King Lear

I agree with Kahn’s argument that the point of King Lear is for him to unlock an area of himself that he had never realized was there. Unfortunately because he lacked any emotional attachment to his daughters, they, Goneril and Regan, just essentially throw him away and do not think twice. One starts to feel bad for Lear and how ignorant he appears to be about his relationship with his daughters and where he went wrong. He is old by the time he realizes that two of his daughters are cold hearted and ruthless. They quickly show that they do not care what it takes to get what they want, even if it means destroying their own father.

As for Cordelia, as discussed in class, judging from their previous relationship Lear sees her as a type of spouse. The fact that they get along so well shows a severe contrast to how Lear, Goneril and Regan get along. It is admirable that Cordelia would choose to be completely honest with her father at a time when she had the ability to gain the most power among her and her sisters. It proves that she really did love her father enough to show him tough love in the hopes that he would better himself. On the contrary, maybe Cordelia was brutally honest with her father and did not show him the least bit of compassion because that is how she was taught. Cordelia remains true to herself and I think that she is probably the most like her mother in that sense. I believe that it is mainly Cordelia who teaches her father what he needs to do to become a better person. Yes, his other two daughters did betray him, but Cordelia being his favorite would have made what she did or thought matter more to him.

For the time period it is remarkable that Shakespeare wrote about a man possessing both a masculine and feminine side. It seems that during this time males and females were thought to occupy completely different and separate characteristics. The absence of a mother would make sense that a father would have to take on dual roles, but it is also not surprising that Lear, who is male, would fail to realize this. For the majority of the girls’ lives, he does not think twice about the impact of not having a motherly figure present would have on their lives and development. On the other hand, maybe he does realize this and chooses the denial route, where he believes the girls can get by without two parents to lean on. The girls are handled like employees and are not shown the affection and compassion that would be expected from a parent. He is all business with them, which is why he cannot understand it when his body starts to form tears over the fall out between him and Cordelia. When this occurs, it is clear that he is starting to realize where he went wrong with them and then begins to work on damage control. Lear continually shows just how scared he is to show any emotion over the turmoil that is going on in his life and truly believes the stereotype that the man is supposed to be “king” of a household and be the alpha compared to his female counterpart.

Persepolis

It seems odd that Marji’s father would choose to believe the statement “politics and sentiments don’t mix” when her mother and he are going out to the protests. Maybe he has an internal conflict on how he really feels about that and tells Marjane that “politics and sentiment don’t mix” in the hopes that it will deter her from getting involved. That idea seems like one valid explanation because parents or a family in general always works to protect one another, especially their own children. I do not think that Marji believes in what her father had said to her; otherwise she would not have come back those times that she left Iran. If she took what her dad said to heart then she would have left them a long time ago and not have had so much turmoil with leaving for Austria the first time. Obviously you need family to get through any tough situation and Marjane’s family did the best they could.

I think both her mother and grandmother want to believe in what Marjane’s father said, but it is especially hard when they do not believe that what is going on in politics is right. If you do not agree with what is going on in politics then it is hard for anyone to ignore the situation and to keep their emotions from fueling their own opposition, hence the protests. Marjane’s family though has tried to teach her that it is okay for her to be herself within reason and to not let the revolution and war define her. They let her become somewhat westernized, with her music and clothing, and teach her that it is okay to stand up for what you believe in. The latter is shown by example as well as discussing it, like when they would throw parties and drink wine when both were strictly forbidden. Even though they were disobeying, they justified doing these things so that they could keep their sanity in a time when their government literally controlled their every move. It was healthy, but risky, on their part to allow Marjane such freedoms in her individuality.

I personally do not agree with her father’s statement at all. It would be nice if it was true, but that is just not how it is. I am not much of a political person, but from what I have seen, a lot of it is fueled by emotion. You cannot make everyone happy and there will always be people that do not agree with a law or a ruling or what have you. The balance is hard to find, but it can be done if people take the time and energy to find it. People are going to have their opinion no matter what and whether they choose to express it in an acceptable manner is debatable. I do not think that the emotional aspect of politics will ever go away because we are not a society of robots and neither is Iran no matter how hard they tried to make them that way.

The Moviegoer

After finishing “The Moviegoer,” it seemed to me that Binx had come to terms with the fact that his purpose was going to be hard to find and that it was a wasted effort to try to find it because your purpose is something that you do not search for, you find it without thinking or even realizing. In the Epilogue on page 237, Binx makes it clear that he is going to take life one day at a time and “plant a foot in the right place as the opportunity presents itself.” He seems to abandon his search because so far it has essentially led him nowhere and his home life is starting to get quite rocky with Kate and her difficulties. At this same point, I also feel that Binx has learned how to be content with the life that he has right now and decides to let things happen as they may.

Almost simultaneously with his new found acceptance, Binx realizes that he is to take charge of not only himself, but also of his new wife Kate. She needs him just as much, if not more, than he needs himself to survive. This presents itself on page 234 where Kate tells Binx that a marriage between them could work if he told her what to do, in which case she would never have to worry or be afraid. One could say that taking care of Kate has been Binx’ purpose all along and that he has instinctively been fulfilling his purpose without even recognizing it. He is so busy searching for the meaning of his life that it does not occur to him that caring for Kate could be his purpose to begin with. The way Binx and Kate interact certainly makes it appear that they are both each other's soul mates. They connect in a way that only two people that are meant for each other seem to. Binx makes it known whether he means to or not that he has commitment issues with women, judging from the fact that he not only dates his secretaries, but they also do not stay around personally or professionally for very long. He essentially loves them and then leaves them or the women move on to newer prospects. This does not manifest with Kate though. Maybe because she is family or maybe because they just get each other. Binx demonstrates that he knows how to handle her from the beginning of the novel and examples continue to appear throughout, including when Aunt Emily specifically tells Binx that he is one of the few people that knows how to calm her, Kate, down.

Altogether I feel that Binx did succeed in finding his purpose. It may not have been exactly what he was looking for or presented itself so clear cut, but life will rarely be so kind as to do that. Binx is very analytical with the world around him, but sometimes you have to realize that not everything has to mean something. Yes your life should be meaningful, but it is most definitely what you make it and you could essentially create your own purpose in life. After all, our lives are ours to make and define, so we must handle them with care.