Classism And Lack Of Personal Awareness

1141 Words5 Pages
Classism and Lack of Personal Awareness Will Persist

Both Julian in Flannery O’ Connor’s “Everything That Rises Must Converge” and Cassio in Shakespeare’s “Othello” have been raised to act and to believe that they are exceptional among their peers. This ingrained belief that they are better than others presents itself in the way they think and speak to those around them, who they choose to associate with, and how their lack of personal awareness negates any good intentions they may have.
Both Cassio and Julian’s breeding are the root causes of each man’s unique brand of classism. Cassio was born a Florentine and brought up to be a gentleman. In the days of Shakespeare it was essential that a gentleman possess the skills of flirtation,…show more content…
There are numerous areas in both literary works where Julian and Cassio display blatant classism towards those around them. Cassio provides a fantastic example of classism when he says, “The Lieutenant is to be saved before the Ancient.” This is because of the belief that your positions in life were designated by God and therefore would be reflected in heaven as well. Cassio even exhibits anger and a determination to defend his honor when Roderigo corrects his manners. “A knave teach me duty? I’ll beat the knave into a twiggen bottle.” Cassio considers it to be ridiculous and insulting to be corrected by Roderigo, a lesser class of man. While Shakespeare’s Cassio displays unconcealed classism, Flannery O’Connor’s Julian is a more subdued example, as the majority of his classism is relegated to the judgements of others within his internal monologue. As his aggravation with his mother reaches its breaking point he verbalizes his classism by saying, “You haven’t the foggiest idea where you stand now or who you are.” Believing he is superior to his mother, Julian feels entitled to speak condescendingly to her on more than one occasion. He withdraws into his mind which is
Show More
Related
Open Document