Zoe Thomas
Ms. Fine
Honors English 11
19 May 2017
Human Value: quantitative or qualitative?
In the beginning of King Lear, Lear mistakenly misunderstands the meaning of human value. He had asked of his three daughters to express how much they love him. Near the end of the story Lear discovers that human values cannot be measured quantitatively. He comes through this realization through his experience with his three daughters, with the Fool and Edgar on the heath, and with Edgar and Gloucester on the road to dover. Through these three experiences Lear understands the human value is qualitative.
Lear eventually realizes that human value is qualitative, yet it takes him some time to figure this out. Lear demanding his daughters to profess their love for him is what brings this issue to the light. Lear’s youngest and favorite daughter, Cordelia, is the only person honest with her father about her love for him. Unfortunately, it was not what Lear wanted to hear therefore Cordelia was banned. His other two daughters basically told their father what he wanted to hear and were able to split his kingdom. They had cheated him out of his kingdom, knights, and more. Lear ultimately realized that he had made a mistake by banning the only daughter who actually cared about him.
In King Lear, Lear also leads up to his realization of human value while with the Fool and Edgar on the heath. In this scene Lear and Ed...
