The Theme of Justice in King Lear Essay Sample

Justice is loosely defined as equality, including the rich and the poor being treated the same, but everyone knows that that is far from the truth. In William Shakespeare's tragedy titled "King Lear", King Lear delivers a well-known speech about the relationship between wealth and justice. His view on the relationship, between wealth and justice, states that if you are wealthy, justice has no effect on you, and the “gold” swallows up your flaws. But, if you are poor, you are left defenseless with all of your flaws shining through your “rags”. Throughout time, and even today there has been a strong divide in society's wealth. Some people see it as the privileged and the nonprivileged. I agree with King Lear's statement, as he describes how wealth and justice interact with each other in a way that still feels true today. Past examples, like the Great Depression, and present examples like the Cinderella story, reflect the relationship between wealth and justice that King Lear so profoundly describes.

Our world has not always been equal, even in the past there was a divide between how wealth and justice have affected a person. A past example of the relationship between wealth and justice is the Great Depression. The Great Depression was partly defined by the great inequality between the rich, who accounted for a third of all wealth, and the poor who had no savings at all. During the Great Depression, there were two opposite social classes. You had the working class, and the non-working class, better known as the upper class and the lower class. During this time period, the upper class went along with their lives without much change despite global economic changes. They dressed in fancy clothes, they always appeared happy, and they never had to worry about food or basic needs being a problem. These people were millionaires, star athletes, factory owners, entrepreneurs, and people who ran monopolies. Then you saw the lower class, who lived in Hoovervilles or Shantytowns because they lost everything they had previously owned. Families were forced to sit on the side of the streets begging for meals, they were never properly clothed, and had to work non-stop just to have basic needs. In King Lear’s speech, he says “tatter’d clothes show flaws, and robes hide all.” When you saw people dressed in fancy clothes during this time, the first reaction would be that they have everything, they are wealthy, and have no flaws. During this time if you were to see someone with ripped, or dirty clothes, the first reaction would be that they are poor, they are struggling, and they are the reason we have to pay higher taxes. What people don’t see is how Justice affects these two classes completely differently. The “rich” never had to worry about where their next meal came from or if they needed to pack all their things up and move. When you have money all of your wealth covers up any mistake made, and everything you want, you get. On the other hand, the people living in Hoovervilles had to uproot their entire lives, fight for everything that they wanted, and always had to work to get something. They experienced great inequality, every flaw they had was seen, and they were in a never-ending cycle of fighting for justice.

Additionally, fictional examples give real-life lessons from King Lear's speech. In the movie Cinderella, the way her stepmom and stepsisters treat her is the perfect example of the relationship between wealth and justice. In the movie, Cinderella is portrayed as the “poor” girl. She is dressed in ragged clothes, is always dirty, never invited to fancy places, always working, and every tiny mistake is made known to everybody. Her stepsisters in the movie are portrayed as the “rich” girls. They are dressed in day dresses, always given opportunities, mistakes go unnoticed, and Cinderella does their work for them. In this movie, you can see the split between the rich and the poor. You also see how both are treated differently. For example, Cinderella is always sent to clean the floors. If she even misses one tiny spot her stepmom is the first person there to point it out. If she is a second late to dinner she is automatically sent back to her room. All the blame is put on her despite how hard she worked. Cinderella has a huge spotlight on her and any flaw made shines right through. Like many others who are poor, Cinderella's story shows the many hardships that you must face before you can finally have justice. Cinderella is left with having to prove herself to her family; she has to work her way toward things and fight for every little thing. On the other hand, her stepsisters are the “perfect pretty princesses.” Everything that they do that is wrong is pushed to the side and forgotten about. If they make a mess on the floor Cinderella is summoned to clean it up, and they think it is perfectly fine. If they are late for a curfew it doesn’t matter because they were trying to look their best for the prince. The stepsisters are given everything they want. This classic example defends the speech King Lear delivered by proving his remarks to be true. To people of wealth, their life is perfect. To the poor nothing is ever given to you.

With the historical and fictional examples of the relationship between wealth and justice, one can realize that what King Lear is saying is still true today. Both Cinderella and the poor during the Great Depression were judged on their appearances and treated unjustly. Today, the ability to have and access justice is based on how much wealth you have. Leaving the rich living a great life, and the poor being treated poorly, longing for their chance at justice. Wealth has overtaken justice, as justice is something that can be bought.