King Lear

If we were to chose between mercy and justice, what would this due to our society? In William Shakespeare's 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 Goneril's 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." (III iv 29-36)