War in Othello

Othello 1/31/06
"Iago, as Harold Goddard finely remarked, is always at war; he is a moral pyromaniac setting fire to all of reality.......In Iago, what was the religion of war, when he worshiped Othello as its god, has now become the game of war, to be played everywhere except upon the battlefield."
--Harold Bloom

At the beginning of the play, we are bombarded with images and metaphors of war. Write about the various ways this warlike atmosphere occurs so early in the play and shapes the tone of the play and its characters.

Posted by KerriW at 5:34 AM
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The warlike images and references in Shakespeare's "Othello" greatly influence the development of the story. By introducing the savagery of war early the audience is immediately aware of the seriousness of the conflict that the characters are engaged in. Similar to war, the situation that Iago is manipulating can lead to violence and the end of valuable lives through cutthroat competition.
The warlike comparisons are first drawn in the play by Iago himself by saying
"But he,(Othello) as loving his own pride and purposes, evades them, with a bombast circumstance Horribly stuff'd with epithets of war; and in conclusion, nonsuits my mediators; for, 'Certes,' says he, 'I have already chose my officer.' And what was he? Forsooth, a great arithmetician, One Michael Cassio, a Florentine." In this way Iago already draws in war as an aspect within the first act.

Macon Dead

1. Fact: Macon Dead is Milkman's father and a prominent businessman in the Community.

2. Macon's quest to obtain the wealth of white people has lead him to become a white person in all but the color of his skin.

3. The Motif of African American Amalgamation plays a very large role in the development of Macon's character. Macon, when faced with the conflicts between Whites and Blacks, chooses to emulate white behavior through business but is unable to assimilate.

4. Guitar- "Your father is a very strange Negro. He'll reap the benefits of what we sow, and there's nothing we can do about that/ He behaves like a white man, thinks like a white man. As a matter of fact, I'm glad you brought him up. Maybe you can tell me how, after losing everything his own father worked for to some crackers, after seeing his father shot down by the, how can he keep his knees bent?" Milkman- "My Father doesn't care whether a white man lives or swallows lye. He just wants what they have." (Morrison 223-224).

5. This passage shows how people close to Macon see that his behavior is abnormal for an African-American and that he is a negative power in the community. Macon does not want to cause harm but "only wants what they (White People) have.

6. An interesting aspect of Macon is his interaction with his family in how he actively tries to control or, in the case of Milkman, end their lives but at times shows affection to them.

You want me to explain what now?!?

Love is anything but simple, yet it is one of the most fundamental human emotions. Literature certainly has dedicated several volumes to this idea of love in its many variations, extremitites and how it certainly can make fools of us all. Perhaps you may think that you've never been in love; perhaps you think that writing about love is an unmanly activity; perhaps you are currently in love; perhaps a loved one has recently died; perhaps you recall an earlier experience with love. Whatever the situation or circumstance arises when you think of love, this is your opportunity to express your heartfelt perspectives on love. Please, let me remind you not to confuse love with sex. Believe it or not, there is a difference between the two.
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Love eh? Love is a very difficult subject for most people to write about inculding me. I can not say that I have ever been in love in the romantic sense of the world but I have "loved". I, like most others, have loved many people, things, and ideas, and many times have misplaced this emotion.

As far as people go my love has been restricted to the members of my own family. I love my parents and extended family in the sense that they are of my own blood and have supported me my whole life but I am not "in love" with them. I've never loved any person outside of my family network in my life and don't really know what it feels like to gain or lose it in that sense. I imagine that it is a terrific feeling but I have yet to experience it.

One or the Other

You have two choices in this blog post.

1) Live into your old age as an average Joe, doing nothing of any real notable merit that would make you famous.

2) Die in your early twenties, but be insanely famous. People would know your name 2,000 years from now.

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If I was able to chose between living in peace to my old age without fame or any extraordinary attention or dying in my early twenties and being very famous, I would have to choose dying young.

I would choose to die young because I have always believed that its not when you die or how but why and for what reasons. Early in my childhood I lived with my Grandparents and I would always complain when I was asked to do a chore or something unpleasant. I would ask if I really had to do it and my Grandfather would reply "You don't have to do anything but die, and you only have to do that once". My mother is employed in the Medical Field and is always hounding family members and especially me about our nutrition and exercise habits reminding us that such and such activity could lead to a specific untimely death, to which I've learned to reply "Well, I've got to die of something." These two examples have greatly influenced my decision to die young.

Because of my past experiences I have always been aware of the certainty of death for all human beings. For me the fact has been that inevitably I am going to die as will everyone else I know and we will all probably be forgotten. This thought is only reinforced through examining history. We know very little about the past century and most people would be hard pressed to name 10 people that have lived outside of the 21st and 20th centuries. Many people cant name thier own family members past two generations from themselves so what is there to say that I will be remembered.

It is also necessary that I establish why it is important that I am remembered. I have many times wondered about what the pourpose of living is. The purpose cannot be acquiring wealth as it leaves upon the moment of your death and is no longer of any use. In fact that argument applies to all material possesions as gaining them means nothing after passing from this world. I have come to think that we live to leave a legacy that will inspire others. A legacy is the largest and most valuable thing a person can hope to build. Very few people will remember Bill Gates in a few hundred years and his name will join Rockefeller and Carnegie among the tycoons that only historians can recall but many will remember Jesus Christ or others because of their legacies. Those thinkers that changed the world are remembered because of the legacy that they left, Legacies that cannot be bought even by the richest individuals of an era.

I would chose to die young because of the inevatability of death, and the importance of leaving a legacy. We all are going to die and I had might as well die in a way that is remembered and creates a legacy that will go on to inspire others for thousands of years.

Ten for One

1.A Notebook
2.A picture of my family
3.A Holy Bible
4.A copy of the U.S. Constitution
5.An Ipod
6.A Jumbo Tube of Tooth Paste
7.A Clothes Pin
8.A video camera
9.A Bilingual dictionary (English and the Native Language of the Nation I'm in)
10. A roll of Duct Tape