Seeking Truth In King Lear

Discovering Truth

One of the strongest animals on earth, elephants, weigh up to 6,350 kg and can carry up to 9,000 kg which is approximately equivalent to the weight of 130 adult humans. Surprisingly, even though elephants are stronger than any human being, elephant owners in Asia are able to tame the Samson-like strength of elephants with a simple rope tied to a wooden post in the ground and attached around the elephant's right hind leg. How is this possible? The elephants must possess the ability to snap the rope without expending much energy (Harris).

The answer to the mystery lies in how the elephants are raised. When elephants are young, their owner shackles them with heavy chains around their right hind leg. Since the young elephants

Those who are trustworthy and honest such as Kent and Edgar have to disguise themselves in order to speak the truth, and truth is also woven through the playful words of the Fool. However, many of the characters including King Lear are unable to see deeper than disguise and look beyond the words to find the hidden truth. When King Lear asks his daughters how much they love him as a way to determine how to divide his kingdom among them, Goneril claims that she has a love for her father "that makes breath poor and speech unable" (24), and Regan responds that Goneril's love "comes too short" (24) and that she is "alone felicitate in [his] dear Highness' love" (24). These words depict the ambitions of the sisters to gain land rather than their true affections for Lear. While Regan and Goneril lavish Lear with adulations and exaggerated professions of love, Cordelia remains silent; she says to herself, "What shall Cordelia speak? Love, and be silent" (24). Even though Cordelia is most loyal to her father, King Lear is dissatisfied with her dry honesty towards her love for him and is more inclined towards the deceitful flattery of his other daughters. Because Cordelia's words are unpleasing to his ears, Lear "disclaim[s] all [his] paternal care" (28) over her. Lear's unreasonable decisions show his desire for praise and power. Because Lear is only able to hear words that appeal to his pride and feed his appetite

Not only does Lear disown his own daughter, but he also banishes his most loyal noble, Kent. His blindness keeps him from being able to exercise his power rightly. Kent warns Lear for bowing to flattery and falling into folly, but Lear's obsession with himself blurs his view of the world, causing him to fall into the traps of deception and making him unable to take care of his kingdom. Lear is unable to see which of his daughters really care for him until he is stripped of his pride and title. When Goneril speaks disrespectfully to Lear, he replies, "Does any here know me? This is not Lear: Does Lear walk thus? Speak thus? Where are his eyes? Either his notion weakens, his discernings are lethargied... Who is it that can tell me who I am?" (74). Lear is confused how others treat him like he is nobody instead of royalty, and he questions who he really is. While Lear's madness grows as the play progress, in some ways, he gains a more accurate picture of the world. After his daughters betray him, Lear is reduced to less than a human and stripped of his pride. In this reduced state, Lear becomes aware of the "poor naked wretches" (155) that he neglected while he was king. Once Lear is less focused on himself, he is able to see others more