The drama of King Lear is apparent for all times. The family bounds can simply crash when there is a place for the property. This is idea is the same in Jocelyn Moorhouse’s movie “A Thousand Acres” based on Jane Smiley’s novel with the same title. The ideas and characters in both works reflect the same actions and effects. Mirroring the features of Shakespeare’s play Moorhouse tried to implement such an age-old idea toward the current evaluation of it. In other words, both works need comparison in the background, themes, ideas, and performance. One of the observers admits that “there is always the possibility that assigning King Lear along with A Thousand Acres could gradually evolve into replacing King Lear with A Thousand Acres” (Rozett 178). The paper seeks for detailed comparative analysis of related works to find out points on sameness. In King Lear and A Thousand of Acres, the destinies of both King Lear and Larry Cook encounter unfair attitudes toward daughters and death, as a result.
First of all, it is necessary to point out that both heroes, King Lear and Larry Cook are represented as proprietors of huge territorial domains. Landowners are proud of their nobility and respect from the side of the publicity. Lear has the whole kingdom, and Larry owns huge farmland in Iowa. Their dominance in the region where they live is huge and incontestable. Moreover, the lands which they possess are not bold. They include also everything which is related to them. For instance, in Lear’s case, one of the pieces of his land includes the vineyards with great deposits of Burgundy vines (Shakespeare 1:1). In Larry’s case, the lands are farmyards with cattle and other animals and things that are valued to be profitable. One peculiarity as of both fathers is that their names sound almost similar: Lear and Larry. The main effort which both characters are going to do is to divide their property amongst three daughters. King Lear provides the whole deliberation with the earl of Gloucester according to the point of the kingdom division:
Meantime we shall express our darker purpose.
Give me the map there. Know that we have divided
In three our kingdom: and ’tis our fast intent (Shakespeare 1:1).
Each of the characters has three daughters who reflect their roles and actions in both works respectively. The thing is that the youngest daughters, being with nothing, rebel for their parts of the father’s property. This makes the eldest ones lie to their father because in both cases the loveliest daughters achieve the major parts of the land. The eldest daughters are trying to do everything for the wealth promised my father. This point makes both works similar as well. However, the personal requests of a daughter on fathers’ goodness make the second go insane. Lear and Larry are in despair because of the consequences of the suchlike division of the land. When Lear has no feedback from the eldest daughter, Goneril, he in the conversation with Regan says the fatal phrase: “My curses on her!” (Shakespeare 2:4). This makes daughters fall in rage. In the case with Cook’s family in the scene when Ginny and Rose talk in the toilette about father’s madness, Rose notes: “It outrages me!” Thus the daughters are not fair in their feedbacks toward fathers’ goodness. In this feature, both works provide the dramatic evaluation of actions. As a result, the greed and constant squabble of the eldest daughters, Ginny (General) and Rose (Regan) lead to the loss of the land. In the movie, they even lose their husbands and fall in despair because of such events.
The fate of both King Lear and Larry Cook is very sad. Larry due to the alcoholic abuse goes insane because of the family quarrels. He seeks any restoration of previous relationships, but it is in vain. The youngest daughter refused to impart the piece of land. She is the one who comes to father in trying hours. He dies from a heart attack. In Lear’s case, he finds no consolation and understands his helplessness. He also dies because of heart disease. The fates of both characters are paralleled but with relation to different times. Notwithstanding, the main idea of how greed and false love to a father can do harm to the whole family. It also shows the rationality in the choice of the youngest daughters. When Lear and Larry suddenly decided to share the land among the daughters, they did not even think of the negative evaluation of their fates.
Thus, in King Lear and A Thousand of Acres, the destinies of both King Lear and Larry Cook encounter unfair attitudes of daughters and death, as a result. The main points of Shakespeare’s play are reflected by the writer Jane Smiley, whose novel was screened by Jocelyn Moorhouse. The betrayal of daughters and the naïve decisions of fathers provide the viable problem between family bonds and possession of the property.
References
A Thousand Acres. Dir. Jocelyn Moorhouse. Screenplay. Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange, Jason Robards, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Colin Firth, Keith Carradine, Kevin Anderson, Pat Hingle. Walt Disney, 1998.
Rozett, Martha Tuck. Talking back to Shakespeare. Newark, Delaware: University of Delaware Press, 1994.
Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Web.