Character Analysis in a Corrupt Society

Sarcastic self-description

"I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn't care who knew it." — he's an outsider in a corrupt world.

Emotionally detached

"You're not human tonight, Marlowe." — Treated as emotionally detached; doing the 'dirty work' in a heartless society.

Objectified by Marlowe

"She gave me a look I could feel in my hip pocket." — sexualised and mysterious — femme fatale trope.

Alluring and dangerous

"She was trouble... but she was worth it." — women are treated with suspicion and desire.

Mentally unstable, manipulative

"She's a child who likes to pull wings oƯ flies." — seen as a product of moral decay.

Moral centre

"You're a good nurse. You have a kind heart." - Harlan — Described positively.

Her honesty defines her

"She cannot lie without vomiting." — even others try to exploit it.

Condescending and self-serving

Treated as inferior by the family: "You're part of the family!" vs "We'll take care of you, like family."

Spoiled and arrogant

"I'm not eating one iota of ****!" — his entitlement is emphasised in how he's treated (with excuses) by the family.

Aware of his role

"The ******* who makes a real mess of things." - Ransom describing himself — gets worse treatment as truth is uncovered.

Greedy and entitled

"You're useless, all of you." - Harlan — a family built on appearance, not substance.

Cruelly treated

"Here I disclaim all my paternal care." — He treats Cordelia cruelly; rash in judgment.

Stripped of identity and power

"Man's life is cheap as beast's." — Lear is treated like nothing by Goneril and Regan.

Growing vulnerability and mental decline

"O, let me not be mad." — mistreated and abandoned by his own family.

Treated unfairly for her honesty

"Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave my heart into my mouth." — her silence is punished.

Pure and morally upright

"Thou hast one daughter who redeems nature from the general curse." — even in a cruel world.

Punished and blinded

"The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices / Make instruments to plague us." - Edgar — Gloucester is punished.

Brutally treated but gains insight

"I stumbled when I saw." — his suffering leads to insight and redemption.