The subject of family from
our King Lear packet really caught my
interest. This was partially because I cannot stand to write another word about
Pygmalion, and partially because it
really made me question the true definition of “family.” I eventually came to
the conclusion that no one can assign a definite meaning to the word. It can
only be left to one’s interpretation.
That being said, I can only share what I consider to be my definition of
family.
While
I agree with the basic idea of family consisting of blood relatives, I do
believe that there is a more personal level to it. Many “families” are what one
may consider broken. The mother, or father may be unknown to the children, a
sibling may be hated. Would the unknown parent still be considered “family” to
the child? Would the sibling still consider the other to be their brother or sister? Some may say “yes.” I personally feel that I
would be unable to call anyone that I do not love, “family.” I am not saying
that I do not consider my blood relatives as my family, in my case I love them
all; however, I also have friends that I consider “family.” These are only the
closest of my friends that understand my worst traits, but still choose to
continue our friendships. It may sound a bit cliché, but I believe that the
true definition of family is those who will continue to love and be there for you unconditionally, regardless of your faults.
This is interesting. I agree with your conclusion that the "true" definition of family is exclusive to every individual. The technicalities of the term suggest that family is established through blood; my perception of family is a bit less literal.
ReplyDeleteTo start, I believe that there are different degrees of family. There is the family of religion, whose members find solace in one another while pursuing a hopelessly unproveable God. They even exhibit the fights synonymous with family through their conventions of religious wars and jihad. There are also family groups such as the Manson Family and the Nazis. These families were bound by their common belief of self preservation. And their hate of everyone else. The groups mentioned are not blood related(for the most part) and yet still considered themselves families.
In my family, I feel as though we are bounded by factors other than blood. In example, I am blood related to my brother(we even have the same blood type), yet I would not hesitate to take his life. Literally two doors down the hallway is my grandmother. I love her unconditionally. What causes this rift between blood related people? Simply, I can relate more with grandma. We enjoy the same food and she likes Pokemon. Justin , however, is an egotistic fat boy who genuinely bothers me. I can thus conlcude that family is a guage of how well one can connect with another or group of others.
Jonathan, I agree with your theory on family. I have three brothers, and I try to disown them more often then actually allowing them to be called my family. When I think of the idea of a “family” I think of a group of people, who are joined by a common idea, trait, opinion, goal, etc.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned the idea of the Nazis being a family, bonded by their dedication to Hitler. My brothers and I are joined by our last name and family traits. My softball team is a family. We are bonded by our love for softball, and are goals towards a victory. That does not mean every sports team is a family, but for the most part, the bond between teammates is similar to the bond between siblings.
It will be interesting to dissect Shakespeare’s theory on family. I predict it to include misery and betrayal, a common theme presented in many of his plays. I can only imagine the distraught lives of King Lear and his daughters, but it will comparable to the broken families that are present in today’s society.
I think family is extremely important. Throughout the story we will see people act like "family" to Lear. Both Kent and the Fool will fill some innate desire that Cordelia, Regan, and Goneril cannot fill.
ReplyDeleteThe best part of Shakespeare is that we can look to our own lives, and our own selves to see something exposed, or something we didn't see before.