The Disintegration of Social Order in King Lear, Brave New World, and The Crucible - Research Paper Example

 The Disintegration of Social Order in King Lear, Brave New World, and The Crucible Society maintains its order through certain norms which are to be followed by individuals. When individuals do not follow social norms and assert their individuality, social order is disturbed. Literature reflects this conflict between individual and society which becomes a threat to an existing social order. King Lear, Brave New World and The Crucible are few examples from literature which show disintegration in social order .Social institutions like religion, family and government reflect order in society. When there is disturbance in any of these institutions this thing represents chaos in the affairs of society. In King Lear individual ambitions of Edmund and the daughters of Lear disturb family relationships while in The Crucible individuality asserted through witch dance turns into a connection with devil. Similarly, the so called happy world in The Brave New World strengthens the impression how dangerous individualism is for the stability of society. The central theme in all the above mentioned texts is that society achieves order and stability by training the individuals according to the demands of certain rules and laws. The controllers in Brave New World are obsessed with ‘social stability’. The Director thinks that “Bokanovsky’s Process is one of the major instruments of social stability!” (p 8). Through this process they condition their “ babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons, as future sewage workers”(p 11). The directors keep their clones away from all those things that might corrupt them. One of these things is individuality that may come through having emotions and feelings. They assume that “when the individual feels, the community reels”. The individual should learn certain values like respect of community through repetition of phrase “I am a crowd”. But three characters Bernard, Helmholtz and John are the individuals who have traits which make them different from other members of the community. Bernard due to his small stature is different from other Alphas. He dislikes casual sex and also has individualistic characteristics. Helmholtz along with John shares fascination for literature. John’s beliefs do not match to the world he is living, even his moral ideals come from his study of Shakespeare. That’s why the Controller Mustapha proposes exile for them as they are society’s outcasts. They are the individuals who are critical of the Brave New World. They break certain rules of the community thus disturbing the social order. Similarly, King Lear thinks that in order to sustain social integration one should know “The offices of nature, bond of childhood,/ Effects of courtesy, dues of gratitude." In King Lear social disintegration comes in the form of the disintegration of a family where the Children do not show due respect for the father as he comes in the way of their individual ambitions. In both the plots the children in order to satisfy their lust for material gains break the family ties and pursue their hidden agenda without any sense of guilt. Edmund challenges all social norms that give superiority to elder brothers over their younger brothers. He puts fort this argument to fight for his individual rights: Wherefore should I Stand in the plague of custom, and permit The curiosity of nations to deprive me, For that I am some twelve or fourteen moonshines Lag of a brother? Why bastard? Wherefore base? (I.ii. 2-6). This thing motivates him to follow no morality rather he binds himself to goddess of nature. His assertion“Thou, Nature art my goddess, to thy law/ Myservices are bound” (I.ii. 1-1) clearly reflects that he prefers animal instincts over established norms as he thinks that the pursuance of one’s individual desires is the only aim. Goneril and Regan also follow the same line of logic as they think that due to his old age their father has no right to cling to power. Their standpoint is in line with Edmund’s view according which he justifies his attempts to gain his father’s property. I have heard him oft maintain it to be fit that, sons at perfect age, and fathers declin’d, the father should be as ward to the son, and the son manage his revenue.”(I,ii,45-46). In The Crucible religion and society become one and the religious society exercises its authority in the form of Salem court. Salem authorities try to bring about order in society through conforming behavior. But this strictness becomes counter productive as it crushes individual freedom. Social order is disturbed when individuals like Abigail, Betty and Tituba start such practices in the forest as are against the commands of religion and society. They perform witch dance in the forest but when authorities try to bring them to book, they start accusing each other. The resultant witch trial further exposes the society and shows moral corruption in the society in the form of illicit relationships. The trial divides the society into two groups. The authority represents order while individualism shown in the form of alleged witchcraft represents chaos. The dialogue between the two characters shows two viewpoints of the society. Parris: Now, in the midst of such disruption, my own household is discovered to be the very centre of some obscene practice. Abominations are done in the forest – Abigail: It were sport, uncle! (Act 1). The same act is ‘disruption’ for a person representing authority and ‘sport’ for an individual challenging the authority. Conformity is the main value in Salem society. The activities of Abigail and others in the forest show that they had their own individual views of happiness which ware against the established rules of the society. The individuals showed their disregard for the strict discipline of the society and raised voices against it. All three texts show that society maintains its order in a situation where all the individuals think alike and have regard and respect for the rules made by the institutions of the society. If they do not follow those rules and pursue their individual ambitions, they pose a threat to the order in society and become the instruments of chaos. Non conformity results in imbalance in social order. Conforming individuals will perform their assigned rule in the society. The controllers should ensure that social balance is not upset. Alphas, Epsilons and others have been assigned certain roles as were considered fit to create balance in the society. And balance is actually the stability which will ensure happiness of the society. The balance of family is disturbed in King Lear as the children have taken the role of parents. This thing makes fool mock at Lear in this way:" . . . thou madest thy daughters thy mother" and " . . . thou gavest them the rod and puttest down thine own breeches." (I. iv. 187-190). In the same way the leaders of Brave New World assume that high art is threat to a balanced state of extreme happiness. The individuals pursuing high art like tragedy destabilize social order. Hence they ought to be discouraged. The Controllers assert, "you've got to choose between happiness and what people used to call high art. We've sacrificed the high art". Similarly in The Crucible the court is trying to check disorder by punishing those who are accused of witchcraft. Thus all the texts repeat the same ideas that social disintegration is caused by imbalance in society. When everybody thinks alike and follow norms, no imbalance is created . But when individuals try to become non conformists and try to pursue their individual goals, social disintegration occurs. Works Cited Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper Perennial, 1969. Print. Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, N.Y: Penguin Books, 1996. Print. Shakespeare, William, and Craig S. Walker. King Lear. Peterborough, Ont: Broadview Press, 2011. Print. Read More