My mistress' eyes

My Mistress' Eyes by William Shakespeare, describes Shakespeare's girlfriend. The poem seems negative at first. He states "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" meaning that her eyes while beautiful do not have that immense level of beauty. The poem shows that Shakespeare is very grounded. He understands that no woman is perfect and doesn't expect as much. He knows that all the cliched phrases he uses are impossible, and as such relates that his girlfriend does not meet them. I thought this poem was the opposite of  Barbie Doll. Rather than seeing her as less than perfect as bad, Shakespeare understands that this is how all women are and treats them as such. He treats them as real people, because that's all they are, people. They are not Goddesses, but rather human beings. It is refreshing that Shakespeare understands this and doesn't try use his usual gushy poetry describing the immense beauty of a woman.

Barbie Doll Q1

In Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll, the difference between real life and ideals is shown well. A girl is seen to her peers as simply "a fat nose on thick legs." The girl was in fact smart healthy and athleticism. Because she was not the ideal, she was received poorly by her fellow students. Their image of the perfect woman was a barbie doll. While this girl was not as thin or as beautiful as a Barbie, she had attributes those do not. She was a real person with real feelings that was disregarded. The people saw her as less than herself. Because of this horrific treatment she felt there was no other option than to kill herself. There is immense irony, that once she has killed herself because of the lack of beauty she feels for herself she is finally seen as beautiful. This poem is a sad tale of a girl who lacks confidence and ends her life prematurely because of the criticisms of others.

A Jury of Her Peers Q.3

In Susan Glaspell's A Jury of her Peers, the search is on for a murderer. It is already certain who the murderer is, however, and the protagonists must find evidence in order to show the motive of the murder. The story involves the sheriff and one of his friends along with their respective wives. The men in the story assume the women will be useless and tell them to leave it alone. The men's view on women is obvious in their criticisms of Mrs. Wright. Glaspell writes "Dirty towels! Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?" (412). This shows that they expect women to simply do the housework and little else. This is ironic because the women are the ones who end up finding the clue. They find the dead bird that has been killed in a similar fashion to the husband. They are the ones who end up breaking the case. This story goes to show that generalizations are often not true. The people who are supposedly least likely to find the clue are the ones who use their own detective skills.

Hunters in the Snow Q. 7

In Tobias Wolff's Hunters in the Snow, we are shown three dysfunctional "friends" who go on a hunting trip together. All of the men are jerks to each other, but Frank and Kenny are especially mean towards Tub. After Kenny shoots a dog, Tub thinks he will shoot him, so Tub ends up wounding Kenny in the stomach. The guys begin to act like sane people, but on the way to the hospital that breaks down continually. Rather than driving as fast as they can to the hospital, Frank and Tub take multiple stops. The two move farther and farther away from humanity, and more towards animalistic properties. The compassion goes from little to none for Kenny as he is left to bleed to death in the back of a pick up truck. While looking up the last line, I found out it had great significance. "They had taken a different turn a long way back" (p.201) does not refer to driving directions as it seems on the surface, but rather towards a mental turn the guys made. They decided to allow Kenny to freeze and bleed out in the truck. They turn away from their human emotions, blackening their souls  by allowing their so called friend to die.

Othello overall opinion

Overall, I thought Shakespeare's Othello was a well written story. Shakespeare's writing is while difficult to read entertaining and creative. Shakespeare is able to describe his character's eloquently through his syntax and diction. One thing I liked was to see how Shakespeare developed multidimensional and dynamic characters.  Iago comes to mind first as multidimensional with seemingly multiple personalities he is able to manipulate every one he comes into contact with. He seems to have a separate face for every person he lies to. Othello is an obvious choice for the dynamic character with his transformation from calm gentleman to furious murderer. However, I would choose Emilia as the best dynamic character. She goes from following all of Iago's orders to being the one that unravels his master plan. She says "Villainy hath made mocks with love" to Othello, revealing Iago's true nature. She brings about the plot shift by showing what has actually been happening. Shakespeare tells a great story by developing his characters and their actions, and bringing the reader's emotions into the story.

Othello Thoughts on Ending

I thought the ending of Othello was fitting. Shakespeare has both good and bad triumph in the story. He balances the two forces well. While many of the good characters are left dead, Iago's evil plan has been discovered. I especially liked how Emilia finally stood up to her dastardly husband. She says "I will not charm my tongue, I am bound to speak" to Iago, after revealing the truth. She suffers the consequences of these actions, however, in getting stabbed by her husband. One thing I didn't like was the convenient letters Roderigo had on his person. It seemed to me as if Shakespeare could have come up with a better unraveling than that. It seemed as if Shakespeare spent all his time writing this brilliant play, then at the end was just tired of writing and took the easy way out. All and all however, the ending was pleasing due primarily to the fact that Iago has been captured. His evilness has been shown to the world, and he will not have another victim.

Othello Act V

In act V of Shakespeare's Othello, Iago is finally discovered. This doesn't happen until significant blood has been shed. Through the course of the act, due to Iago's villainy Roderigo, Desdemona, Emilia, and Othello all die. Cassio gets a potentially crippling injury from Iago's blade, and Othello stabs Iago, but not fatally. Also, indirectly due to Iago Brabantio dies due to grief of his daughter's wedding which Iago revealed to him. I found Othello's reason for killing Desdemona dumb. He says "She must die, else she'll betray other men." He decides he has to kill Desdemona so she doesn't cheat on other men, even though she still hasn't admitted the affair, which never happened. Also, his wife is faithful to the end. I found it particularly interesting when Desdemona doesn't give up Othello for murdering her. With her last breath she clears Othello from her murder. While this was fairly close to the outcome I was expecting, I was hoping Iago could die in some sort of a particularly painful manner. He remains alive, but hopefully not for long.

Othello Act IV

In Act IV of Shakespeare's Othello, it seems as if Iago's plan is going to come to fruition. Iago is able to concretely convince Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him. Also, Othello's anger finally boils all the way over and he punches Desdemona. Othello is told that he will be leaving Cyprus for Venice, which makes him even more angry. This leads Othello to his decision to kill Desdemona. He says "Get me some poison, Iago, this night. I’ll not expostulate with her, lest her body and beauty unprovide my mind again—This night, Iago!"  Iago then conveniently tells him that he should strangle her instead. This made me kind of angry. Iago isn't happy enough with seeing Othello kill his faithful wife. He must see Othello kill his wife with his own hands. Iago has become worse than a villain now, he has become a devil. In all his actions evil is seen. He has no purpose other than to hurt those around him.

The Role of Race in Othello

In Othello, race seems to be a touchy topic. There are many instances where Othello is treated poorly by many people due to his race. From the beginning, he is referred to as a "Barbary horse" by Roderigo. This implies that Othello is less than human, with Roderigo going as far as to call the children Roderigo will have as horses. Throughout the story, Othello is often referred to as "The Moore" rather than as his name. This shows that they see him as the odd man out simply due to his race. I wonder if Iago's hate towards Othello isn't at least partially due to racism. Even Othello's wife seems to have some odd views, saying "I think the sun where he was born drew all such humors out of him" (III. iii. 21-22). She seems to think because he grew up in Africa he has received his personality. I find it interesting that Othello is the great general in this story while every one else seems to hate him. He is the greatest of them all, yet is treated as the least.

Act III

Shakespeare communicates the meaning of love in Act III of his work Othello. I found this act provides intricate details into love, and the varying emotions love can bring. Othello is stuck between the love and hatred for his wife. Iago's villainy is full blown, planting seeds of doubt in Othello's mind. Iago has given suspicions to Othello. At the end, Iago is planning to murder Casio. This act shows a vast contrast to the love he has for his wife at the beginning of the play. At the beginning, Othello has complete trust in his wife, even going as far as to put his life in her hands. Now, he has put all his trust in Iago's hands. I am amazed at the master manipulator Iago seems to be. Iago seems to make his will action, simply through his persuasive speech. Due to Iago's inflicted doubt, rather than wanting to spend time with his wife, like Othello had earlier in the play he now wants Desdemona "To leave me [Othello] but a little to myself." He wants to be away from the one he used to love so much.

Act II

In Act II of William Shakespeare's Othello, the reader gets to see Iago put his sinister plan into effect. Iago begins to set up his dominoes that he will then knock down. Iago shows that he plans to get Casio drunk so he will make a fool of himself and be quick to anger. This works swimmingly, as Casio falls into Iago's puzzle, stabbing Montano for calling him drunk. In this part of the play, the audience is beginning to see the serpentine qualities of Iago. I can now see why some may consider him the greatest villain of all time. Shakespeare's writing makes Iago seem even worse a villain. The poet's syntax and diction contribute deeply to the meaning. After Iago gets Cassio to drink, and Cassio becomes angry, Cassio says to Montano "A knave teach me my duty? I'll beat the knave into a twiggen bottle." (II.iii.109-110) Shakespeare's wordage makes the play more entertaining due to the phrases used during the period.

Othello Act I Questions 1 and 9

In William Shakespeare's Othello, Act I serves primarily as a primer for the play. It gives background information, and shows the conflicts that will come up. The main conflict is Iago's hatred for Othello. In front of his general he acts as if he is the most loyal soldier, but behind his back he is the most devious person one could imagine. Iago has actual complaints along with unproven suspicions that make him hate Othello. Iago was passed up for the promotion of lieutenant given instead to Casio. Iago hates this, and is enraged by Othello's actions. Also, Iago believes that Othello has been sleeping with his wife. Iago says that it is "Thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets he's [Othello] done my office." Iago uses veiled words in order to reveal to the audience his suspicions. Shakespeare often uses clever phrasing in order to show a serious subject in a less obtuse way.