Similarities Between Misfit And Othello

Set in 16th century Venice, Othello, by William Shakespeare, explores the idea of an outsider from the very beginning of the play. Shakespeare uses Othello, a black army general, to explore the relationship of an outsider in high Venetian society using a variety of approaches. The reader sees characters consistently referring to Othello in derogatory and demeaning terms, as well as frequent implications that Othello is scarcely human. Further exploration of an outsider in society comes from Othello himself, as he outlines a few of the major differences that set him and the community apart.

How is the theme of suffering portrayed in ‘Othello’, ‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’?

The first Moore, the author, began his deviance in school through failing to do his assignments and performing extremely poorly in class. The second Moore, the prisoner, began through the use of a knife to solve conflicts as a child. Another case of defiance in the two children is evident when the first Moore, the author, started vandalizing public property. On the other hand, the other Moore was busy helping drug peddlers in supplying narcotics in the neighborhood. The mother of the first Moore became concerned of his son’s behavior and enrolled him to a prison school, where he would later become a leader of several cadets. It was while at this school that he gave his deviant behavior after several attempts to escape failed. The discipline levels in the school were extremely high, resulting in the young Moore changing his behavior for the better (Moore, 2011).

Within a society where individual thought is shamed and frowned upon, Guy Montag is easily seen as an outcast. Due to the fear of being outcasted alongside Guy or perhaps it is the fear of falling to the same fate of Clarisse, he is avoided and even disliked by his own wife. He begins to feel detached once his daily repetitive routine becomes challenged by Clarisse who asks simple questions such as, “Are you happy?” (Bradbury, 4) This creates a level of paranoia that someone will discover this new mindset of Guy’s and the heresy that will follow.

In most of Flannery O’Connor’s short stories a number of characters have a hard time seeing an ultimate reality in their life. They tend to have a distorted grasp on reality but not all in the same way. In the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” the Misfit and the Grandmother are prime examples. The actions and the way of life of the Misfit and Grandmother are mostly due to the fact that they are living in an false reality where they are in their own little world, where in the Misfit’s world everything goes with no worry of repercussion in the Grandmother’s case she can do no wrong because she has a false perception of what is right.

Though the family did not turn to violence like the Misfit, they still had their own set of issues. The other members of the family seem to be embodiments of society’s most self-interested and materialistic. O’Connor illustrates that with each generation of this family, there were no positive role models. Each generation had no effective parent to exhibit the correct way to function in society. Each generation then was stuck in

Sympathy is a feeling of pity and sorrow towards the misfortune of someone else, most common when a warm-hearted individual goes through many unpleasant occurrences. The actions performed by each character, in their respective texts, results in a shared unfortunate outcome, deserving sympathy. In The Picture Of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde, Basil Hallward and Roderigo from Shakespeare’s Othello, their friends betray both of them, although, it is apparent that Basil Hallward is deserving of more sympathy. Both characters have such a deep adoration for their friends, Dorian and Iago, that they are blinded from obvious actions and body language. This blindness ultimately leads to their deaths. Basil and Roderigo share similar traits in their characteristics as well. For example, through being overly kind, caring, and being determine to get what they want. Basil aspiring to have the strongest relationship with Dorian and Roderigo wanting Desdemona’s love.

As we read Othello in class Iago reminded me of a character named Lotso from the movie Toy Story 3 that was released in 2010. He reminded me of Lotso because in Toy story 3, he gained the trust of the toys at the daycare as well as Andy’s toys, he then manipulated them, and lastly turned them against one another. In Othello Iago manipulated the characters easily because they knew him as “honest Iago” and never doubted anything he said. He pretended to be everyone’s friend, and he also turned Othello against Desdemona and Cassio by using the fact that Othello was easily angered from jealousy. Iago did all of this because he wanted to punish Othello for not making him the lieutenant and to get rid of Cassio so that he could claim the position of lieutenant. These are the most apparent similarities between the two characters.

With his violent killing, the Misfit seems an unlikely source to look to for guidance, but he demonstrates a deep conviction that the other characters lack. Unlike the grandmother, who simply assumes that she is morally superior to everyone else, the Misfit seriously questions the meaning of life and his role in it. He has carefully considered his actions in life and examined his experiences to find lessons within them. He has even renamed himself because of one of these lessons, believing that his punishment didn’t fit the crime. He reveals a self-awareness that the grandmother lacked and questions it. He knows he is not a great man, but he also knows that there are others worse than him. He forms rudimentary philosophies, such as “no pleasure but meanness” and “the crime don’t matter.” The Misfit’s philosophies may be morally corrupt, but they are consistent. Unlike the grandmother, whose moral code falls apart the moment it’s challenged, the Misfit has a steady view of life and acts according to what he believes is right. His beliefs and actions

Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe both tell about men of status that lose all power as a result of their actions. Othello and Okonkwo fall into the general category of tragic hero, with each having a tragic flaw and a downfall. Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero is that the hero must have a tragic flaw, a downfall resulting from the flaw, and recognition that their flaw is the cause of the fall. Othello has all traits of Aristotle’s tragic hero, while Okonkwo lacks recognition. Both Othello and Okonkwo exemplify characteristics of Aristotle’s tragic, conveying a common theme while expressing individual themes. Things Fall Apart and Othello, the Moor of Venice share the theme that

When Shakespeare composed the tragedy Othello televisions were not. Along with no televisions, life in the late 1500s had many different qualities than it does today. This time period had no war on drugs and no high school shootings. Peer pressure was not an issue. The audiences of Othello in the 1500s did not face the circumstances that we, American high school students, face today. With these significant differences in daily life, come the attempts of movie creators to help prevent our modern day tragedies.

I’ll give you all the money I’ve got!” (O’Connor 355). She is pleading the Misfit for her life only by saying the word lady repeatedly and offering him the money. She is also praising the Misfit by calling him a good man and trying to save her life. She was also careless about her family. When her family is taken down into the woods, she continues to talk to Misfit. She ignores the sound of when her son and rest of the family were being shot. She is apparently oblivious to many things. She was ignoring everything but the Misfit. “The shirt came flying at him and landed on his shoulders and he put it on. The grandmother couldn’t name what the shirt reminded her of” (O’Connor 354). The grandmother doesn’t even realize that shirt was her son Baileys. She had no interest in knowing where that shirt came from and what happened to my family. For the concern of her life only, she tries to persuade the Misfit the same way she tried with her family. “I know you’re a good man. You don’t look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people!” (O’Connor 352). She is trying to manipulate the Misfit and hopes that he will bear her. She is thinking about no one else but the sake for herself. However she fails once again to influence the Misfit.

The grandmother believes The Misfit is “good” because he will not shoot a lady, which is a denial in her faith to keep her moral principles. Her theory proves to be false. The only thing “good” about the Misfit is his uniformity in living out his moral cipher of there is no pleasure but meanness in life.

Only by considering a range of perspectives can we truly appreciate the world of Shakespeare’s Othello. It is through my exploration of these perspectives and their relationship with changing morals and values that has enriched my understanding of the play. One such reading of the play challenges the marginalisation and objectification of woman in a patriarchal Venetian society, while taking into account the changing role of women in modern society. Another interpretation of Othello examines its post colonial elements through the protagonist Othello, and his insecurities of being a black man in a white society. My interpretation of the play as a portrayal of the values existing in Shakespeare’s time is filtered through these

Albert Gerard proclaims that Othello’s “fundamental barbarousnous” is made clear by his “superficial acceptance of Christianity” which hides his “fundamental paganism”. He accuses Othello of his lack of intellectual power blaming him for his own “eternal damnation”, and undermines the decisions which he makes. In doing this, Gerard studies Othello as a character whose “innate savagery” is disguised by