Inate Evil

            Immoral actions often arise in people respected by society. In A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley innate evil becomes evident in certain characters that has been held in their bodies for many years. Many of these characters dislike fighting and wan t to keep peace within the family, while others have certain priorities, such as making money, that they value more than their relatives. Nevertheless, every one of these people contain both morality and immorality, and both of these traits surface at dif ferent times throughout the novel. Because these characters live in a dysfunctional family, deeper enmity and vengeance tend to prevail among the characters. If they led a well-functioning life, they may not have all of the malevolence built up inside, ye t even if they had perfect family lives, they could never void themselves of all immoralities. In this novel as well as in King Leer people generally want to be good, yet human nature combined with a lack of order causes evil actions to arise becau se individuals desire to benefit themselves at all costs. In King Lear, two of the daughters as well as the King put their desire for power and money ahead of their family. King Lear gives up his kingdom to benefit his family after he can no longer rule the kingdom. Yet he eventually realizes that he loved having his army and controlling the land. The kingdom had always had a certain order and Lear attempts to break apart this structure by givving up his land. This tearing apart of the once solid s tructure causes the family to break apart because they all see an opportunity to satisfy their own wants that they cannot resist. These individuals have been born with a desire to make money or have power and when they see this opportunity it completely c ontrols their ability to think logically. King Lear began trying to benefit his family but his weakness prevails and despite the love of his children, he wants his power back just like Larry.