Week 4 Homework: Why does Othello react so quickly and so strongly to Iago's manipulation?

The reason as to why Othello is so quick to react so strongly to Iago's manipulation is because he feels so betrayed and insecure. I believe that it is a combination of the problem lying within Othello and Iago's skillful scheming that leads to Othello reacting so quickly to the news he is receiving from Iago. Othello is almost a little bit doubtful to begin with in his marriage to Desdemona. Being a completely different race to his wife, as shown through the naming throughout the first three acts, being refered to as 'an old black ram' and 'Barbary horse' (1.1.89-94)  have an  impact on Othello and how he see's himself. Because the doubt is already there, it does not take long for seeds of doubt to be placed in his mind by the so called 'honest Iago' (1.3.290) that his wife Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. Iago uses his reputation and skillful trickery to convince Othello into believing that his wife Desdemona is having an affair with a Cassio, a man who is both charming and charismatic and  works very closely with Othello as his Lieutenant. He is also a man that people would assume would be a more appropriate match for Desdemona than Othello. Because Othello see's this as a possibility, it does not take Othello long to be convinced that his wife is unfaithful. The reason as to why Othello reacts so quickly and so strongly to Iagos manipulation is not only due to Iago's ability to trick Othello, but mostly  due to the insecurities that Othello places on himself, making the problem lie mostly within himself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 3 Homework: Deception

The theme deception in William Shakespears 'Othello' is introduced in Act 1 through the character of Desdemona. The audience is positioned by the use of characterisation and naming, to view this theme in the play. In the first few scenes of Othello, the character of Desdemona is presented as a young woman who is honest, sweet, obedient and holds a good reputation. It is with this good reputation that she holds that she is able to deceive people, especially her father, Brabantio. When Brabantio discovers that his daughter  has been deceitful towards him by lying about her secret marriage to the moor, Brabantio is devastated, as shown in this quote, 'How didst thou know 'twas she? O she deceives me past thought!' (I.I.164- 165) The audience is introduced to the theme deception in the first act of Othello. The positioning techniques of characterisation and naming assist in positioning the audience to identify the theme of deception.

I do/ do not feel sorry for Brabantio

I do feel sorry for Desdemona's father Brabantio because he was so unaware of what was going on between Othello and Desdemona and it came as quite a shock to him. He feels as if he has been deceived and lied to and the fact that he is so unaware, positions the audience to feel sorry for him. "How didst thou know 'twas she?  O she deceives me" (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 164). However there is a thought that maybe he is not really concerned about Desdemona's life and what she does, and that it is his own fault that he was not aware about this relationship.

Homework Task Week 2

Why has Shakespeare chosen to introduce the main character in this way? How are we, as the audience, being positioned to see Othello and to see other characters? Write a well-structured paragraph in response, using evidence from the play, including at least one quotation.

The way in which the character of Othello is refered to in the play is as a cultural outsider in the city of Venice. In the opening lines of the play, the character of Othello continues to remain at a distance from much of the action that affects and concerns him. Characters such as Roderigo and Iago constantly refer to him as 'he' or 'him' along with other insulting racial names and gross and sexual terms such as "the thick-lips" (Scene 1, act 1, 66) and "an old black ram" (Scene 1, act 1, 88). It is the character of Iago that believes that Othello’s status as a political commander of Cyprus has been misplaced, believing that he should be in the place of Othello. Shakespeare may have chosen to introduce the main character this way because it makes the reader believe that perhaps Othello has been wrongly judged and misunderstood. However there are characters in the play such as Brabrantio and especially his daughter, Desdemona who admire his exotic traits and appearance, as shown in the quote made by Othello-“[Desdemona’s] father loved me, oft invited me, / Still questioned me the story of my life / From year to year” (Scene 1, act 3, 127–129). The contrasting views of Othello in the first few chapters of the play, especially by the way Iago refers to him, make the reader feel sorry for Othello, wondering if he is has been strongly misunderstood. The way Shakespeare has chosen to introduce the main character Othello, gives him a sense of mystery and makes the reader want to see if the way that Iago speaks of him is a true representation of Othello's character.

Othello Pre-reading Research

VENICE Venice is located in North-Eastern Italy, sitting amongst the border of the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the largest cities in Italy and well known as the city of canals. Venice was a major centre for commerce and trade, especially silk, grain and spice. It was controlled by a vast sea-empire, and became an extremely wealthy European city and a leader in political and economic affairs. The Turks and the Venetians were at war during this period, this led to one of the biggest confrontations, the battle of Lepanto in 157. This event was crucial in the decline of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. CYPRUS Cyprus, also officially known as the Republic of Cyprus is an island nation in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. It is in a strategic location near Lebanon, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. It is due to its location that Ottoman troops had captured Cyprus during the 16th Century, and led to it being divided between the Greek dominated a Turkish Cypriot and the Republic of Cyprus. Cyrus is 2,117 kilometres from Venice. The countries located nearby are Turkey, Egypt, Greece and Syria, these countries were known to be powerful during this time and had ambitions to take land for its natural resources. Moors The generic term ‘Moors’ had been given to anyone of an African or Arab descent in Europe. Moors came to Europe when they were not ruling any country and when they had lost their land. The Moors were then migrated to Europe and were forced to keep their religious identities hidden. When migrated to Spain, Moors were forced to either convert to Christianity or if they did not agree to this, they were told to leave the country. Moors were Muslims, so it is expected that they would have followed Islamic practices before being migrated to Europe. Turks The attitude that Elizabethans had towards foreigners was one of distrust. The Elizabethans believed that the Turks were outsiders and alienated these foreigners. To the Elizabethans, Christianity was the superior religion above the others and this created tension and a gap among races. Epilipsy Epilepsy is a neurological condition, having an affect on the nervous system..’Epilepsy syndromes are described by their symptoms which can include, confused memory, involuntary movement of arms and legs, blackouts, episodes of staring, fainting spells with incontinence to name a few. In the times of the Renaissance, people who were epileptic were regarded as intelligent and considered as prophets who, while having an episode, could see the past, present and future. During the Renaissance, Epilepsy was treated a few ways, one was using the secretions from the scent glands of a beaver which was ingested, another was the use of silver nitrate mercury, tin and copper zinc oxide and a third was ingesting the scrapings from a human scull for several months. An episode can be triggered by things such as loud noises, toxic chemicals\alcohol, flashing lights, caffeine and having a lack of sleep for example.

Challenging Society's Expectations

Mr Darcy is a character in Jane Austens novel Pride and Prejudice who challenges society's expectations. This is due to the way that he falls in love and proposes to a woman, Elizabeth Bennet, who is of a lower class than himself. Lady Catherine De Bourghs, reaction to this engagement clearly shows what society's expectations are and will be if they are to be married. In this quotation she clearly is very upset that a man of a class as high as his is not marrying someone, like her own daughter who is at the same position in society. Lady Catherine sayes 'because honour, decorum, prudence, nay, interest forbid it. Yes, Miss Bennet, interest; for do not expect to be noticed by his family or friends, if you wilfully act against the inclinations of all.' (p.366)This quotation shows what the society's expectations are, according to Lady Catherine. Mr Darcy has rebelled against society's expectations by marrying someone from a lower class for love, instead of marrying someone for wealth and their postition in society. The opinions of Mr Darcy and Mr Collins have an effect on the way that the reader is positioned to respond. Because the novel postions us to satire Mr Collins as an odd and obsessive man, the reader does not value his belief in abiding with society's expectations However we as the readers are in the postion to support Mr Darcy and his love for Elizabeth and the way in which he doesnt take society into consideration when deciding who he loves and who he is going to marry.

Pride and Prejudice Homework Week 8

How important a character is Mr Collins? Write a paragraph in response, clearly arguing your point of view. In developing your thesis, include a discussion of the way the reader is positioned to respond to him and the importance of this for dealing with at least one of the ideas underpinning the novel. Consider the work we have done in class on satire and irony as you plan your response. The Character of Mr Collins is very important in Jane Austens novel 'Pride and Prejudice.'This is because he shows the tradition of marrying without love and the views of society during this period. In this novel when Mr Collins proposes to Elizabeth he is rejected because Elizabeth believes in marrying for love. He proves to be the complete opposite to Elizabeth due to his belief in marrying for the sake of it. The audience is positioned to poke fun at Collins' ways, the views of the society and to disregard people in the novel who act in the same way as Mr Collins does. Sattire is used in the novel to make the reader see a character, what they believe in and their views as a joke. This is displayed when Mr Collins approaches Mr Darcy to introduce himself and when he does this Mr Darcy '[replies] with an air of distant civility' (p.g 96)When Mr Collins returns back to Elizabeth he tells her that 'Mr. Darcy seemed much pleased with the attention,'(p.g 96)when in fact the meeting did not go well at all. Mr Collins plays a significant character in the novel because he is used as a character to prove points made by Jane Austen, he is a character that positions the audiences to poke fun and think of him as an odd, conceited man.

Pride and Prejudice Homework Week 6

Elizabeth Bennet Character Profile - Clever, quick witted, honest and inteligent - She is the second out of five children in the Bennet family, clearly the favourite of her father who sayes "something more of quickness than her sisters." (pg. 7) - She is acutely aware of her society`s expectations - Through out the novel, you can see her sharp tongue can lead her into difficult situaltions, often leading her astray. - At the start of the novel the reader is positioned to believe that Elizabeth is very prejudice, this is demonstrated when Elizabeth is very quick to judge Darcy. - She has a tendancy to judge characters based upon appearance. -Early in the novel she is shown as being personally proud of her quickness and her acuity in judging the social behaviour and intentions of others is also shown. - Through out the novel and towards the end, ELizabeth learns to not be so prejudice, this is shown when she discovers the truth of what happened between Wickham and Darcy, it isnt until then when she realises that she misjudged Darcy.

My Daddy's a Diver Review

The short story "My Daddy's a Diver" was very effective as a short story. This short story uses a majority of the genre requirements which include an effective title, imagery and figurative language which all contribute to making this story successful. The title is effective in the way that it is in the persepective of the little daughter, where the story is coming from the diver/fathers perspective. For me as the reader the story was very emotional, in parts such as the father realising that when he killed the fish for his supper he realised he had killed a mate of another fish which made him think about the death of his wife. Another part in the story which was quite emotional was when the daughter said "Daddy, do fish cry?" followed by the concluding sentence which was 'At this moment a man, not a fish, found himself weeping. In this story an inner and physical journey takes place, inner, when the father realises that fish can also grieve over their lost mate and physical in the way that the diver was swimming in the ocean searching for fish to eat for supper. Overall this short story was very effective because it used many of the genre requirements such as imagery and was very emotional and engaging.

Read Unpolished Part III

What Does Part III say to the reader about Journey? Part III purely focusses on the migrant journey that the family have had. It discusses the family's aspiration for the 'Australian Dream' which is to build their own dream house with a big backyard and to have a successful buisness. This part in the story is also when the family have come to the realisation that they have lost their amazement for the new 'wonderland' country that they once believed it was. A conversation in this section also talks about how the family believe that on the outside they may look like they are adjusting to this new life where on the inside they believe that they are still the migrants from Cambodia.

Homework Task: Week 1

When I was a child I remember my sister and I recieved a doll house from our Grandparents for Christmas. I was around the age of four and my sister would have been three, it was the first doll house we had ever had and it was very special to my sister and I. The house itself was a creamy/ beige colour and the interior was pink and a turquoise blue,I remember that we used to play with it all the time. Although we do not have the house anymore, we still have some of the furniture and whenever we look at it, it reminds us of how much we used to love the house as a child. It also reminds me of the fact that we are getting older and all the things we used to play with and enjoy as a child we don't anymore and its a constant reminder that we are not the little kids we used to be and life is not as simple and full of play as it was back when I was younger.