Corruption In Shakespeare's King Lear

One of the greatest leaders of all time, Indian political leader Mahatma Gandhi, once said, “Man's nature is not essentially evil. Brute nature has been known to yield to the influence of love. You must never despair of human nature.” Humankind is not born evil. When humankind is first brought into the world, they are pure, and innocent, as they have not yet been exposed to any evils. As people become exposed to the evils of the world, it changes them, and many are susceptible to these evils, as it turns them corrupt. All humans commit a certain amount of evil, whether they choose to acknowldge it as evil, or if they justify it with reasoning, or choose to overlook it completely. However the evil behaviours of man are partially to be blamed …show more content…
This concept plays a big role in both Shakespeare’s King Lear, and in Will Ferguson’s 419, as there are many evil characters, some, evil from the beginning of the novel, and some that turn evil throughout the course of the novel. However, none of these characters were born evil, these characters lives have been shaped by the corruption they have faced throughout their lives, and it is this corruption that have shaped their evil actions.It is the societal pressures, the characters’ past sufferings, and their greed that triggers their evil behaviours and leads to their corruption.

Initially, both characters Oswald, in King Lear, and Winston, in 419 are not evil characters, but with …show more content…
Due to the fact that Winston is born in Nigeria, where it is very difficult to get a well paying job, even with the education that he has, he is naturally brought into the black market, where corruption leads to wealth. Since his status in society is very low, as he has no power over what people can do to him, he chooses the only path out to gain the most power; which is through corrupt means. When the European oil companies invade into Nigeria, and recruit all the young Nigerian men to do their dirty work for them, Winston has a way out of this, as he already has found a way to earn enough wealth for him and his family; through scamming. Due to his involvement in this corrupt job of misleading others, and causing him to rob innocent people’s money for his own benefit, he becomes corrupt as a character. The extreme level of his corruption becomes evident when he attempts to justify his evil actions; “Winston saw himself as many things, but not as a criminal. Criminals lacked finesse. Criminals bashed people on the back of their skulls and looted wallets, rummaged through purses...Winston didn’t take the mugus’ money; they gave it to him, eyes clouded by greed, dazzled by dollars. And when they give you their money, it doesn’t

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