Making Catch-22 the remarkable as well as groundbreaking masterpiece it is today. Catch-22 is one of Heller’s greatest works because the book consisted of satirical humor which eased the thought of war. Heller changed the way America looked at war by showing the readers another side of war that could only be seen if one had participated in a war themselves, such as WW II. He had turned the realism of war into a surrealistic masterpiece “Mr. Heller’s novel changed the formula, and in the process lifted realism to new surrealistic level” (Solomita).
Racism In Othello Seen throughout the play “Othello”, written by Shakespeare, racism is a main struggle for the main character. During the whole play, racist comments are thrown at Othello, a commander of the Venetian Army. Shown from more than one character in the play, these racial comments are towards Othello as he is shown to be one of the only characters with African and Moorish characteristics. From the act of racism shown in “Othello”, Shakespeare is able to reveal it through Othello's marriage to his white wife Desdemona, his position as a commander of the Venetian Army, and his physical appearance as an African-Moor. To begin, Othello is immediately shown in an interracial status as he has been talking to Brabantio's, the Senator of Venice, daughter Desdemona.
Othello is portrayed as a Black man in a white man’s world. It was written by Shakespeare in 1603 and has been a well known play since. He has managed to become general of the Venetian Army and has won many wars. Although victorious, he has come from a background of slavery. The original story is thought to be from a book called “Gli Hecatommithi” By the author Geraldi Cynthio explaining the problems that many occur between Husband and Wife.
Although Othello is wildly respected because of his hard work to become general, Iago uses Othello’s skin color to try and destroy his reputation. Othello is portrayed as a passionate and noble hero. He is represented as an honest man and holds a high rank as general in the Venician Army. Although Othello is portrayed as a great man, he is also treated as an outsider because he is a Moor. For example Brabantio says to Othello “You’re something to fear, not to love.
In his tragedies Shakespeare is concerned with seeming and being, with appearance versus reality, which in Othello these are epitomized in the hypocrite Iago: Hypocrisy is the only evil that walks invisible except to God alone. Shakespeare has held back from introducing Othello directly. Instead Othello had been presented in fiercely racial terms such as “thick lips”, “old black ram”, “Barbary horse”, “lascivious Moor”, “devil”, in the first scene. (Act 1, scene 1) Nevertheless in the second scene through his manner and bearing, Othello immediately counters the uncomplimentary image which has been so painstakingly constructed. He is presented as a man who rejects impulsive action in a way that is soothing and calming.
In William Shakespeare’s Othello, racism is seen as a stereotypical aspect towards Moor; Iago is one character that uses Othello’s race as an infrastructure to build up his plan. Othello, the main character is affected by his race as a Moor. The term Moor described a person who was inhuman. Even though Othello has a high position as the General of the Venetian Army his race is the reason why he gets looked down upon. As a general, Othello is seen as someone who has power but as a Moor he is given no respect.
A man’s cynical actions are under no circumstances justified; unless such actions have a clear justification; therefore, although the action is bad, but the motivations behind it make it justified. In the play written by Shakespeare, Othello, the antagonist Iago is a cynical figure, and has committed many deeds in which results in everyone around him getting hurt. However, humans are never born evil, and the only way for a cynical man to be born, is when the individual submerges in justifications of his own evil deeds. Iago is no different from any other antagonist; he grew up as a low class citizen, which made him very vengeful; therefore, when he suffers a single fall, he will seek revenge. During the Othello era, noblemen are among the highest ranks in every way, which in turns made them very well educated, and polite.
Major Themes Appearance vs. reality This issue is especially relevant to Iago. Although he is called "honest" by almost everyone in the play, he is treacherous, deceitful, and manipulative. Also applies to Desdemona, as Othello believes that she is deceitful and impure, although she is really blameless and innocent. Race Race is an extremely important theme; it has a great amount of influence on how people regard Othello‹for those who distrust black people merely on looks never like Othello, like Iago. Race also determines how Othello perceives himself as a rough outsider, though he is nothing of the sort.
According to Aristotle, a tragic hero must be a character of noble stature and greatness while embodying nobility as an inner virtue. Next, while tragic heroes are great, they are never perfect and always posses character flaws to make them more relatable to the masses. Continuing, a tragic hero’s fall from power is the fault of the hero; the result of free choice usually attributed to the heroes imperfection. Next, A hero’s actions result in an increase of self- awareness and self-knowledge. Finally, the fate of a tragic hero does not leave the audience in a state of depression, but draws solemn emotions of pity and sympathy.
Justin Mathew Professor Whalen British Literature 2 November 2014 Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Othello Shakespeare’s Othello is a play that takes you on an emotional rollercoaster. Filled with jealousy and resentment stemming from the lies of one man, this story has audiences questioning the decisions of everyone involved. Othello, the play’s protagonist, is the general of the Venetian army. He is married to Desdemona, the daughter of a high-class senator of Venice. In the book, a term used for Othello is the “moor.” This term means that he is of African descent.