my maid of honor speech for my sisters wedding!
13 years ago
Friday, February 27, 2009
The Animal I've Become
Othello fulfills the racial stereotypes Iago introduces in the beginning of the text. He becomes the animal represented in the bestial imagery Iago uses to defame him -- he becomes verbally aggressive, physically violent, and irrational. There is an indication that he has lost his wits, and yet he remains determined in purpose and even attempts to justify his murderous actions (he's merely "saving" men from Desdemona's whoring). Do you sympathize with Othello's actions? Is he a fallen hero (a.k.a. tragic hero) or simply an idiot who deserve his loss of reputation, love, and sanity?
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Of course I sympathize with Othello because he was manipulated by Iago, however, that doesn't mean I condone or agree with what he did. Iago, who is suppose to be Othello's best friend, completely stabbed him in the back and brain washed him so well into thinking that Desdemona cheated on him with Cassio it's not a surprise that the anger got the better of him and he murdered his own wife. However, two wrongs don't make a right. Othello started off as such a good man, it seemed, that I truly did like as a character, but then he let jealously and anger take over his body. I'm pretty sure everyone knows how when they get so angry about something, they do and say things that they later regret and feel horrible about. In Othello's case it's to the point of feeling so guity that he knows living without Desdemona would be hell itself, therefore he commits suicide. Can you image the love of your life go behind your back, cheat on you with someone who you trust, and have all this information given to you by your best friend? Wouldn't you do something bad and maybe regret?
I agree with Jess--partially, at least. I agree with the "two wrongs don't make a right" and that somehow, Othello's feelings were rational, if the given situation was true, but I still don't sympathize with him. I would even go so far as to say "Told you so!", because Des had a very strong commitment to her husband, and she upheld her part of the vows, but Othello lacked something. (This is just a personal pet-peeve, but) Othello's confusion was one of the most irritating parts of the play. I understand that he was manipulated and confused, but he was never decisive enough to take a real stand and killed Desdemona while he was still in love with her.
I do have a little bit of sympathy for him because he was really a puppet on a string, but if he had enough in himself to still love Des, I can't completely be on his side. Therefore, I'm just sitting on the fence for this one, neither one way nor the other.
I definitely sympathize with Othello because I don’t think anything he did was really his fault. If it wasn’t for Iago, none of this would have happened! It was really Iago who deserves to be treated with the punishments that Othello went through. Othello is definitely a tragic hero; even the name of the play is “The Tragedy of Othello; The Moor of Venice”. It is really depressing that Othello was tricked. When someone does something bad without knowing that it is bad, then is he/she really guilty? Othello is like an innocent child who makes a mistake. Even though Othello did seem hesitant when he was about to kill Desdemona, his actions were still due to Iago’s manipulation. In conclusion, Othello shouldn’t be called an idiot who deserves his loss pf reputation, love, and sanity.
I agree [for the most part] with what everyone above me has said. Othello shouldn't have believed every word Iago said and yet he still does without ever going to Desdemona and confronting her about it. This lack of action made me want to smack him reallyyyy hard. Seriously? You just married this woman to be your wife forever and you won't open up to her?! Sorry, that part really makes me angry. But back to the topic, I sympathize with Othello because he really didn't know better after Iago brain-washed him. You feel bad that he can't do anything about what's about to happen, especially when we saw how strong and defiant he was when Iago first informed him of Desdemona's unfaithfulness. He's not really a fallen hero, considering he did have some part in his own downfall, but considering he became mentally changed you sort of do feel bad for him. Iago changed him, and there was little, if anything, Othello could do to stop it.
Othello was quite a disappointing character for me. When he was first mentioned in the play, I pictured a brave hero fighting for his rights; he even earned the respect and reputable reputation from everyone around him, despite being colored. That's monumental to have others respect you who are supposed to view you as inferior. Othello becomes some sort of a madman or a beast when he finds out Desdemona cheated on him. I felt he took it too drastically. I agree that cheating is huge, and it really angered Othello. However, if Othello claims to love Desdemona, yes, he might have thoughts of murdering her, but for him to say he wants to kill her in order to "save men from Desdemona's whoring" is ludicrous. Othello obviously doesn't love Desdemona the right way - he almost views her as his possession. I think that if he really loved her, he would have let her go, but Othello was too blinded by his violent nature to think in any rational way.
Othello wasn't wrong for having the feelings he did, but I felt he should have dealt with his emotions in a more mature way. He is simply too gullible. If his relationship is "strong" as he suggests, he should be able to confront Desdemona, but he misunderstands her and simply doesn't trust her enough. Othello is overly emotional, and he contrasts so much from the first scene where he says to the court that he trusts Desdemona so much that he is able to lay his life on it.
However, some part of me feels that the reason why Othello overreacts is due to his loneliness. Being a "Moor", Othello relied on Desdemona; he felt that she was the only person who understood him, who cherished him. Now when he thinks that his soul mate has cheated and lied, Othello becomes cynical to everything he's ever known, because his life revolved so much around Desdemona, his only family. At some points, this makes readers sympathize with Othello, but I was hoping that his strong character would have dealt with the situation in a more responsible way.
I sympathize with Othello, although I do not condone his actions. Othello understandably felt betrayed when he heard that his wife and only family had had an affair with a man that he trusted. This betrayal would have brought out the worst in anyone. I believe that Othello acted the way that he did partially because he did not understand how a man should act in a relationship of the family nature. Othello was a leader of men and war, not of family life. It was probably for this reason that he found it hard to transfer from ordering men to becoming somewhat of an equal in a family relationship. It did not help any that he was racially discriminated against and most likely always felt that he had something to prove to the world. To believe that his wife and only true loving companion betrayed him probably caused him to finally feel the true loss and pain of his situation. I do not condone his aggressive, physically violent, and irrational feelings, but I do believe that he had great reason to finally snap and react to the situation. I would not consider him to be a fallen hero, but rather a fallen man. Iago became his own personal demon warping everything in his life. Othello was just not strong enough to fight the evil forces that were against him and it is for this reason that he failed. His violent actions display the true nature of man (very much like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) part of the ideas behind the play. He was not an idiot (just like Dr. Jekyll), but rather someone who could not help but be corrupted by the forces that were at work around him.
He deserves it!!!! I'm sorry, I know I'm getting repetitive in class and my journals, but it sooooooooo bothers me that he's Iago's friend and never discusses the promotion or any rumors. Iago has plenty of reasons to hate Othello, and yet Othello doesn't notice any of them. We love Iago because he played his part so well. I personally hate Othello because he has not asides and isn't faking anything so we see the real him, both beast and man, and yet he never communicates or has any sort of real relationship. People respect him, probably only because of some great war decisions that led to victories, but his "relationship" with Des is a completely fake with no substance, his supposed "friend" honest Iago is anything but, and Cassio is like a little puppy following him in his footsteps. All of congress lets him kidnap a respectable man's daughter for heaven's sake! Plus he's an idiot for many of his own speeches, such as the handkerchief (and wow I just realized I spelled that wrong in all of my journals) he claims to be magic which just proved him to use "black magic" against Des. He's a fool and the only time he thinks about his actions is in the very beginning, which is totally misleading because if he truly always thought abut his actions thoroughly, he would have made Iago lieutenant or at least sat down and discussed with Iago why he chose Cassio so that there would be no hard feelings. Othello is the fool of the play and deserved to be made into a beast!
I have to sympathize with Othello, despite his heinous actions. I don’t think that he is an idiot, because men who really don’t have any sense- I’m looking at you, Roderigo- would not be qualified to ascend to high positions in the Venetian government, especially when there is a race barrier that would further hamper their efforts to get ahead. Othello is a man who was overly passionate about his love for Desdemona; it was a pendulum that could swing towards extreme happiness just by thinking about her, but also, as had occurred after Iago speaks to him, could return far in the opposite direction, where his treatment of her could twist into possessive rage and contempt. Although his behavior in the early scenes of the play, such as when he puts rhetoric to work in his speech to Brabantio and the Duke to prove that he is a proper husband for Brabantio’s daughter, indicates that he is an intelligent and reasonable character, it is the way that Iago instills fear in his mind that ultimately triggers his descent into insanity. By observing the zealous way in which Othello speaks of his lover, Iago probably realizes that he could be so blinded by his passion that he could easily be tricked into hating Desdemona, even because of an argument as illogical as Cassio and Desdemona having an affair. In effect, Othello is simply so overcome by emotion for Desdemona that it makes him irrational and causes him to lose his mind.
AHHH!! Othello frustrates me. He used to be a calm collected man who was respected by men who normally wouldn’t give him a second glace because of the color of his skin, and now he has been lowered to a man worthy of the insults “a Barbary horse” or a “black ram”. I mean it is understandable that a man will go a little crazy if he finds out his wife is cheating, but Othello hasn’t really found out tat Desdemona is cheating. He has lost the logical part of himself that would have gone to Desdemona on first suspicion and get the truth. I understand that Iago is a great manipulator but I thought Othello had a little more intelligence. I really do think Othello has become an idiot who deserve his loss of reputation, love, and sanity.(too bad, but he should have seen it coming, or at least tried to do something to save himself)
I think that Othello's attempts to justify his murder of Desdemona are merely just almost reflexive actions that are common to anyone who's doing something wrong. For example, in a recent episode of Battlestar Galactica, a senior officer on the ship staged a violent mutiny and political coup d'etat, in response to an alliance his leaders made with former enemies. The character had always seemed idealistic, and even though he had been pushed to this point of violence (his followers went so far as to execute what was essentially the presidential cabinet), he still tried to justify his actions, if only to himself. When Othello does this, it feels the same; we first met him as this larger than life character, with heavy overtones of pride and power. Even though he has basically been reduced to this violent animal (just as Iago had initally described him), his central character is still present. This is why I sympathize with him, because he made a human mistake that was so much a product of his basic personality that he almost can't be blamed for his quick judgement. Let's not forget that his life is the military, and in the military, there is no quarter for betrayal and treason. When his trusted friend is so adamant and convincing that Desdemona is unfaithful, Othello's military nature cannot allow him to overlook it. He is probably used to death, and this one probably feels especially righteous to him, because of Desdemona's "treason" (oh, the irony of Shakespeare!).
Othello is simply an idiot who deserves his loss or reputation, love, and sanity. What did he ever do to become a hero? I only sympathize with Othello being a fool, but I don't sympathize with his actions. For a military leader, he's pretty gullible. Why on earth would you believe a person that says that you wife is cheating on you with no hard evidence? Granted, Iago was like his best friend, but how were words enough to convince Othello? If I was put in Othello's position, I would confront Desdemona about it. I would not just rely on Iago's words and a handkerchief to prove an accusation. That handkerchief could have been picked up by anyone else. I would have to catch Cassio and Desdemona in the act before killing or hitting or hurting anyone. Othello is such a jealous person. He's so jealous he could kill someone. He's so stupid...I would not want him as my country's high military officer. If an enemy posing as a Venetian came up to him, he'd believe he's a Venetian and probably tell all of his secrets too. He's way too gullible. It's too bad that he did not see past Iago's words until it's too late.
Iago completely, utterly and inhumanly manipulated Othello. While he still did make the decision to kill her, there is such a thing as brainwashing, and Iago did this to Othello. If Iago hadn’t been in the picture, this would have been a love story, not a tragedy. Iago pounded into Othello’s head that Cassio and Desdemona were having an affair, and if he hadn’t had such a foolproof plan then something would have gone wrong and only Iago would have died. While Othello did make the decision on his own, he wasn’t in his right of mind; he was almost drunk off of Iago’s stories. But still, to some extent Othello can be blamed, not a lot, but a little. At the end he still loved Desdemona and wished she hadn’t cheated on him, if he had believed her then nothing would have happened. Also, when he distrusted Iago he should have drowned him all the way and Iago would have been out of the picture. But I still feel for Othello, he was unfairly manipulated and used to Iago’s advantage.
I myself have been betrayed by close friends of mine and while it has never been to Iago’s extent I do sympathize a little bit with Othello. He was played and he had no reason to expect that one of his closest friends would do this to him. With that being said, I personally think Othello is a complete idiot. He is the general of an army and has years of experience how did he not realize he was being played by Iago? This man is suppose to be smart, he is a soldier and a commanding officer in a time where governments were extremely corrupt (especially the Venetian gov.) of whom he serves and he should’ve checked the validity of the rumors he heard himself rather than relying on ONE person.
Although Othello is considered to be the "tragic hero" of this story, I'd rather label him as the "tragic human", because just like all other humans, he is flawed. Do we feel sorry for him? To some extent yes, but just like anyother human, he's an idiot. Just because Iago manipulated him doesnt mean it should serve as an excuse. Its only a reason for his actions.
Believe it or not, situations like this happen today. Maybe they dont result in death, but this always happen. Theres an outside person who manipulates a person into thinking that their loved one is cheating on them. Then that person gets pissed and they get into a big fight and break up violently.
Othello's stupid and deserves everything he gets. For a "smart" man, he should realize communication is KEY in relationships. And I don't care if it's the 1600s! People did talk then too! Does he expect pity because he's an easy target? Grow some tough skin and deal with the rumors. He gives into his emotions way too easily. Othello just really bothers me. In no way is he a hero... heroes are supposed to have dignity. Killing your wife over an ALLEGED affair cannot be something a respectable man does, no matter if he was "brainwashed". The fact that he allowed himself to fall under Iago's spell shows total weakness. Love should conquer all things, but clearly that doesn't apply to Othello.
Grace is totally right! It comes down to Othello completely lacking communication skills. Had he spoken to Iago about the promotion, I bet things would've ended differently. Had he just mentioned something to Desdemona or even Cassio, nobody would die. He's an idiot. Sorry, but it's true.
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