The Morally Good and Bad in Othello William Shakespeare’s drama Othello is one concentrated contest between the forces of the morally good and the morally bad. Let us analyze this contest in detail in this essay. Standing out like a dark silhouette on a white background is the sinister character and master of deception in the drama – the general’s ancient. Morton W. Bloomfield and Robert C. Elliott in Great Plays: Sophocles to Brecht highlight the dominant evil force in the play, Iago: For critics, the chief problem in the play is the character of Iago. The debate usually centers around whether he had sufficient motives for his cruel actions or whether, on the other hand, he is an example of “motiveless malignity.” The question cannot be resolved here, nor is it necessary to try to resolve it. Iago, whether because of his disappointment at not having been given Cassio’s position, or because of his belief that Othello had cuckolded him, or because of his love of evil for its own sake, is nevertheless a man who has rejected all ties of morality and idealism. (39) Totaling the lies which the ancient tells to everyone about him would require considerable effort and time. In Shakespeare’s Four Giants Blanche Coles comments on the lack of veracity in Iago’s speech: The story that Iago tells Roderigo about the promotion of Cassio over him is not true, although it has been accepted by many discriminating scholars. Careless reading alone can account for this misapprehension, careless reading which for the moment dulls their alertness to one of the most essential requirements of Shakespearean character analysis. That requirement is that the reader must never accept, or must always be re... ... middle of paper ... ...is final passion. From the stern general who had, as his first line, the cold “’Tis better as it is” (1.2.6), he has traversed a pilgrimage of known and feeling sorrow. And, it must be repeated, it will depend upon the beholder whether one judges or rejoices in the transfiguration of loving not wisely but too well. (66) WORKS CITED Bloomfield, Morton W. and Robert C. Elliott, ed. Great Plays: Sophocles to Brecht. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1965. Coles, Blanche. Shakespeare’s Four Giants. Rindge, New Hampshire: Richard Smith Publisher, 1957. Jorgensen, Paul A. William Shakespeare: The Tragedies. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1985. Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.
...abor reform through his book The Jungle, Upton Sinclair was able to show the world "how the system of graft and patronage functions, how the bosses, the politicians, the contractors, the criminals, the magistrates, and the police work hand in glove." He was also able to open the eyes of consumers and contribute to the passing of the Pure Food and Drug Act, which proves this to be such an important piece of American literature.
He hoped his book “The Jungle” would accomplish “significant change” to the day to day lives of immigrants who worked in the slaughterhouses (Foner 544). On the contrary, his book shifted the motif of his muckraking. David Cohen, author of “Sinclair: Muckraker for thinking person,” explains that instead of the American public focusing on the “poor working conditions” they pivoted their attention to “what was in their lunch” ( Cohen pg 4). Society was more intrigued with the details about their food than the safety of the workers. President Theodore Roosevelt read “The Jungle”; He was appalled by what he read. Cohen explains that even the executive leader of the United States had to “dispatch investigators to Chicago and report in detail [the] filthy conditions of the the killing floors” (Cohen, Telegraph Herald). Upon realizing the reality Sinclair was trying to unveil, society perceived the issue alternatively. Christopher Phelps, author of “How Should We Teach ‘The Jungle’ ” states that society viewed the reality differently— from Sinclair— because they associated what they read with what they
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair exemplifies a muckraking style in its often gory depictions of life in a meat packing factory, Sinclair writes of how the meat packing industry exploits its workers, many of whom are uneducated and poor in the same way a capitalist government exploits it's working class. Sinclair uses Symbolism in terms of physical objects, Objects that serve a metaphorical purpose, and oppressive tone, to persuade the reader that Capitalism leads to the declination and corruption of America and that the only way to remedy this is socialistic government.
The novel "The Jungle", is a hybrid of history, literature, and propaganda. It was written in 1906 by Upton Sinclair, to demonstrate the control big business had over the average working man, and his family. Sinclair was one of the most famous muckrakers in history; he exposed scandals and political corruption in the early nineteen hundreds (Literature 572). He attempted to show his idea of the solution to this problems of the times: socialism. At the time Sinclair wrote, communism was not yet around, so the anti-socialistic fears were not yet aroused.
“The Jungle” is a sociological novel, the work of public and literature heritage. The story is about the hard destiny of Lithuanian immigrants who seek for freedom and justice in America that become the hostages of merciless socialistic labor system in the United States. Jurgis Rudkus suffers from the loss of his family that took place in the naturalistic scenes of gloomy slaughterhouses of Chicago, where, in monstrous miasmatic of demoralization, the hero flay the dead tubercular carcasses. With the help of grandiose rhetorical techniques like metaphor, parallelism, simile, key words, amplification and outstanding verbal approaches, Upton Sinclair won the hearts of thousands people due to his heartfelt language of explicit naturalism and showed the oppressing atmosphere of socialism.
What is perhaps the leading cause for the downfall of the characters in the play is Iago’s hypocritical nature that comes with an undeniable desire for fame, and receiving attention from others. To begin with, the audience can develop the idea that Iago greatly appreciates all the compliments that others give to him. Noteworthy evidence includes when Cassio “humbly [thanks Iago] for’t, [never knowing] a Florentine more kind and honest (3.1.27-28), as well as when Othello states that he knows [Iago is] full of love and honesty (3.3.118). The significance behind Othello, Iago, and what others thought about Iago’s qualities that he possesses all share one thing in common – the characters share their feelings for Iago whenever he ensures that he would help find solutions to their problems, such as Roderigo’s fondness for Desdemona, bringing back Cassio’s position as lieutenant, and helping out Othello by ending the alleged relationship between Desdemona and Cassio; this evidence demonstrates how Iago would do whatsoever only for people to praise him and to create a positive reputation of himself so it would be easier for him to hide his felonious schemes from others. Similarly, in order
Upton Sinclair penned The Jungle in 1905. It is the story of Jurgis Rudkus from Lithuania (62), who along with his family, came to America seeking prosperity (64). Along this journey they will encounter every conceivable hardship. They end up arriving in the stockyards of Chicago, a place termed “Packingtown” (70). Yet even though Sinclair uses the “metaphor, ‘jungle’ (denoting) the ferocity of dog-eat-dog competition, the barbarity of exploitative work, wilderness of urban life” (Phelps 1).The title The Jungle was not an effective title for this quintessential piece. The stockyards were only vaguely reminiscent of a jungle.
Iago, Othello’s ensign, and the villain of the play, performs his monstrous acts in a complex way by deceiving others to believe that he is honest and reliable while using this reputation to manipulate others. In this section, Iago says very little to deceive Othello into thinking that he has information that he would want to know. Iago’s clever use of silence and intimacy
...atching the hogs actually get killed. His reason for describing every detail is to show the reader exactly what happens, and to make the reader feel that they are actually there, watching the events unfold.In conclusion, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair was written to show the goodness of socialism and the evils of capitalism, in addition to show the plight of the workers in the packing yards of Chicago.
Sinclair wrote “The Jungle” to get the attention of his intended audience, those who had the power to invoke changed. Sinclair knew that if enough attention was brought to the horrid conditions of the industrialized work industry, eventually the government would intervene.
Upton Sinclair’s 1906 novel The Jungle is a political statement piece that was written to show the conditions of immigrants workers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Sinclair, through weeks of extensive research, gathered enough information to form a story based on the evidence he had gathered. Although The Jungle is a work of fiction, Sinclair’s novel is still said to be a primary source due the the fact that it was based on research he was doing personally, it was written near the time it was set, and it contains many historical accuracies.
A classic megalomaniac, Iago suffers from a massive ego, and therefore feels intensely jealous when talent other than his own is recognized. The play opens to Iago announcing that he hates Othello,”Despise me If I do not. Three great ones of the city, In personal suit to make me his lieutenant, Off-capped to him; and by the faith of man, I know my price, I am worth no worse a place” (1,1,8-12). It is Othello’s pride and partiality towards his friends, Iago claims, that caused him to choose Cassio as lieutenant in lieu of his “Ancient”. While Iago is understandably slighted that a man, whose knowledge of war came from a book rather than the field, has been appointed to a position over him, saying that it was Othello’s pride that produced Cassio’s promotion suggests that Iago t...
Iago’s worry that he cannot do what Desdemona asks implies that his dispraise of women was candid and easily produced, while the praise requires labour and inspiration from a source beyond himself. His insufficiency is more surprising because elsewhere in the play Iago appears as a master rhetorician, but as Bloch explains, ‘the misogynistic writer uses rhetoric as a means of renouncing it, and, by extension, woman.’ (163)
In the play Othello, the character Iago plays a paramount role in the destruction of Othello and all of those around him. Some critics state that Iago's actions are motiveless and that he is a purely evil character. However, during the course of this paper, certain motives for Iago's actions will be discussed.