Iago Character Analysis

Iago is a cunning character and the antagonist of Othello. He is the force that works against Othello, and since Othello desperately trusts Iago, he is all the more dangerous. He is extremely smart and plans out things very well. He is like a master puppeteer in the way he controls the people around him. He can lie and sway someone to anger, and they will have no clue of his deeds. He also has no loyalty to anyone, even his wife. He had used his wife, and then killed her, which shows how untruthful he is. It seems as if there are strings attached to each character's bodies that connect them all to Iago's manipulating hands.

Othello #4

A choice that Shakespeare made that I liked was making the handkerchief a symbol. It is powerful because it alone symbolizes the love between Othello and Desdemona. This means that when you get a hold of this napkin, you can manipulate their love, as Iago did. With tweaking from Iago, this handkerchief slowly became a symbol for jealousy. It was the very first handkerchief that Othello had given to Desdemona. It was the start of their relationship, and it might as well be the end.

Othello #3

Characters: Lodovico, Desdemona, Othello
"L: Is there division twixt my lord and Cassio? D: A most unhappy one. I would do much t'atone them, for the love I bear to Cassio. O: Fire and brimstone! D: My lord? O: Are you wise? D: What, is he angry? L: Maybe the letter moved him; for, as I think, they do command him home, deputing Cassio in his government. D: By my troth, I am glad on't. O: Indeed? D: My lord? O: I am glad to see you mad. D: Why, sweet Otheloo— O: [Striking her] Devil! D: I have not deserved this. L: My lord, this would not be believed in Venice, though I should swear I saw't. 'Tis very much. Make amends; she weeps. O: Oh, devil, devil! If that the earth could teem with woman's tears, each drop she falls would prove a crocodile. Out of my sight! D: I will not stay to offend you. [Going]" (4.1:233-254).

I chose this passage because it is the point where husband and wife turn on each other.This passage shows how angry and changed Othello is. He is mad enough to strike his wife. This also reveals the confusion of others at his behavior and the innocence of Desdemona. Othello makes a reference to "crocodile tears" where he says that every tear Desdemona would shed is fake. Othello has gone through a transformation for the worse, and is slowly going crazy from the poison implemented by Iago.

Comment on James Dolan's blog:
I think it's weird how desperately Othello trusts Iago. He believes in every word that snake speaks. It is also frustrating that Othello hasn't told her why he is angry, which is a HUGE block in their relationship.

Othello Casting

Othello
"It gives me wonder great as my content to see you here before me. O my soul's joy, if after ever tempest come such calms, may the winds blow till they have wakened death" (2.1:183-186
"MY blood begins my safer guides to rule, and passion, having my best judgment collied"(2.3:199-200).
Othello is head-strong and noble and loves Desdemona with all of his heart. He also is very trusting, so trusting that he believes Iago for everything. He seemed to be easily manipulated. Othello should be black (obviously). He should be tall and heroic, walk chest out and have a deep voice.

Iago
"Thus do I ever make my fool my purse; for mine own gained knowledge should profane If I would time expend with such a snipe but for my sport and profit" (1.3:384-387).
"And nothing can or shall content my soul till I am evened with him, wife for wife, or failing so, yet that I put the Moor at least into a jealousy so strong that judgment cannot cure" (2.2:230-234).
Iago is the most cunning of all of the characters. He is not coward, but he hides behind others as he manipulates them. Iago is trusted by all for his false flattery. He shouldn't look like a creeper like popular belief, since he needs to seem trustworthy. He should be darkish looking and have a creepy smile. I should look short and thin.

Desdemona
"She gave me for my pains a world of sighs. She swore, in faith, 'twas strange, 'twas passing strange, 'twas pitiful, 'twas wondrous pitiful" (1.3:161-163)
"She's a most exquisite lady. Indeed, she's a most fresh and delicate creature. She is indeed perfection" (2.3:18-25).
She loves Othello very much and is fair to everyone. She treats Cassio as a friend even after his embarrassment. She also seems to be able to reign in Othello. She would probably be good-looking and move elegantly.

Emilia
"Good madam, do. I warrant it grieves my husband as if the cause were his" (3.3:3-4).
"Iam glad I have found this napkin. I'll have the work ta'en out, and give't to Iago. What he will do with it heaven knows, not I; I nothing but to please his fantasy" (3.3:306-315).
Emilia is kind and innocent, though her husband is not. She only wishes to please Iago, since Iago is her husband. Emilia is a good example of Iago manipulating someone. Emilia only does what she does because of Iago. She would probably be short and plump and a fussy housewife.

Comment on Haylee Winden's blog:
I agree with all of your cast and I like how you found quotes that really fit into how they should act.

Othello #2

It seems that Iago is a loner in the play. He schemes alone for his own benefit. He even manipulates Roderigo, lying to him to get him to call out Cassio. Iago isn't really friends with Roderigo; he's just using Roderigo as cover and a way to bring down Othello and Cassio. I think that he makes "friends" to better benefit himself. He states that he is on the good side of Othello, and says that this will better his attempts to bring Othello down. It's also strange that Iago's wife does not seem intimate at all to Iago. Iago is truly alone in this play.

Othello Research

Turks:
The Turkish were all united under the Ottoman Empire They were ruled by a line of Sultans, including Selim I and Suleiman the Magnificent. During the 16th Century, the empire was in its height of power and began a long conquest put on by its devoted Sultans. The Turks invaded and conquered parts of Asia , southeastern Europe, and North Africa. A Turkish invasion was a common fear.

The Ottoman Empire by the end of the 16th Century:

(Click to enlarge.)

Comment on Andrew Rood's blog for Venice:
So the first opera house was made in the city of Venice. It seems that Venice would have been a capital.

Comment on Haley Winden's blog for Moors:
I think it's interesting that the Moorish ruled Europe. If racism was existent, it obviously did stop the Moorish from taking over.

Comment on Olivia Everton's blog for Cyprus:
It was probably inevitable that a Turkish invasion would happen. I bet that this fact plays a big part in Othello.

Othello #1

At first when I began reading the book, I was confused because the Introduction threw me off by its length. And then, when I began to read the actual play, the difficulty of the reading hit me like a hammer. I had to go back and reread the verses to make sure that I understood the lines. Shakespeare either made up words a lot, or the language is just very old fashioned, or both. Also, the first scene starts off with bad feelings to the main character, possibly making us biased before we have met the main character.

The Piano Lesson Project Analysis

In a passage in The Piano Lesson, the author uses the slavery of his ancestors to add a deeper, emotional feeling to Boy Willie's argument over the piano. Boy Willie is talking to Doaker and Lymon about getting land and having to sell the piano to do it. He tells them, "[My daddy] spent his whole life farming someone else's land. I ain't gonna do that" (46). Boy Willie is like any other man; he feels strongly the unfairness of slavery. He is infuriated by how most of his family have lived in slavery and has a strong will to turn the family legacy around. And now that he has a chance to own something for himself, he begins to pursue the American Dream.

The Piano Lesson #7

In this scene, Lymon really shows his true self. He is another man looking to settle down and Berniece is a woman in need of love. This brings a new relationship into the story, as Lymon seduces Berniece. This will undoubtedly cause a large strain between Lymon and Avery, who is also looking for Berniece's hand. I think Lymon has a good chance, but the suit might be a problem by making him to cocky.

Comment on Katie-Jo's blog:
I think that what happened was that Lymon lived a life like Boy Willie (I'm sure you know what I mean) and realized that he wanted to settle down with someone he truly loved. That's why he seduced Berniece. "A Clockwork Orange" readers will understand!

The Piano Lesson #6

In Scene II of Act II, you learn that Berniece's mama had her play the piano. Her mama believed that she could hear he dead husband while Berniece played. This is believable because there are also ghosts in the story. This scene also puts emphasis on the significance of Crawley, Berniece's now dead husband. Then, Berniece specifically states, "I got Maretha playing on it" (70). This could mean that Berniece might also be hearing her husband's voice, and is getting Maretha to play like Berniece's mama got her to play.

Comment on Haley Winden's blog:
I agree, Berniece needs to move on. Her past distracts and makes her unreasonable. Avery is a nice guy and Berniece needs him. If Berniece marries him, then she'll be able to support her family better, and I'm sure she likes Avery. Berniece just needs to get over it.

The Piano Lesson #5

Something I noticed about Wining Boy is that he seems to have financial trouble. It is hinted quite a bit that Wining Boy gambles and drinks his money away. Something that supports this is the disappearance of the money bag he appeared with a while before, and also how he borrowed five dollars from Doaker, after he missed his chance to ask Berniece. Wining boy has yet to pay back Doaker, and it's interesting how he has yet to pay him back, even though he sold a suit for more than ten dollars.

Comment on Tawnie Karren's blog:
I understand why he would keep the ghost a secret because he is the one who can sympathize the most with Berniece, for he was the one who lived with Berniece for that past years, and understands that she is barely making enough money to support them.

The Piano Lesson #4

In the end of scene two, you finally learn who the ghosts of the yellow dog are and how Boy Willie and Berniece's dad trying to steal the piano. You also learn about how Berniece's husband dies. Because Berniece so strongly believes that it was Boy Willie's fault, this probably how she reasons that Boy Willie is the one pushing people down their well. This idea is helped by how Sutter's ghost seems to be calling for Boy Willie, and how Sutter conveniently died and allowed Boy Willie to be able to buy the land.

Commment on Haylee Winden's blog:
I also think that Berniece doesn't believe that people can change, which affects her trust in others. This could be harmful because she thinks that Boy Willie is pushing people down their wells, but what if he's innocent. Her bitterness clouds her judgement.

The Piano Lesson #3

In Act One, there is a great deal of singing. It seems that the singing and music brings everyone together, especially when they all know the song. When they join together singing, it gives a sense of closeness about them. The music also connects to the piano. The piano, in its own way, is significant to both their family and the Sutter family. The piano is covered in carvings of the history of the family of Boy Willie, carved by his own grandfather. It was also played by Mrs. Sutter up until she died. It holds a significance to both families.

Comment on Maegen Redfern's Blog:
I thought that phrase was interesting, too, and Boy Willie does seem to be undermining Berniece a lot. But, I think that maybe Boy WIllie might be accusing Berniece like that because maybe Berniece has believed in convenient things before. Although we learned much of their history, I think that there is more to their history than we know.

The Piano Lesson #2

In what we read today, we learn of the importance of the piano when multiple people ask to buy/sell it, but Berniece won't let it go. But, though we know that it's important, we have yet to find out why it's important. This mystery creates a sense of curiosity about the piano, and the determination of Bernice to keep the piano will probably clash with Boy Willie's determination to sell it, creating future problems.

Comment on Olivia Cordell's blog:
Although I disagree with the "like most young men are at around his age" part, Boy Willie does seem pretty selfish. It is also interesting how Berniece is rude to him, hinting about how untrustworthy he is. There is definitely a strange history behind them, and I'm curious about it.

The Piano Lesson #1

I think it is interesting that in the play, you aren't told what the setting is. But, by the accents of the characters, and the road Boy Willie and Lymon take, you can guess the general area of where they are, or at least where they are from. Also, we are not sure if they are from the north or south, and black or white. I think that the author is trying to make it so that we interpret for ourselves what kind of personalities the characters have an who they are.

Comment on Andy Rood's blog:
I like how you noticed the automobile/civil war connection. I also agree with you insight on the language of the characters. The language indicates lesser education, but raises the question "Were they allowed education?". This definitely could be pointing out the the characters are African Americans recovering from the civil war.

Cry Journal #7

I tabbed the passage where Jarvis comes and starts setting the sticks in to the earth. As he leaves, the men helping him start to say that he is "going queer" and is soon to lose all of his money. Jarvis comes to Kumalo and asks him if Absalom recieves mercy. He seems unsatisfied with the answer, and sets off to Pretoria, where Absalom is being held. I think that what Jarvis is doing is trying to step into his son's footsteps to better understand him. I think Jarvis is starting to be generous and is trying to help the native people.

I tabbed "it was still raining, but lightly, and the valley was full of sound, of streams and rivers, all red with the blood of the earth" (279) because he using this sentence once before; "the great hills stand desolate, and the earth has torn away. The lightning flashes over them, the clouds pour down upon them, the dead streams come to life, full of the red blood of the earth" (34). In the earlier quote, he uses explicit words like desolate and torn and dead to convey a foreboding tone. In the later quote, he uses lighter words. This connection tells us that there is bitterness in the earlier chapters of the book, but as the story progress, we start to see the good in others, hence the kinder tone.

Cry Journal #6

The African land and Kumalo suffer an internal torture together. The lands suffer, for their is too much industry and too much need of food to support the empire the Europeans built. "The great hills stand desolate, and the earth has torn away. The lightning flashes over them, the clouds pour down upon them, the dead streams come to life, full of the red blood of the earth" (34). This storm breaks down the earth, and the earth is leeched of it's life and turns hard and barren. This same storm hovers over Kumalo, for Kumalo has lost some his family. As he searches Johannesburg, he indeed finds them. The very same thing happened to Kumalo's family. But, when he finds each of them, he learns that they were corrupted by Johannesburg. He learns of their wrongdoing and it breaks down his character like how lightning tears the earth. He takes these blows until he is a broken man, on a broken earth. He learns that "there is nothing in the world but fear and pain" (121).

Ashoka Fellows

Albina Ruiz:

Is building a public waste management system in Peru to increase sanitations and health conditions in the area. There is now a public education program and a trash removal service from public agencies.

Arbind Singh:

Gives urban poor in India access to markets through large, employee-owned and managed institutions—large enough to influence policy and be legitimation competitors in market. He has given unorganized poor access to financial services and technology and solicit business.

Siriam Ayer:

Creating a base for new "role models" or mentors for underprivileged children. He introduced the component of empathy in the existing system and bridged the gap between a child's perceived intelligence quotient and hidden emotional quotient. Thus he is changing the way education is perceived and delivered to low-income groups.

Cry Journal #5

There are many characters that Alan Paton did not give a name to, and one of the characters is Absalom's wife. Throughout the book, she appears in various places of suffering, and it makes her seem older than she is. One time is when Kumalo tells her that her fiancée is in trouble with the police. Kumalo then asks her, out of anger, if she would be "willing" to him. She responds yes, and Kumalo is grieved because he did not mean it. She is also pregnant, and when she talks to Gertrude, they "laugh carelessly". But, throughout the book, Alan Paton refers to her as "the girl" as if to remind us that she is only a child. Eventually, Gertrude realizes this and stops laughing carelessly. "The girl"'s situation represents that in Johannesburg, you become older than you really are. This decision of Paton's represents very well that there is no room for children in Johannesburg.

Cry Journal #4

The author separates Cry into books because he uses a repetition of things from the beginning of Book 1 and puts them in the beginning of Book 2. This creates a sense of familiarity in the beginning of Book 2 and maybe foreshadow that something bad will taint the admiring tone in the second book, since the first book started with a admiring tone, but changed to disgust. He also uses different parts in the book to convey a change in the point of view. He goes from Kumalo's point of view, who is looking for his son, to Jarvis' point of view, who just lost his son. There is some contrast in this where Kumalo is just a priest with little money finding his son, and Jarvis is a wealthy farmer losing his son.

Oppression Links

This is a link to a chronological history of black slavery and oppression.
Chronology on the History of Slavery

A video of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" Speech.

Youtube

Cry Journal #3

Chapter 9
Phrase:

• Have you a room that you could let?
• Quietly my child, your mother is by you.
• What shall we do in the rain? The winter?
  

Image:

• Crowded rooms.
• The child coughs badly, her brow is hotter than fire.
  

Concept:

• People have been waiting five years for a house.
• Men only make 35 shillings a week.
• Such is the nature of woman.

A phrase repeated throughout Chapter 9 is "Quietly my child, your mother is by you". This phrase shows how much a mother cares for her child through times of distress. This could foreshadow maybe Stephen's sister and her child.

The image of "the child coughs badly, her brow is hotter than fire" is an example of the consequences of chance and poverty, since the sickness of the child is probably caused by not being able to obtain a home for so long, in which the victim has little control over the situation of overcrowded housing.

The concept "such is the nature of woman" explains how woman have to suffer birth, than take care of the child and love it, watch it grow, only to lose it.

Cry Journal #2

The author doesn't give the women in this story any names; the only people he names are the men. This is so different from our society (even our society in th 1950's) that it further distances us from relating to the story. The woman also seem fearful. They seem oppressed and their rules are strict; do something wrong and you're punished.

Cry Journal #1

I tabbed the first page because the tone at first is admiring and it talks about how strong is beautiful the land is. Suddenly, the tone changes to disgust as it describes another part of the country. I think that there may be foreshadowing or symbolism in that passage.

Another passage that I tabbed The first page of chapter one. It describes how the little girl with the letter treats the reverend's house with extreme care. The girl acts very timid, and all of this implies that the reverend holds high prestige in the society.

On pages 35-36, it shows the first of the dialogue. It is unique because the author uses dashes instead of quotation marks to indicate someone speaking. Sometimes, he uses nothing except a comma. It gives an overall sense of detachedness from the story.

I also tabbed the end of page 38. In this passage, the wife says, "He is in Johannesburg...when people go to Johannesburg, they never come back." This could foreshadow that the attempt to bring back their son from Johannesburg will be in vain.

LOTF-Journal #3

One apparent theme is "There is nothing to fear but yourself."

William Golding most obviously portrays this theme with the plot. The plot is the rise of the antagonist, Jack, which is made possible because of the fear of the beast and Jack's promise to kill it (like Hitler). But, as we know, the beast was merely an illusion, starting with littluns. First, the littluns started to see a moving shadow in the forest, and when they told this story to everyone else, the boys lost control and lived in constant fear of "the Beast" (like Swine Flu). Then Samneric "see" the Beast on the mountain, which is just a dead fighter pilot, and they run down and exaggerate the tale. That is when Jack takes control. He takes advantage of the fear in humans caused by other humans, and makes promises of being able to destroy the beast, and nobody doubted him for he was a hunter.

Another way that Golding portrays this theme is by the use of characters in the story. In fact, he uses a specific character, namely Simon. He has Simon explore the island at night, causes the littluns to see things after they have a nightmare. Then he even has Simon attempt to explain that maybe the fear is all in there heads, that maybe the boys just fear each other. Then Simon finally climbs the mountain and sees "the Beast". But, when he climbs back down to tell everyone that there's nothing to be afraid of, they think that hes the Beast and murder him.

LOTF-Journal #2

If William Golding had introduced female characters in the book, he would have complicated the story more. Young boys tend to stay away from girls ("Eew cooties!"), which would have created an automatic fissure between the boys and girls, adding to the conflict so that it wouldn't be just Jack and Ralph, but Jack vs. Ralph, who both vs. the girls. Also, I think Jack is sexist, so he would have probably killed all of the girls first,which would have made having the girls there at all unnecessary.

Of course, it could have also been the other way around, with Jack still vs. Ralph, trying to impress the same girl they happen to like. But the overall theme and story would have been immensely different. The girls might also have been much more responsible, lessening the isolated feel.

One important scene that would definitely have been taken out or changed was when the first ship passed by. That was the small spark between Jack (who was already mad for not being chief) and Ralph turned into a strong flame. With the girls there (assuming that they were responsible girls), the fire would have never gone out.

LOTF-Journal #1

How Piggy imitates the witch-like cry of the bird might foreshadow bad things to come around Piggy. It also adds an unpleasant air to him right off the bat. It might seem like Piggy has bad lick and that he's annoying.

How the author vividly describes a jungle layout and has Ralph jerk his stockings gives to the feeling of isolation. The habit of pulling his socks also shows that the boys aren't American.