If we were to chose between mercy and justice, what would this due to our society? In William Shakespeares play, King Lear, it shows many examples of deceiving people who deserve to be punished for their actions, whether it is through justice or mercy. If there is no real punishment such as justice for people who commit crimes, the world will be full of criminals and dangerous people. By just forgiving people for their actions it will never help out society or keep it safe. By having justice in our society it will help us punish the people who do wrong in our world so there will be more good people then there is bad. In this essay I will show how justice is the number one way we should be punishing criminals, not mercy. Mercy would be a rather good thing for the people committing the crimes.
The world is not a perfect place nor are there perfect people, every day there are hundreds of crimes that are being committed and almost more than half of them are not being stopped. Without justice the world would be full of criminals, and would no longer be a safe place to live in. In the play, Goneril, the oldest sister, is a very evil, jealous and treacherous person. She goes against her father, challenges his authority and initiates an affair with Edmund. It is obvious that others know Gonerils treachery and jealousy. Albany is disgusted by Goneril and confronts her.
You are not worth the dust which the rude wind / Blows in your face. I fear your disposition; / That nature which contemns its origin / Cannot be bordered certain in itself; / She that herself will silver and disbranch / From her material sap, perforce must wither / And come to deadly use. (IV iv 29-36)
Albany is telling us that Goneril has done so much wrong that it is unforgivable and that she is not worth anything. You are not worth the dust which the rude wind / Blows in your face. (III iv 29-30) Albany will then finally get his way because Goneril will then be punished at the end of the play.
If we were to easily forgive people for the crimes they commit and nobody did anything about it, our society would never be safe. In act 4 scene 4 Cordelia is easily wanting to forgive her father and help him out of his insanity even after Lear banished her.
Tis known before. Our preparation stands / In expectation of them. O dear father, / It is thy business that I go about; / Therefore great France / My mourning and importuned tears hath pitied. / No blown ambition doth our arms incite, / But love, dear love, and our aged fathers right: / Soon may I hear and see him! (IV iv 22-29)
Cordelias love for her father is so strong she is unable to hold a grudge against him and sends people to go out and find him and bring him to her. But love, dear love, and our aged fathers right: / Soon may I hear and see him! (IV iv 28-29) This shows that some people may be too blinded and forgive others who have done them wrong, such as Cordelia forgiving and helping her father even after all the wrong he has done to her.
The reason why justice should be the punishment is because of the fact that if there were no punishment, we would easily be giving criminals a free pass and basically allowing them to continue doing their wrongs. In King Lear there are many characters that do wrong and even commit crimes. For example Goneril is evil and conniving when she begins to initiate an affair with Edmund even though she already had a husband. If Edmund were to go along with the affair they would be committing adultery. And more convenient is he for my hand / Than for your ladys: you may gather more. / If you do find him, pray you, give him this; (IV v 31-33) In the play there are plenty of examples of bed people and criminals everywhere. There is clearly no punishment for any of these characters doing wrong and evil. This shows that without justice we are merely allowing the wrongs people are doing to happen.
In the end, justice will be the only way to go. The essay that I have written points out that even if we had to chose mercy, we all know it would not be the safest route to take. If there were no real punishment in the world the criminals would infest our society. If only forgiving people who do wrong would actually work in a society like ours, however it does not, we need to keep it safe. Lastly, by having justice in our society it will help punish the bad people and keep the good people in. King Lear shows us the different levels of madness and shows us that justice is the route to take and mercy is merely a free pass.
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