Forgiveness In Othello And The Gilded Six-Bits

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In both Shakespeare’s Othello and Hurston’s The Gilded Six-Bits a couple is torn apart by wickedness. Othello believes Desdemona is cheating on him and Missie May is tempted to cheat on Joe. Each couple encounters an ordeal that tests their devotion and faith for each other. However, one couple’s relationship is saved by forgiveness and the other couple does not. The following paragraphs will show how forgiveness is shown in The Gilded Six-Bits, how forgiveness is not shown in Othello, and a comparison what happens consequentially.
When Joe discovers Missie May with Slemmons, she fears that his love for her died then and there. But Joe’s response to her betrayal is ambivalent. Joe tells Missie May not to dwell on the past, but he reminds her of her betrayal by leaving the gold trinket from Slemmons’s watch chain out for her to see. Finally once Missie May gives birth
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He believes that there is no forgiveness for such a fault, no remedy for such a grief, and no relief for a bitterest loathing for a heart loved so tenderly. He refuses to believe her when she pleads her case and thinks of her as a whore. This shows his distrust in Desdemona. Othello goes on tortured by the thought of Desdemona’s infidelity. He is never able to forgive Desdemona for her so called betrayal.
At the end of Zora Neale Hurston’s The Gilded Six-Bits, it is clear to see that everything is forgiven once Joe Banks and Missie May are back to their playful manner. Joe Bank’s again does his playful ritual of dropping silver dollars on the ground as Missie May comes crawling to get him. However, in Othello things do not end so happy. Othello ends up killing Desdemona and himself. This shows how Othello never truly loved Desdemona. If he truly loved Desdemona then he would have forgiven her. Forgiveness saves a relationship and the lack of forgiveness ultimately destroys a
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