In King Lear, William Shakespeare shows two similar characters with many vices. Lear is a foolish and gullible king who has many tragic flaws including moral blindness, vanity, and greed. Furthermore, Gloucester is a self-centered man who suffers from moral blindness and lives in his sin of adultery. Both characters lack reason and restraint, but ultimately go through a similar journey of loss to achieve redemption. Through loss of privilege, alienation, and suffering, Lear and Gloucester are able to recognize all of their vices and take responsibility for them, which ultimately allows them to redeem themselves. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Lear and Gloucester are both men who have lived with status and with that comes many privileges. Only recently released from his role as king, Lear continues to crave status, so he desires 100 knights, but his wicked daughters reduce his knights to nothing and Lear is forced to flee into the wilderness. In the desert, Lear glimpses the lives of the poor and begins his journey to redemption. Lear says, "Poor naked wretches... Oh, I have taken too little care of this!" Lear, realizing the horrible conditions the poor live in, admits that he has not cared for the poor like a king, begins to realize his shortcomings as a king and care for others by eliminating his vanity. Likewise, Gloucester is deceived and betrayed by his son Edmund who claims his title as well as his sight. This loss of privilege triggers something inside Gloucester that allows him to see how badly he treated the poor, Gloucester says: thinking a man is a worm. My son then came into my mind, yet my mind was then little friend to him. I've heard more since then. Through this loss of status, Lear and Gloucester are able to appreciate the world beyond the privileged one they know and take a step towards redemption. Lear and Gloucester are betrayed by their sons in the play, which leads to them being alienated from society. After finding that Goneril and Regan have reduced Lear's knights to nothing, Lear rages in the storm and says, "I am a man more to sin against than to sin against." Lear acknowledges that he has sinned but also that he has made many mistakes as a parent that have made his daughters evil and therefore allowed them to sin more against him. Lear takes responsibility for his role in making Goneril and Regan evil, which is supported by his earlier speech in which he says, “But you are my flesh, my blood, my daughter; or rather a disease which is in my flesh, and which I must necessarily call mine. Lear is able to understand his bad behavior which consequently brings him closer to redemption. Likewise, once Gloucester has put out his eyes, he isolates himself in Dover and says: “If I could bear it longer and not quarrel with your great opposing wills, my snuff and the hated part of nature should get burned. If Edgar lives, oh, bless him! Gloucester realizes the error of his sin of adultery and recognizes that his sin and his lack of moderation, the hated part of nature, should be burned. He also realizes that he did not treat Edgar properly as he was quick to believe Edmund without any reasonable information. Taking responsibility for his wrongdoings leads Gloucester further down the path to salvation. As a result of their alienation, Lear and Gloucester become aware of their mistakes as people and as parents and this pushes them to move towards redemption. Lear and Gloucester each experience a type of suffering, where Gloucester..