3rd Response Essay - Brian Cowing - Professor Gruesser
In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello, Iago plays the role of a man who plays out split personalities, where he masks himself as a loyal friend and soldier, honest man, and trustworthy, but in real life he is manipulative, cunning, and deceitful. As just a small section of a large army controlled by Othello, he manages to fool almost every major character in the play, including Cassio, Roderigo, and even Othello. After fooling these people, he plays an adverse effect on how the rest of the characters communicate and act towards one another, showing the differentials between his appearances and his true intentions.
Roderigo is a character in the play that has an everlasting desire to wed Desdemona, the current wife of Othello, and goes through depressing states and woes on how she chooses Othello over him. Iago comes into this seeing it as an opportunity for his own amusement, he torments Roderigo by telling him to keep sending gifts and money to Desdemona and she will in turn leave Othello for him. The only problem with this plan is that he is foolish enough to use Iago as a messenger of these goods, where in reality he is pocketing the money for himself. Iago explains to Roderigo:
“Put money in thy purse.
Follow thou the wars: defeat thy favor with an unsurped beard.
I say, put money in thy purse.
Desdemona should continue her love to the Moor- put money in thy purse- nor he his to her.”
Act I Scene iii (342-346)
This is a prime showing of how Iago manipulates Roderigo, where he keeps pressuring him to keep sending gifts and money to Desdemona, and with this she will leave Othello, but in reality he is pocketing the money for his own self keeping and does all of this for his own personal amusement.
Iago plays the multiple personality towards Cassio as well. He appears to Cassio as an advisor to his position, as well as an honest man, a faithful and dutiful soldier, and even simply as a friend. In reality though, Iago has devious plots towards Cassio, both professionally and personally. He wants to take over his job, and work his way up the ladder of the military. He also believes that Cassio has been fooling around with his wife, Emilia, and seeks to plot revenge on him for that as well, even though her infidelity never truly happened.
Iago plays the biggest factor in the shift of when Othello loves his wife with complete passion to believing she was unfaithful and wishing death upon her all within the span of a few hours. He masks himself to Othello as a loyal soldier to his commander, as well as an expert on Venetian society, an advisor, and an overall honest man and friend. His true intentions show that he seeks revenge and torment on Othello, believing that he too slept with Emilia, and wishes to simply destroy him from his position as commander as well as his reputation. He explains a lie to Othello on the handkerchief that he planted to seem that Cassio had, making Othello believe that something was going on between the two of them. This then leads to Othello’s madness and jealousy, ultimately leading him to killing Desdemona as well as himself.
Even though Iago’s acts of betrayal, manipulation, and deceit make him a strong protagonist and one for the viewer to grow disgust at, it is extremely prevalent that he makes the biggest impact on the storyline in Shakespeare’s Othello. His actions cause people to change and turn on one another, where his appearances lead people to befriend him and put their trust in him, where in reality he is manipulating these people to get his way and simply for his own self satisfaction. Without his impact, the tragedy would have had a steadier plotline and would have generally been a lot more unexciting.
2nd Response Essay - Brian Cowing - Professor GruesserREVISED
There have been many protagonists of stories, whether in film or literature, that have been debated as heroic in stature, stagnant, or villain as their place in the story. The judgment of this trait is debatable between parties, and Odysseus of The Odyssey is one that is often discussed. Many question if his acts in the epic are indeed heroic, where some believe he is while others believe that his acts are foolish. I believe that even though he does a few things on impulse he is overall of heroic stature.
His one act of foolishness and strict impulse that can deter him from being of heroic stature of bravery and determination is revealing his name to the Cyclops as he departs from his island. This on his part is very arrogant, foolish, and absent minded. He risks his men getting hurt, as well as himself, by revealing his name to the son of Poseidon, the God of the Sea. They are departing after blinding Polythemus, so his timing is not good nor is his arrogance. Also, it is seemingly unnecessary to reveal his name because it has not made a difference if he stayed unknown. The Cyclops would have never known who he was and he and his men could’ve had a much safer journey to Ithaka.
Odysseus’ acts of courage, bravery, determination, and overall heroism shine in the Odyssey. Even though many claim that his blinding of Polythemus is opportunistic and cruel, he does what he has to do to keep his men from being eaten alive by the Cyclops. Also, when he returns home to Ithaka, he defeats the suitors in the archery challenge, and then with the help of his son and others slays the suitors. He sends a powerful message to the suitors upon revealing himself in Book 22, stating, “You dogs, you never thought that I would anymore come back from the land of Troy, and because of that you despoiled my household, and forcibly took my serving women to sleep beside you, and sought to win my wife while I was still alive, fearing neither the immortal gods who hold the wide heaven, nor any resentment sprung from men to be yours in the future. Now upon all of you the terms of destruction are fastened” (XXII 332:35). This is significant to his heroic qualities of determination and bravery because he does not let the numbers of the suitors deter him and intimidate him from regaining his household as well as his wife. He acts on the code of vengeance for these haughty suitors destroying his house, sleeping around with his servant women, and overly pursuing his faithful wife Penelope.
Odysseus has shown some displays of human behavior, some that would deem him to some as non heroic, but his traits and actions that shine in The Odyssey have shown that he is a man of true heroic proportions. His bravery and determination leads the way through the obstacles Odysseus and his men have to face. Nothing ever does come easy, and Odysseus has to endure severe hardships, most that would kill the average man, but his perseverance and determination brings him home back to his faithful wife Penelope, and he restores order in Ithaka as the leader.
1st Response Essay - Brian Cowing - Professor GruesserREVISED
In the Odyssey, much of what takes place, how people constitute themselves, and the events that happen all follow codes given by Zeus. In these times, codes were established and enforced readily to keep order in the society to prevent an anarchist take over and other uncivilized behavior. One of the key codes of behavior in the first half of the Odyssey is loyalty. Loyalty must be established amongst all social classes of people in order to maintain overall respect. Another key code of behavior is hospitality, which also ties in with the respect aspect of the code of loyalty, where one does not violate another’s belongings or people that draw close to them. Hospitality must be mutual amongst the host and the guest; otherwise, large conflicts arise as they do in the Odyssey.
The Code of Loyalty must be observed by all citizens, whether the King to his subjects, the Gods to mortals, and so on. These laws have been put in place by Zeus to keep order in society. However, loyalty to Odysseus as King has been disrespected and broken by the suitors relentlessly seeking his wife Penelope. In Book 2, Eurymachos, one of the head suitors, explains of the seemingly dead Odysseus and their use of his household, “…and his possessions will wretchedly be eaten away, there will not be compensation, ever, while she makes the Achaians put off marriage with her, while we, awaiting this, all our days quarrel for the sake of her excellence, nor ever go after others, whom any one of us might properly marry.” (II 44,203). With this, he is stating that the suitors are refusing to leave, and they will eat all of the food, drink all the wine, and will not give up until Penelope marries one of them. This is a complete violation of loyalty because they are breaking into the King’s household and practically blackmailing his wife to marry one of them.
The Code of Hospitality is another code of behavior that is prevalent and practiced in the Odyssey, also one like Loyalty that has been violated. To the ancient Greeks and Romans, hospitality was a divine right. Not only have the suitors violated the hospitality code in the house of Odysseus, but even Odysseus has violated this code with the cave of Polythemus. The suitors have betrayed the King by ravishing his household, stealing his food and drink, and making attempts at taking his wife from him. However, even Odysseus violates the Hospitality code by demanding a guest gift from Polythemeus in his cave, and also entering the cave without revealing his identity. Odysseus speaks to Polythemeus on the arrival in his cave in Book 9, “but now in turn we come to you and are suppliants at your knees, if you might give us a guest present or otherwise some gift of grace, for such is the right of strangers.” (IX 144, 266). It is blatantly rude to flat out ask or demand a gift from someone amongst entering their home, especially without revealing themselves or why they were there in the first place, violating the code of Hospitality.
The two most prominent codes of behavior in the first half of The Odyssey are Loyalty and Hospitality, both of which frankly both have been violated. However, I believe Odysseus is victim of the vengeance code, being dealt from Poseidon, and he also violates the hospitality code, like the suitors, in entering the cave of the Cyclops without revealing a name or reason for being there. This leads to all sorts of conflicts throughout the book and shapes the guideline for the second half of the book. These codes have been put in place by Zeus, and since they have been violated, those perpetrators will be punished for their behavior, as Odysseus had many problems at sea due to Poseidon’s vengeance for his son, Polythemeus, after getting blinded, and the suitors who are slayed towards the end of the book by Odysseus upon his return to Ithaka.
In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello, Iago plays the role of a man who plays out split personalities, where he masks himself as a loyal friend and soldier, honest man, and trustworthy, but in real life he is manipulative, cunning, and deceitful. As just a small section of a large army controlled by Othello, he manages to fool almost every major character in the play, including Cassio, Roderigo, and even Othello. After fooling these people, he plays an adverse effect on how the rest of the characters communicate and act towards one another, showing the differentials between his appearances and his true intentions.
Roderigo is a character in the play that has an everlasting desire to wed Desdemona, the current wife of Othello, and goes through depressing states and woes on how she chooses Othello over him. Iago comes into this seeing it as an opportunity for his own amusement, he torments Roderigo by telling him to keep sending gifts and money to Desdemona and she will in turn leave Othello for him. The only problem with this plan is that he is foolish enough to use Iago as a messenger of these goods, where in reality he is pocketing the money for himself. Iago explains to Roderigo:
“Put money in thy purse.
Follow thou the wars: defeat thy favor with an unsurped beard.
I say, put money in thy purse.
Desdemona should continue her love to the Moor- put money in thy purse- nor he his to her.”
Act I Scene iii (342-346)
This is a prime showing of how Iago manipulates Roderigo, where he keeps pressuring him to keep sending gifts and money to Desdemona, and with this she will leave Othello, but in reality he is pocketing the money for his own self keeping and does all of this for his own personal amusement.
Iago plays the multiple personality towards Cassio as well. He appears to Cassio as an advisor to his position, as well as an honest man, a faithful and dutiful soldier, and even simply as a friend. In reality though, Iago has devious plots towards Cassio, both professionally and personally. He wants to take over his job, and work his way up the ladder of the military. He also believes that Cassio has been fooling around with his wife, Emilia, and seeks to plot revenge on him for that as well, even though her infidelity never truly happened.
Iago plays the biggest factor in the shift of when Othello loves his wife with complete passion to believing she was unfaithful and wishing death upon her all within the span of a few hours. He masks himself to Othello as a loyal soldier to his commander, as well as an expert on Venetian society, an advisor, and an overall honest man and friend. His true intentions show that he seeks revenge and torment on Othello, believing that he too slept with Emilia, and wishes to simply destroy him from his position as commander as well as his reputation. He explains a lie to Othello on the handkerchief that he planted to seem that Cassio had, making Othello believe that something was going on between the two of them. This then leads to Othello’s madness and jealousy, ultimately leading him to killing Desdemona as well as himself.
Even though Iago’s acts of betrayal, manipulation, and deceit make him a strong protagonist and one for the viewer to grow disgust at, it is extremely prevalent that he makes the biggest impact on the storyline in Shakespeare’s Othello. His actions cause people to change and turn on one another, where his appearances lead people to befriend him and put their trust in him, where in reality he is manipulating these people to get his way and simply for his own self satisfaction. Without his impact, the tragedy would have had a steadier plotline and would have generally been a lot more unexciting.
2nd Response Essay - Brian Cowing - Professor Gruesser REVISED
There have been many protagonists of stories, whether in film or literature, that have been debated as heroic in stature, stagnant, or villain as their place in the story. The judgment of this trait is debatable between parties, and Odysseus of The Odyssey is one that is often discussed. Many question if his acts in the epic are indeed heroic, where some believe he is while others believe that his acts are foolish. I believe that even though he does a few things on impulse he is overall of heroic stature.
His one act of foolishness and strict impulse that can deter him from being of heroic stature of bravery and determination is revealing his name to the Cyclops as he departs from his island. This on his part is very arrogant, foolish, and absent minded. He risks his men getting hurt, as well as himself, by revealing his name to the son of Poseidon, the God of the Sea. They are departing after blinding Polythemus, so his timing is not good nor is his arrogance. Also, it is seemingly unnecessary to reveal his name because it has not made a difference if he stayed unknown. The Cyclops would have never known who he was and he and his men could’ve had a much safer journey to Ithaka.
Odysseus’ acts of courage, bravery, determination, and overall heroism shine in the Odyssey. Even though many claim that his blinding of Polythemus is opportunistic and cruel, he does what he has to do to keep his men from being eaten alive by the Cyclops. Also, when he returns home to Ithaka, he defeats the suitors in the archery challenge, and then with the help of his son and others slays the suitors. He sends a powerful message to the suitors upon revealing himself in Book 22, stating, “You dogs, you never thought that I would anymore come back from the land of Troy, and because of that you despoiled my household, and forcibly took my serving women to sleep beside you, and sought to win my wife while I was still alive, fearing neither the immortal gods who hold the wide heaven, nor any resentment sprung from men to be yours in the future. Now upon all of you the terms of destruction are fastened” (XXII 332:35). This is significant to his heroic qualities of determination and bravery because he does not let the numbers of the suitors deter him and intimidate him from regaining his household as well as his wife. He acts on the code of vengeance for these haughty suitors destroying his house, sleeping around with his servant women, and overly pursuing his faithful wife Penelope.
Odysseus has shown some displays of human behavior, some that would deem him to some as non heroic, but his traits and actions that shine in The Odyssey have shown that he is a man of true heroic proportions. His bravery and determination leads the way through the obstacles Odysseus and his men have to face. Nothing ever does come easy, and Odysseus has to endure severe hardships, most that would kill the average man, but his perseverance and determination brings him home back to his faithful wife Penelope, and he restores order in Ithaka as the leader.
1st Response Essay - Brian Cowing - Professor Gruesser REVISED
In the Odyssey, much of what takes place, how people constitute themselves, and the events that happen all follow codes given by Zeus. In these times, codes were established and enforced readily to keep order in the society to prevent an anarchist take over and other uncivilized behavior. One of the key codes of behavior in the first half of the Odyssey is loyalty. Loyalty must be established amongst all social classes of people in order to maintain overall respect. Another key code of behavior is hospitality, which also ties in with the respect aspect of the code of loyalty, where one does not violate another’s belongings or people that draw close to them. Hospitality must be mutual amongst the host and the guest; otherwise, large conflicts arise as they do in the Odyssey.
The Code of Loyalty must be observed by all citizens, whether the King to his subjects, the Gods to mortals, and so on. These laws have been put in place by Zeus to keep order in society. However, loyalty to Odysseus as King has been disrespected and broken by the suitors relentlessly seeking his wife Penelope. In Book 2, Eurymachos, one of the head suitors, explains of the seemingly dead Odysseus and their use of his household, “…and his possessions will wretchedly be eaten away, there will not be compensation, ever, while she makes the Achaians put off marriage with her, while we, awaiting this, all our days quarrel for the sake of her excellence, nor ever go after others, whom any one of us might properly marry.” (II 44,203). With this, he is stating that the suitors are refusing to leave, and they will eat all of the food, drink all the wine, and will not give up until Penelope marries one of them. This is a complete violation of loyalty because they are breaking into the King’s household and practically blackmailing his wife to marry one of them.
The Code of Hospitality is another code of behavior that is prevalent and practiced in the Odyssey, also one like Loyalty that has been violated. To the ancient Greeks and Romans, hospitality was a divine right. Not only have the suitors violated the hospitality code in the house of Odysseus, but even Odysseus has violated this code with the cave of Polythemus. The suitors have betrayed the King by ravishing his household, stealing his food and drink, and making attempts at taking his wife from him. However, even Odysseus violates the Hospitality code by demanding a guest gift from Polythemeus in his cave, and also entering the cave without revealing his identity. Odysseus speaks to Polythemeus on the arrival in his cave in Book 9, “but now in turn we come to you and are suppliants at your knees, if you might give us a guest present or otherwise some gift of grace, for such is the right of strangers.” (IX 144, 266). It is blatantly rude to flat out ask or demand a gift from someone amongst entering their home, especially without revealing themselves or why they were there in the first place, violating the code of Hospitality.
The two most prominent codes of behavior in the first half of The Odyssey are Loyalty and Hospitality, both of which frankly both have been violated. However, I believe Odysseus is victim of the vengeance code, being dealt from Poseidon, and he also violates the hospitality code, like the suitors, in entering the cave of the Cyclops without revealing a name or reason for being there. This leads to all sorts of conflicts throughout the book and shapes the guideline for the second half of the book. These codes have been put in place by Zeus, and since they have been violated, those perpetrators will be punished for their behavior, as Odysseus had many problems at sea due to Poseidon’s vengeance for his son, Polythemeus, after getting blinded, and the suitors who are slayed towards the end of the book by Odysseus upon his return to Ithaka.