Comment on Shakespeare’s portrayal of Othello

In Shakespeare's time black people were classed as second-class citizens. They were often looked at as devil-like and evil. This was, however, a stereotypical view, often accepted by the people of Shakespeare's day. People looked at the Bible to show that black people were devil-like and evil. The Bible tells the story of Noah and the Ark. In the Ark it was forbidden to have children, as there would not be enough food. However, Ham, one of Noah's sons, decided to disobey these rules, as he wanted to have the son who would be ruler of the world. When Noah found out and they returned to land, Noah banished Ham to Africa. Ham had committed sin and was evil and devil-like because he had disobeyed his father for his own self-interest, risking the lives of others in the Ark. As black people were said to have originated form Africa, where Ham was banished, they could be descendants of Ham, who was evil, and therefore black people were evil and devil-like too. Black people were also said to be over-sexed, unstable, irrational, suffer from fits, and be devil-like. In the prejudiced mind, Shakespeare presents Othello to match all of these stereotypical categories that black people were said to be. People with an open mind, however, can simply see that Othello is a man in love. In Act 4, Scene 1, line 40, Othello has a fit. This matches with the stereotypical view that back people have fits. However, Othello has a fit because he was in a rage. The reason being that he had become so disturbed by the stories of his beloved wife having been unfaithful. It is possible for anyone, white or black, to have a fit if they were as distressed as Othello was. Othello may be seen as over-sexed. He talks in a very passionate manner. Shakespeare presents Othello to have a glorified situation of his and Desdemona's affection for each other. It is more likely; therefore, that Othello is infatuated in their love than over-sexed. The depth of his passionate language, in which you can see that his love is more than a hallucination, is shown throughout the beginning of the play. â€Å"Amen to that, sweet powers/ cannot speak enough of this content/ it stops me here: it is too much joy†(II i 188). Othello declares this after he and Desdemona are reunited after their journey to Cyprus. Othello is talking passionately to Desdemona, however, this does not immediately prove him of being over-sexed, it shows the love he is sharing with Desdemona. Othello could be seen as irrational when he kills Desdemona by smothering her, Act 5, Scene 2, and Line 85. Iago, however, is far more irrational then Othello ever could have be seen to be and Iago is white. Iago's irrationality can be seen in one of his soliloquies. † I'll have our Michael Cassio on the hip, / Abuse him to the Moor in the rank garb-/ For I fear Cassio with my night cap too-â€Å"(II i 286-288). Here Iago is saying how he believes his wife has been sleeping with Cassio, of which he has no verification. He says in effect that he wants Cassio dead. This shows Iago's irrationality because he has no reason to have Cassio dead, or to even contemplate that he has slept with his wife. Iago provokes many deaths, without remorse, which shows that he has extreme irrationality. Being devil-like was another typical view people had of blacks. Othello while he is in a rage could be seen as devil-like. † Therefore confess thee freely of thy sin;/ For to deny each article with oath/ Cannot remove nor choke the strong conception/ That I do groan withal. Thou art to die† (V ii 54-56). Othello speaks these words to Desdemona before he murders her. Othello has no prove of her infidelity, except from what Iago has told him. Othello is in a huge rage as he is about to kill her and therefore could be seen as devil-like. Iago is also very devil-like, more than Othello and he is white. This contradicts the stereotypical view of black people in Shakespeare's' time. Act 5 Scene 2 Line 235 Iago kills his wife Emilia for speaking of Desdemona's faithfulness, therefore showing Iago's deceitfulness. Shakespeare cleverly presents Othello stereotypically, but also as a normal person. He could have done this to suit the different audiences, but he may have used these contradictions as a way of making people less prejudiced. Shakespeare thought carefully about the presentation of Othello's character as it shows two sides of a black man. Othello is a great general who has also won the affections of a white woman. Shakespeare was not the first to have presented a black man on stage. But he was the first to have not presented that black character as beastly and ferocious. He presents a warrior with great passion. Othello's language throughout the play is full of great passion. â€Å"All's well now, sweeting; come away to bed†(II i 234). This is one example of Othello's passion. At this point in Othello his passion is only towards Desdemona in a loving way. As Othello develops, Othello's passion changes as he becomes wrapped in a passion of jealousy. Othello then becomes an uncontrollable, violent man. Othello never stops his passionate loving for Desdemona but feels it his duty to kill her before she breaks more men's hearts. â€Å"Yet she must die, else she'll betray more men†(V ii 6). Othello says these words to himself while Desdemona is sleeping, before he is about to smother her. At the beginning of Othello you would never have thought that anything could ever come between a couple bearing so much love for each other. However, all that was needed to break this loving couple apart was Iago, gently introducing ideas, mentioning, just little things like Cassio's quick departures from Desdemona. â€Å"Cassio, my lord; No sure I cannot think it/ That he would steal away so guilty-like, / Seeing you coming.†(III iii 38-40). Iago keeps slipping in comments about Desdemona, until Othello becomes so caught up with jealousy that he is convinced of his wife's unfaithfulness. As Othello has so much passion, his anger is brewed into a huge mental tornado, which takes time to build up, but when at full strength can destroy even what seem like the strongest things, Othello and Desdemona's marriage, and resulting in the death of Desdemona.

Comfort Zone

Comfort Zone Brian Tracy, one of the top success speakers and authors in the world, has once said, â€Å"Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new. † His point is that, when one steps out of her comfort zone it will be strange, difficult, or painful. However, one will only grow or learn from the experience if they accept the embarrassment, difficulties, and the awkwardness that come with trying something new. I agree with Brian Tracy because of my experience becoming a soccer player.It started in middle school when I decided to join my school’s soccer team. I would watch soccer matches with my family and I was comfortable with the idea of watching it, never playing it. Until eighth grade, when I decided to step out of my â€Å"comfort zone. † Growing up, I wasn’t the healthiest child and I knew that I needed to change my habits. Therefore, in middle school, I decided to join my school’s soccer team. I knew a majority of the rules and how to play different positions despite not knowing how to dribble a soccer ball.When I attended the soccer meeting, that’s when it hit me that there’s a huge difference between watching soccer on TV and actually playing. The other players on the team had played soccer since the age of four, and there I was, without soccer experience. After signing up for the team, I felt foolish, scared, and distraught because I didn’t want the other players to judge me. I didn’t want them to make fun of me because I couldn’t dribble or kick a soccer ball, but my inner voice was still telling me, â€Å" Don’t quit! Let the judging motivate you! Who cares if I can’t kick a ball, I will learn! My comfort zone was watching soccer whereas, trying to play soccer was me, stepping out of my comfort zone. During warm-ups in the first practice, I felt as if I was going to die! My legs fe lt horrible, and there were 2 hours left of practice. I wanted to quit, I was uncomfortable and embarrassed because I fell during an easy drill, was the slowest runner, and tired in the first 20 minutes. In the back of my mind I knew that I shouldn’t quit, I did soccer for me, to benefit my health and feed my anxiety and curiosity about the sport. On the other hand, if I were to quit, I knew I would be unhappy and disappointed with myself.Therefore, I stayed with soccer and I’m happy with my decision because I’ve made the greatest friendships and came out of my comfort zone. My middle school soccer experience has changed me in the greatest way, it helped me realize that I will face problems where at times I won’t feel comfortable and that I shouldn’t quit, no matter how difficult, strange, or painful. After playing soccer in the eighth grade, I decided to continue to play in high school; I wanted to continue my new healthy habits and my friendships that I made in middle school.From freshman year to senior year, I have played soccer for my high school team, junior varsity for my freshman year and varsity for my sophomore, junior, and senior year, and during all my embarrassing falls, crazy drills, and â€Å"psycho† coaches, I realized I love playing. Such a shift in my own paradigm was one of the hardest things for me to do however, I learned what it means to play with heart and passion, a team is a family, and new healthy habits. I grew because I was willing to feel awkward and embarrassed and as Kristen Wiig has once said, â€Å"When you go out of your comfort zone and it works there’s nothing more satisfying. †

Compare and Contrast the Characters of the Loman Brothers

The audience are first introduced to the Loman brothers as they are staying at their parents home in Brooklyn. The brothers are woken by their father, and begin an incredibly deep conversation concerning their lives. This conversation reveals a lot about Biff and Happy and their outlook on life. Firstly, an immediate contrast is made in how the pair treat women. Happy has an incredibly degrading attitude, in which he thinks that he is entitled to any women that he wants, despite being aware that they are engaged to executives at his work.Not only this, he claims that he doesn’t â€Å"want the girl, and, still, I take it†. Firstly, the fact that he cannot address the woman by her name, and instead â€Å"it† shows how little he thinks of women and how they are made to feel by being given the false hope of being â€Å"wanted† by this womanizing character. Biff and Happy remember when they were young, and Happy refers to his â€Å"first time† as a †Å"pig†. This accentuates how little respect he has for women, and how he judges them on merely their looks.Biff, on the other hand, seems to feel differently to Happy, ignoring his derogatory comments and admitting, â€Å"I’d like to find a girl – steady, somebody with substance†. He clearly used to have the same tendencies with women, as he â€Å"taught† Happy everything he knows about women. However, Biff has clearly matured and grown out of his phase of seeking women as if it was a sport, as his brother still does. A similarity between Biff and Happy are that they are both concerned for their father’s recent behaviour, and discuss things that they have both noticed about him.Happy tells Biff that he is â€Å"getting nervous about im†. Despite having their differences with their father, they both care a lot for him and can immediately notice when he begins to act differently. Biff is also clearly concerned about his mother and how sh e is coping. When Willy is talking to himself, he is (growing angry) and asks rhetorically â€Å"Doesn’t he know Mom can hear that? † This portrays how Biff seeks to protect his mother.On the other hand, it seems that Happy seems to care more about his fathers opinions then Biff, as he tells Biff that â€Å"I wish you’d have a talk with him†. He does not like the conflict between his brother and his father, and perhaps believes that this conflict is what is making him act strangely. Biff on the other hand, see’s his how his father is behaving as â€Å"selfish† and â€Å"stupid†. He is still frustrated with the conversation between him and his father, concerning Biffs’ future plans (or lack of them).During Willy’s mobile concurrency, Biff and Willy are seen in their youth. Here, it is shown that Happy is often over shadowed by his older brother Biff and ignored by his parents. As a result of growing up in Biff's shadow, H appy is always striving for Willy's attention, but has never really got it. This is shown when the young Happy is repeatedly tells his father, â€Å"I'm losing weight, you notice, Pop? † Willy brushes Happy off here, and this hint of favouritism may be why Happy feels that he should aim to be in a job like his fathers to impress him, whereas Biff does not.

Can Rapers Be Good Role Models

Im a teen whose influenced by rap, rap myself because love it and I breathe hip-hop but I dont smoke pot I dont have guns dont sell drugs I dont go out and try to kill people because know whats right to do and whats wrong to do heroes a perfect example ill Haynes a rapper but he tells kids to stay in school he was a straight a student in school yeah Hess really stupid right and amine yeah he Was a drop out and a attic but he tells kids now not to get involved with that stuff he tells kids to stay in school USIA does not influence you in a bad way just describes how you feel at times and IP hop and raps good for that because it come out and says how its feeling. Is the response of a boy interviewed about the topic. Teen that view rappers as their heroes, chose them because they can related to them, many who grow up in bad neighborhoods and with out a mother or father, are the ones that can related to OPAC, Amine and Baggy Smalls.Others who just had their mommas, related to Ill Wayne and know about that mother love. Rappers eventually have to make songs at times about partying and drinking, but thats just to sell record, the true fans of those rappers know better than to live that thats the massage being send by their role models. I myself am a fan of rap music.Amine and Tuba Shaker, have been role models to me yet I dont drink, smoke, are involve in gangs or neither am I having sex, those are just stereo types people make about music, When view this artist as role models, I look at what they really stand for and what they try to do with their music, those who use them as an excuse to the negative decisions they decide to take shouldnt blame it in a person, instead they should blame it on their self.

Fluid Mechanics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fluid Mechanics - Essay Example If the dimensions b and d of the immersed surface are 8.00 ft and 12.00 ft and the vertical distance is 10.00 ft., the magnitude of the resultant force on one side of the immersed surface is, 3. As indicated in examination Figure 1, assume that b = 27.00 in., d = 63.00 in., and h = 5.00 ft. The static moment of the immersed rectangular surface with respect to an axis in the surface of water, in feet to the third power. 4. As indicated in examination Figure 1, a rectangular plate is immersed in water in a vertical plane with its top and bottom edges horizontal. If b = 3.00 ft, d = 7.00 ft. And h = 2.00 ft, the vertical distance from the surface of the water to the center of pressure of the immersed surface is 5. A trapezoidal surface having the dimensions shown in Examination Figure 2 is immersed in fresh water with its top edge horizontal and at the surface of the water. The resultant force on one side of the immersed surface is 7. The formula to determine the moment of inertia of a rectangular surface with respect to a horizontal line drawn through its centroid is _________, where the surface’s width runs parallel to the line through the centroid. 8. a symmetrical trapezoid plate has the following dimensions. The width of the parallel are, respectively 2.50 ft. and 4.50 ft.The perpendicular distance between those sides is 1.50 ft. The plate is submerged in a liquid in a vertical position with the parallel sides horizontal and the shorter parallel side at the top and exactly even with the surface of the liquid. The moment of inertia of the plate with respect to the surface of the water would be, 9. a new cast iron pipe for conveying water from one reservoir to another has a diameter equal to 8.00 in., and the length is 5400.00 ft. The head tending to cause flow is 40.5 ft. If the velocity head and minor loses of head can be neglected, the rate of discharge, in cubic feet per second, computed by using the Chezy-Darcy

Cultural values Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cultural values - Assignment Example There is a significant difference in the themes of Japanese people when compared to the American population. Within the American society, the rights of every individual become established and are not subject to cultural expectations. While similar fundamental rights to choice remain available within the constitution, the Japanese society perceives cultural values as superseding constitutional rights. Married women in Japan are therefore expected by the society to leave their careers and become full-time mothers. Individuals who opt to follow different paths find life increasingly difficult because of the cultural expectation. In contrast, the American society presents limited cultural expectations because of the multiple cultures making the American society. The diversity within the American culture remains the fundamental reason behind the absence of cultural expectations, and reliance on fundamental rights provided by the constitution.There are numerous cultural values within the J apanese society forming the base for the cultural beliefs. Empathy and human relations remains a fundamental aspect of Japanese culture, and are regarded as part of life. The Japanese believe that human emotions like love and anger come from the gods; hence showing love to others and resulting relations become valued within the society. Indentify oneself with another – empathy, remains highly valued within the society. Children are taught that human fulfilment emanates from close relationships with others.... Children are taught that human fulfilment emanates from close relationships with others (Nathan, 116). The Japanese believe that success comes forth through combination of efforts from different people. Order and status could be identified as the second fundamental aspect of Japanese society. The value is based on the Japanese belief in the philosophy of Confucianism, which emphasizes on harmony with nature, displayed through an individual’s contribution to social order and proper behaviour. Tranquillity and happiness are the fundamental results sought through the value of order and status (Slater and Robson, 360). Understanding of one’s social status in Japan remains fundamental in establishing relationship with others. While the status of individuals forms an essential element within the Japanese society, goals and self remain the fundamental aspect behind the establishment of the status. The element of individuality within the society becomes immensely admired wh en the individuals becomes perceived as sincere. While individuality is admired, extreme cases become negatively perceived as selfishness; which becomes the opposite of the value of empathy and human relations. The combination of these fundamental values presents a satisfactory balance between the society, environments, and the individual (Doi, 57). These values remain significantly important to the society, as they have contributed to the continued peaceful progression of the Japanese nation. Question 3 The social structure could be defined as a combination of different social arrangements resulting from and causing actions by members of the society. Social institutions have a significant impact on the roles played by

What are your thoughts on present day religious ideologies Are they Essay

What are your thoughts on present day religious ideologies Are they much different from Greek and Roman religious beliefs Explain - Essay Example In the ancient times, the Greeks and Romans were identified by their worship of â€Å"many gods† and goddesses (Mikalson, 2010, p. 224).1 The present day Christians, Jews, and Muslims only recognize one God. It is however worth noting that Hindus have many gods whereas atheists believe in none. The aspect of believing in multiple gods for the ancient Greeks and Romans as compared to one God for the present day religions is the largest distinctive factor between the two kind of religious ideologies. However, there are a couple of other differences and some similarities too that can be identified between the two groups. Firstly, the present day religions believe that God is unanimously powerful and he is able to control every aspect of life by Himself. On the other hand, Greeks and Romans appreciated the fact that the gods were powerful but they associated each god with a specific area of power. For instance, Zeus was the god of the skies, earthquakes, storms, lightning, and so on.2 Similarly, present day religious ideologies tend to describe God as good, morally pure and blameless. Contrary, the Romans and Greeks believed that the gods had similar personalities to the human beings. They believed that the gods too did wrongs, felt jealous and rage as much as they felt mercy and compassion. The present day Christian ideologies tend explain that people can talk directly to God through prayers and that their prayers would be answered appropriately.3 This is however not the case for the ancient Greeks and Romans, who believed that although gods would sometimes listen to prayers, especially if the individual has offered a sacrifice, the person that offered a better sacrifice will most likely get the help from the gods. Ultimately, even though the present day religious ideologies and the Greek and Romans religious beliefs have some