King Lear and My Big Blog Question

      My big blog question, regarding how the progression of society and civilization has been both a detriment and benefit to humankind, can be related to King Lear through Lear's decision to divide up his kingdom. Although it is not an example of a progression of civilization over a long course of time, it illustrates how a single decision can become detrimental to the legacy of a kingdom and affect all those to whom it regards. When Lear decided to split his kingdom between Regan and Goneril, this caused a reaction between the two that ended in hostility between all members of the family and anyone with relations to them. Not only was a hostile environment created, but the matter was taken to such extremes that people got injured and killed. This issue brought out the worst in people and illuminated the dysfunction of their families through conflict over petty matters. Had Lear not announced that he wanted to split the kingdom, perhaps maybe none of the aforementioned events would have occurred. This is not to say that the families would be any more functional or the people any less bestial, however; Lear might have ended up alive along with most other of the characters in the play. In this circumstance, the progression of society is a detriment to mankind.
      In Lear, there is not much literature that demonstrates how the progression of society is a benefit to humankind. One of the few examples might be how Edgar's sense of humanity, compared to his brother and multiple other characters, ultimately saves him. All the characters that thirst for the throne the most end up dead as the play progresses. In the end, Edgar is the one getting offered the highest position of power, and he is the one that is most deserving at that point. This gradual determination of power is ultimately somewhat of a benefit, considering that neither Regan nor Goneril, nor any other of the completely greed-driven characters ended up with all the power. Although Lear does not have much to do with the progression over civilization and its effect, the play can still relate through the choices of its characters.