Auto but I do know that it is rated for the mature because of its violence. Therefore, I think since the game is known as being violent, this type of graphic violence would be necessary and not uncalled for because it follows the whole scheme of the game. HOWEVER, there should never be an excuse for any time of violence whether graphic or not. In my opinion, no one should ever declare when it a time or a place for graphic violence, there should not be any.

Act II; #4 - Cordelia

I have chosen the alternative choice of writing a letter from Cordelia to her father, King Lear.

Dear Father,

I am aware of the happenings in your kingdom and what frustrations you must be going through during this time. I wanted you to know that I am merely concerned of what your mental stance is while you are handling this whole ordeal. It is not a part of my inner being to recall my words and warnings of my two sisters’ flattery, however, what is occurring is not far from what I suspected. As a part of my obedience, I will remain in France and live with my beloved Duke of France. I will not intervene with your orders nor will I become a part of what you do not want me to. I am hoping Goneril and Regan do not continue to be the monstrous characters they are and make changes in their future plans to disobey your kingdom even more. Nonetheless, it will not be of my surprising to witness what other negative and selfish roles they have in store. My love for you remains the same as it did before and every now and then I recall my honesty in describing my love for you and how you basically did not label me as a trustworthy and loving daughter. I am not writing this letter to banish your past choices in regards to me, your daughter, or to say, “I told you so, I told you so”. My point of this writing is to inform you of my sympathy for you as you are learning what type of people your two oldest daughters are. You do not have to reply or make any effort to contact me after reading this letter. I will leave that choice up to you, but hopefully you take the time to let me know if there is anything that I could do for you, my dear father.

I hope all gets better.

Love,

Cordelia

Act II; #3 - Edgar

Thanks to the helpful notes in the King Lear Folger edition, I have gotten a better understanding of what exactly Edgar is planning to do as far as disguising himself as Tom O'Bedlam. The description for Tom O'Bedlam is "a beggar who has escaped or been discharged from Bedlam (London's Bethelehen Hospital for the insane) or who pretends to be so in order to make people give him money" (38). Page 94 says "Edgar disguised himself as a madman-beggar to escape his death sentence". He decides to have the nickname "Poor Tom", which is "the name by which the kinds of beggars whom Edgar is imitating called themselves" (96).

Edgar has planned to disguise himself as Tom O’Bedlam, the beggar. He smears dirt on his face and body, ties his hair in knots, and covers himself with a blanket to make his physical appearance ideal to that of a typical beggar. His choice of this particular disguise goes right along with what has driven him to the idea of simply disguising himself. I believe Edmund has chosen this particular disguise to ease himself more into the company of his father, Gloucester, brother, Edgar, and the other characters in this play. This means that the characters will be more welcoming of his presence being that they may feel sorry for him, being that he is a beggar, and allow him to become protected by them or do work for them. I feel that Edgar’s main state of mind is that is it easy to become a beggar than it is to become any other person under disguise. It is easier to put first on your face and body and make your hair look like that of a typical beggar and do other things to set up a “beggar like” than it is to try to go out and look for a totally different outfit (when you can just use a blanket) and set up your hair in a neat looking way to present yourself as another character that belongs to the kingdom. What is mainly driving Edgar to do is his intentions to remain connected with his father, his brother, the King, and others. He wants to still be able to be around these people because these are basically the only people he knows. His great amount of fear has lead him to want to become a totally different type of person because he fears the danger that his brother, Edmund, has presented to him even though it is based off of lies and false accusations (because of his brother’s made up stories).