Thursday, September 24, 2015
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Blog #4: Benchmark Open Question Essay and Reflection
In William Shakespeare's Othello, cruelty is depicted in numerous ways throughout the play. Each representation of cruelty highlights a different aspect of the characters' motivations and intentions while remaining consistent with the realities of the time period the play is set in. Iago's plans and treatment towards his wife, Emilia, show specific examples of his cruel personality while general concepts such as racism and mistreatment of women outline the continuous cruelty present throughout the play.
Describing Iago's personality as cruel is perhaps too merciful. Blinded with anger and a desire for revenge, he willingly plays with the emotions of Othello and his wife, Desdemona, while appearing to be naive on the surface. This dramatic irony enables the readers to immediately form a bias against his acts of cruelty. Indeed, his plans play a vital role in setting the purpose and message of the plot, as there would be no conflict in the play without Iago's motivations.
It is not only Iago who can be seen as the villain of the play; society as a whole participates knowingly or unknowingly in forms of racial cruelty. There is a copious amount of instances where Othello is referred to by racial slurs, such as "moor" and other animalistic features. In fact, Desdemona's own father, Barbantio, who is supposed to by of a distinguished class, is dissapointed to learn that his daughter chose to marry a man of dark-skinned descent. The cruel racism is a reflection of the time period, where those of African and Middle Eastern heritage were seen as unequals in the European society
Additional cruelty is displayed against women by Iago and others in the play. Women, such as Desdemona and Emilia, were shown injustice towards by their own husbands as well as other men. Desdemona's own husband, shown to love her dearly, has such little faith in her that he commits the most atrocious form of cruelty possible: murder. This is true with Iago as well, who suspects that Emilia was infidel towards him with Othello. Both of these characters show the mistrust of women that was present in society at the time. Additionally, objectification of women, although a milder form of cruelty, was common as well. Iago showed no love for his wife throughout the play and merely used here to complete his tasks.
In conclusion, Shakespeare's different forms of cruelty correctly outline the motives of the characters and society as a whole.
Reflection
I would grade my essay at a 6 level. I offered a fairly reasonable analysis of my chosen text and applied the theme of cruelty in the play to different characters and even to society as a whole. I therefore also showed my understanding of the text and its themes. However, I did not support my analysis with specific examples and quotes, which would have made my arguments stronger. An effective place to insert some textual references would be in the point about racial slurs, where I only gave one example but could have inserted more if I had recalled the exact wording. Additionally, I would have liked to elaborate further on the topic of objectification of women as a form of cruelty, which was not possible because of time restraints. All in all, I believe I performed acceptably, considering that this was a benchmark essay and that my knowledge of Othello had faded over time.
Revised Essay
In William Shakespeare's Othello, cruelty is depicted in numerous ways throughout the play. Each representation of cruelty highlights a different aspect of the characters' motivations and intentions while remaining consistent with the realities of the time period the play is set in. Iago's plans and treatment towards his wife, Emilia, show specific examples of his cruel personality while general concepts such as racism and mistreatment of women outline the continuous cruelty present throughout the play.
Describing Iago's personality as cruel is perhaps too merciful. Blinded with anger and a desire for revenge, he willingly plays with the emotions of Othello and his wife, Desdemona, while appearing to be naive on the surface. This dramatic irony enables the readers to immediately form a bias against his acts of cruelty. Indeed, the development of his plans, or his "call to adventure", plays a vital role in setting the purpose and message of the plot, as there would be no conflict in the play without Iago's motivations.
It is not only Iago who can be seen as the villain of the play; society as a whole participates knowingly or unknowingly in forms of racial cruelty. There is a copious amount of instances where Othello is referred to by racial slurs, such as "moor" and other animalistic features. In fact, Desdemona's own father, Barbantio, who is supposed to by of a distinguished class, is dissapointed to learn that his daughter chose to marry a man of dark-skinned descent. The cruel racism is a reflection of the time period, where those of African and Middle Eastern heritage were seen as unequals in the European society
Additional cruelty is displayed against women by Iago and others in the play. Women, such as Desdemona and Emilia, were shown injustice towards by their own husbands as well as other men. Desdemona's own husband, shown to love her dearly, has such little faith in her that he commits the most atrocious form of cruelty possible: murder. This is true with Iago as well, who suspects that Emilia was unfaithful towards him with Othello. Both of these characters show the mistrust of women that was present in society at the time. Additionally, objectification of women, although a milder form of cruelty, was common as well. Iago showed no love for his wife throughout the play and merely used her to complete his tasks, which eventually destroyed him.
In conclusion, Shakespeare's different forms of cruelty correctly outline the motives of the characters and society as a whole.
Feedback for Kara Lennon http://lennonkaraapenglish2015.blogspot.com
This essay would probably score in the 3-4 range. Kara does not address the topic of cruelty enough to adequately answer the prompt. Although her attempt at analyzing cruelty in "The Crucible" was decent, she did not support her arguments with textual evidence and merely adhered to the generic method of plot summary followed by some analysis. In addition, Kara often deviated from her thesis statement and therefore was not consistent in her arguments. She would greatly benefit from forming and adopting one central focus throughout her essay, as this would eliminate any confusion from the minds of the readers whilst clearly highlighting the purpose of her essay.
Describing Iago's personality as cruel is perhaps too merciful. Blinded with anger and a desire for revenge, he willingly plays with the emotions of Othello and his wife, Desdemona, while appearing to be naive on the surface. This dramatic irony enables the readers to immediately form a bias against his acts of cruelty. Indeed, his plans play a vital role in setting the purpose and message of the plot, as there would be no conflict in the play without Iago's motivations.
It is not only Iago who can be seen as the villain of the play; society as a whole participates knowingly or unknowingly in forms of racial cruelty. There is a copious amount of instances where Othello is referred to by racial slurs, such as "moor" and other animalistic features. In fact, Desdemona's own father, Barbantio, who is supposed to by of a distinguished class, is dissapointed to learn that his daughter chose to marry a man of dark-skinned descent. The cruel racism is a reflection of the time period, where those of African and Middle Eastern heritage were seen as unequals in the European society
Additional cruelty is displayed against women by Iago and others in the play. Women, such as Desdemona and Emilia, were shown injustice towards by their own husbands as well as other men. Desdemona's own husband, shown to love her dearly, has such little faith in her that he commits the most atrocious form of cruelty possible: murder. This is true with Iago as well, who suspects that Emilia was infidel towards him with Othello. Both of these characters show the mistrust of women that was present in society at the time. Additionally, objectification of women, although a milder form of cruelty, was common as well. Iago showed no love for his wife throughout the play and merely used here to complete his tasks.
In conclusion, Shakespeare's different forms of cruelty correctly outline the motives of the characters and society as a whole.
Reflection
I would grade my essay at a 6 level. I offered a fairly reasonable analysis of my chosen text and applied the theme of cruelty in the play to different characters and even to society as a whole. I therefore also showed my understanding of the text and its themes. However, I did not support my analysis with specific examples and quotes, which would have made my arguments stronger. An effective place to insert some textual references would be in the point about racial slurs, where I only gave one example but could have inserted more if I had recalled the exact wording. Additionally, I would have liked to elaborate further on the topic of objectification of women as a form of cruelty, which was not possible because of time restraints. All in all, I believe I performed acceptably, considering that this was a benchmark essay and that my knowledge of Othello had faded over time.
Revised Essay
In William Shakespeare's Othello, cruelty is depicted in numerous ways throughout the play. Each representation of cruelty highlights a different aspect of the characters' motivations and intentions while remaining consistent with the realities of the time period the play is set in. Iago's plans and treatment towards his wife, Emilia, show specific examples of his cruel personality while general concepts such as racism and mistreatment of women outline the continuous cruelty present throughout the play.
Describing Iago's personality as cruel is perhaps too merciful. Blinded with anger and a desire for revenge, he willingly plays with the emotions of Othello and his wife, Desdemona, while appearing to be naive on the surface. This dramatic irony enables the readers to immediately form a bias against his acts of cruelty. Indeed, the development of his plans, or his "call to adventure", plays a vital role in setting the purpose and message of the plot, as there would be no conflict in the play without Iago's motivations.
It is not only Iago who can be seen as the villain of the play; society as a whole participates knowingly or unknowingly in forms of racial cruelty. There is a copious amount of instances where Othello is referred to by racial slurs, such as "moor" and other animalistic features. In fact, Desdemona's own father, Barbantio, who is supposed to by of a distinguished class, is dissapointed to learn that his daughter chose to marry a man of dark-skinned descent. The cruel racism is a reflection of the time period, where those of African and Middle Eastern heritage were seen as unequals in the European society
Additional cruelty is displayed against women by Iago and others in the play. Women, such as Desdemona and Emilia, were shown injustice towards by their own husbands as well as other men. Desdemona's own husband, shown to love her dearly, has such little faith in her that he commits the most atrocious form of cruelty possible: murder. This is true with Iago as well, who suspects that Emilia was unfaithful towards him with Othello. Both of these characters show the mistrust of women that was present in society at the time. Additionally, objectification of women, although a milder form of cruelty, was common as well. Iago showed no love for his wife throughout the play and merely used her to complete his tasks, which eventually destroyed him.
In conclusion, Shakespeare's different forms of cruelty correctly outline the motives of the characters and society as a whole.
Feedback for Kara Lennon http://lennonkaraapenglish2015.blogspot.com
This essay would probably score in the 3-4 range. Kara does not address the topic of cruelty enough to adequately answer the prompt. Although her attempt at analyzing cruelty in "The Crucible" was decent, she did not support her arguments with textual evidence and merely adhered to the generic method of plot summary followed by some analysis. In addition, Kara often deviated from her thesis statement and therefore was not consistent in her arguments. She would greatly benefit from forming and adopting one central focus throughout her essay, as this would eliminate any confusion from the minds of the readers whilst clearly highlighting the purpose of her essay.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)