ACT II: 2

2. The actions of Goneril and Reagan are not very simple to understand or explain. In essence they are two-faced, evil women who will do anything to achieve their goals. The beginning of the novel shows a lighter and more compassionate side of the girls when they must confess their “love” to gain the lands of their father. However, we quickly see that they have no such feelings and are eager to gain the title of Queen. No one can really put a direct reason for why people act this way. Some people are just born evil and know no other way of acting than to be ruthless. To the sisters’ account, Lear is not the best father in the world. He needed his daughters to say how much they loved him and compete for his land. A normal father knows that his children love him and should treat them with the same love. Evil in people is bred into them and no one can control the path that these people take. Resentment that children have for their parents can be caused by a behavior they have seen or something that has happened to them in their childhood. Goneril and Reagan could have been treated badly by Lear and have never forgiven him or the power to rule has gotten the best of them. The relationship between child and parent is very powerful and it can be a parent’s worst nightmare or the best thing that ever happened to them. The bond that exists between child and parent is something that can never exist anywhere else. Children and parents can do many things to each other, but in the end the love still exists. The evilness of these two girls won’t prevent Lear from loving them.

Act 1: 3

The relationship between Cordelia and King Lear is quite intriguing. Cordelia is ordered to express her love for her father, but yet she has no words to describe it. Lear punishes her for not saying a word by giving away her share of the land. King Lear does love Cordelia, but he is a man of constant appreciation. He needs to hear good things about himself to function normally in his life. When Cordelia has no words to express her love, Lear becomes enraged and acts without thinking. It is this essence constant gratitude that forbids Lear to understand the love that Cordelia possesses. Lear should realize that more love comes from not having words to describe it than to have over expressed words that limit love. However, Cordelia should have “played the game” to keep her rightful inheritance. Cordelia’s purity and honesty will pay off in the end, but it has hurt her presently. I personally have been involved in a situation where you must play the game, but I didn’t give in to it just like Cordelia. I was in a class where you had to kiss up to the teacher to get the good grade that you wanted. I have always refused to play the game. Working hard to earn my grade means more to me than to obtain by pleasing someone. This specific situation showed me that grades are not always about the work you do, but I make it that way. I personally have never used this type of manipulation against someone else. It is degrading to others who work hard to obtain a goal to just give away grades. King Lear and Cordelia have a father-daughter bond that is quite different from most. Cordelia remains faithful to her father; even though, he has treated her with no respect.

Act 1: 1

Edmund is the youngest and illegitimate son of Gloucester. While Gloucester does treat Edmund differently, he does love him. However, there is no reason Gloucester should act differently around and towards Edmund. It is not his fault that Gloucester decided to have an affair outside of wedlock. Being that Edmund is not a legitimate child of Gloucester, Edmund is not treated the same as half brother, Edgar. Gloucester is ashamed of what he has done and the son that has resulted of it. We do not know the complete background on how Edmund has been treated, but any person could imagine that he is treated like a second-class citizen and less than Edgar. Edmund has taken this treatment and turned himself into someone that holds a grudge against Gloucester. He wants to usurp Gloucester and take all possessions for himself. You; however, do need to respect Edmund’s determination to make a better life, even though he is hurting others in the process. Edmund might have possessed a different attitude if had not been regarded as a mistake and not as important as his older brother. Gloucester doesn’t expose his true love for Edmund in fear that people may think he promotes adulterous actions. To the community, Edmund is a disgrace. Today, we can see the exact same type of relationship when dealing with split up families. Yes, adultery does still happen, but step children situations are more common. In several families, the child that comes from the previous marriage is not treated as an equal to one that is produced by both parents. The step child is regarded as a “reject” and does not fit with the family. These relationships are not healthy for the child and they should not be blamed or treated differently. Just like Edmund’s situation it is not the child’s fault and his/her actions can not always be blame on them.

4) Perfect World...or not

A perfect world seems great to me. Everyone is content with their lives, no war, and no worries. However, we know that a controlled world can not always give everything that a human needs to be happy in life. John talks about how he wants the pain and suffering that real life can bring, because he knows that other “perk” come with this. Life is completely planned for all humans in this world. They can not rise above their rank or position in life. As children they are taught what they should like and what they should hate. Most parents would say that all children should enjoy reading, but this strange world actually encourages children to refuse reading. Personally I would not like to live in this time that Huxley has created. While war and pain do not exist, no real freedom exists either.
Many would argue that no war would be better than free choice in life. However, it would be interesting to see if their opinions would change if they actually had to live in that world. War doesn’t bother me enough to give up my freedom to choose my life and how I will live it. Huxley’s world predetermines all aspects of life for the humans and they never have the chance to improve their situation. On the other hand you could look at it the other way. Nobody can go down in rank. They don’t get demoted, but they can be exiled. I challenge anyone to live a life in that world and see if they could do it.

3) John and Mond's discussion

In the intense discussion between John and Mond it is clear that Mond would rather have it that the citizens of the World happy and content with the life they are presented. John has the opposite mind set. While it does seem that life would be great with no worries or issues to deal with in life, Mond’s ideal world also lacks individuality and overall goodness. John argues that while Mond may believe that people are better off with strict control in their lives, it doesn’t allow them to actually live. People need to experience deep feelings and disasters and be able to live as they choose. John believes no one can be truly happy without all parts of life; the good and the bad.
You would think that a world without danger or fear would be the most perfect place to live. However, no one can really think that it would be perfect. No freedom could exist if you wanted a life like this. You have to give up something to gain something in life, but you need to actually think if it is worth the loss. Mond would agree that all freedoms are worth giving up for a community of people that live with no cares and their life is already set out for them. He can not see that it is the individuality of people that makes the World so great. John tries to explain this to Mond, but he will hear nothing of it. It interesting though that in the end John kills himself.

2) Breaking Ties with Feelings

In Brave New World, the leaders and controllers try to eliminate the tie of feelings to human beings. Sex in our world usually is linked to deep, passionate feelings and love between both people. Humans see sex as a beautiful act that is necessary in life. Procreation is a must in life. However, in this new world and society none of this is true. Since procreation is no longer needed due to the producing of babies in labs, sex has become purely recreational. No feelings or intimacies are associated with this act. Huxley has created this new idea of carelessness in the world. The humans have no worries or pain to deal with so they can flaunt themselves however they please. There are no cares or aging during their time of work in this world. Sex, games, carelessness are very common and part of their every day schedule. As far as “ending is better than mending” goes with this notion that there are no cares. It is easier for one to end something than to fix it. No feelings are tied to any human or object so humans do not care what happens to them.
I’m sure some people would enjoy this type of life, but I know that not being able to love another human would eventually frustrate most. The non-existence of procreation is also an issue that bothers me. People are basically clones of each other and no variety exists. Life would be an interesting time at first, but in the end people would realize that life is not better this way if they were not brain washed. All may be well in the world, but they know nothing better. I would like to see which life the humans would choose if they had the opportunity.

1) Reality vs. crazyness

Brave New World has its definite elements of insane assumptions of what the World will be like in the near future. Producing babies in bottles and complete control of an entire World is completely ridiculous. There is no possible way that it could happen. You would have to destroy all human life on Earth and then start all over with just a few people. However, it would not be the same as the novel has described. People that knew of the days when freedom used to exist are still around in this novel. There were no social castes or limits on what one could learn. Brave New World brings a new discussion on what our World would become if such an event were possible.
On the other hand you can see the relation to the present day. Presently we can see that certain children are given the opportunity to excel and become leaders of the world while others do not have the ability to receive the same opportunities due to lack of funds in their family. I wouldn’t say that our government is necessarily holding them back like the novel does, but it does play a factor in the fact that the needy and less fortunate can not give their children the same education needed for them to succeed above and beyond in life. The novel intends to hold certain babies back. Our country doesn’t intend to hold people back, but they make it a challenge for those whom have little money to gain a new place in life. The novel has more unrealistic situations that our World can become than realistic ones. While it was a good read, the scenarios of the novel did seem crazy.