Othello’s Tragedy

Marlene Romo Professor Williams English 1B 4 December, 2011 Othello’s Tragic Fall According to Aristotle, a tragedy must include the downfall of the tragic hero brought upon by his hamartia, in other words his weakness or flaw. It must also be comprised of the hero’s peripetia, where when he once had it all, it is now all lost. After the peripetia, the anagnorises follows; this is where the hero attributes his downfall to his weakness or flaw. The hero must be noble both in birth as well as in stature and according to Aristotle in the end of the play the audience must experience catharsis by encountering feelings of pity and fear.Even though Shakespeare’s Othello does include most of the requirements of an Aristotelian Tragedy it lacks a few elements, such as a hamartia and an anagnorises as well as catharsis. Othello’s downfall is not brought upon himself instead Iago’s manipulation is the cause, therefore the play does not fulfill Aristotleâ€℠¢s standards of a Tragedy. Although the audience fails to experience catharsis at the end of the play, Othello does help the audience come to the realization that cruel and manipulative people such as Iago exist in today’s society.While those who consider Othello to be a tragedy might argue that Othello’s hamartia is being naive, others may attribute Desdemona’s death to Iago’s manipulation of Othello. The fact that Iago was able to manipulate not only Othello but Roderigo, Cassio, Emilia and even Desdemona proves that he is extremely persuasive and thus Iago can be held accountable for Desdemona’s death. Since it is Iago who influences Othello into killing Desdemona that means Othello does not have a hamartia but instead confirms that Iago is very manipulative.Iago slowly but skillfully begins to implant doubt into Othello, for example when they see Cassio walking out of Desdemona’s room: Iago: Ha! I like not that. Othello: What dost thou s ay? Iago: Nothing, my lord: or if—I know not what. Othello: Was not that Cassio parted from my wife Iago: Cassio, my lord! No, sure, I cannot think it, That he would steal away so guilty-like,   Seeing you coming. Othello: I do believe 'twas he. (III. iii. 35-42) Iago makes Othello believe Desdemona is being unfaithful to him with Cassio, because he is constantly suggesting this.After some time Othello begins to believe every word Iago tells him and eventually ends up doubting his wife’s fidelity which results in her death. Desdemona dies and Othello finds himself losing everything but it is not due to hamartia it is due to Iago’s cruel manipulation of the mind. Othello listens to everything Iago says to him and believes it to be true for example when Iago says to Othello â€Å"But he that filches from me my good name and makes me poor indeed. Robs me of that which not enriches him† (III. iii 72-74) Here one can be a witness to Iago’s master mani pulation.Iago is saying: Othello, Cassio is robbing you of your reputation and that is immoral not only because he wants you to lose your respect and is only doing this to hurt you, but because he will not receive any personal gain and yet is still determined to go through with it . Iago does this throughout most of the play, he instills ideas into Othello’s mind and does it with the intention of hurting him, therefore Othello does not have a tragic flaw that causes his downfall but instead Iago is the one who brings Othello down with his manipulation.Since Othello does not have a hamartia anagnorises does not take place. Othello’s downfall is attributed to Iago’s manipulation not to Othello’s flaw. Even though it is Othello who suffocates Desdemona to death, this would never have happened if it weren’t for Iago’s manipulation. Othello cannot help but feel partially responsible for the death of Desdemona but he is aware of Iago’s crue l influence on him. When Othello has killed Desdemona and Emilia explains to him the way Iago got a hold of the handkerchief Othello says â€Å"Are there no stones in heaven But what serves for the thunder? Precious villain! † (V. ii. 241-242). Here Othello is finally able to see Iago as the villain that he is, and he asks heaven why it will not strike him dead. Othello never feels fully responsible for Desdemona’s death, he knows he is partially to blame but he also recognizes Iago as a villain so therefore anagnorises does not take place. Othello is not the only one who views Iago as a villain after Emilia’s confession so does Lodovico and the rest.After Iago is brought to the room as a prisoner Lodovico says to Othello: â€Å"O thou Othello, that was once so good, Fall’n in the practice of a cursed slave† (V, ii, 300-301). Lodovico is aware that Othello’s drastic change was brought upon by Iago’s evil manipulation and attributes De sdemona’s death to him. Everyone in the room realizes that Iago was not the â€Å"honest†( V. ii. 161) person they believed him to be, not only did they now realize he was a villain but they also became aware of all the people he manipulated, such as Othello, Roderigo, Cassio, Desdemona, and Emilia.Despite the fact that catharsis does not take place, the audience does experience fear toward the end of the play. The audience experiences fear because they become aware of the existence of men like that of Iago, in society. Dramatic irony is what allows the audience to witness Iago’s malicious plans. Iago is pure evil and unlike the characters in the play the audience is aware of this throughout the play. As the play progresses the audience gradually becomes more and more aware of Iago’s cruelty.The audience cannot help but come to the realization that men like Iago do exist in the real world. Marvin Rosenberg, Shakespearean scholar and a UC Berkeley professo r points this out in his essay, when speaking of Iago he says â€Å"he evokes our fear, because we know that wicked men do exist† (Rosenberg157). Rosenberg states that the audience fears to encounter people like Iago because he seemed so trustworthy and yet he was able to manipulate everyone he wanted to and was almost able to get away with murder.Rosenberg argues in his essay titled â€Å"In Defense of Iago† that Shakespeare’s purpose in writing this play was to enlighten the audience in the ways of thinking of a mischievous man. Rosenberg believes that Shakespeare wanted the audience to know how an evil man’s â€Å"twisted emotions work† (Rosenberg 157). Even though the audience fails to experience catharsis, good comes from the play because now the audience has been exposed to the evil of man and can go about living life without being too naive. Shakespeare’s Othello is not a tragedy under Aristotle’s standards.First of all Othello does not have a hamartia. Secondly, it is because he does not have a hamartia that he does not experience anagnorises. And lastly the audience does not experience catharsis. Othello cannot be considered a tragedy under Aristotle’s conditions but despite this, the play if effective when it comes to opening the eyes of the audience to the existence of people like Iago. After being exposed to the play the audience is now more capable of distinguishing an honorable person from a dishonest one.Once the audience becomes aware of the malicious acts of Iago they will question the motives of others and this will help them separate the truly honest people from those who are strategically manipulative. Works Cited Crowther, John, ed. â€Å"No Fear Othello. † SparkNotes. com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. Rosenberg, Marvin. â€Å"In Defense of Iago. † Shakespeare Quarterly 6. 2 (1955): 145-158. Jstor. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. Shakespeare, William Othello,the Moor of V enice. Literature:An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. Eds. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 6th Compact e. New York: Longman, 2010. 912-1012. Print.

Obesity in the UK Essay

Obesity levels in the Untied Kingdom have reached an all time high with one in every four adults suffering from obesity. Childhood obesity has also drastically increased with 25 percent of boys and 33 percent of girls aged between two and 19 years being overweight or obese. There is little sign of this upward trend in obesity stopping, and it will have a significant impact on the state of the country. It will negatively affect the UK’s economy and more importantly negatively affect the health of the UK’s 63 million people. With obesity becoming this prevalent in our society is it not time we address this issue? I think it is, and one of the best ways in my opinion is to introduce a tax on fizzy drinks and fast food. This may sounds rather drastic when first heard but consider the  £5.1billion spent every year by the NHS to treat those with obesity related medical conditions. Now consider the 2535 branches of Burger King, McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut located all around Scotland and England, consider the number of products those branches sell and the amount of money that could be raised through taxes upon those products. That money could be spent on our NHS which is being crippled under the weight of budget cuts and the cost obesity is having certainly isn’t helping the load. These taxes could also deter many from the promise of quick, cheap food from these outlets and could send them in the direction of healthier options. The recommendations in favour of taxing these food are quite reasonable, such as recommendation of taxes of twenty percent on sugary drinks for at least a year being put forth. Other initiatives are already in place to help tackle the UK’s weight problem such as the ‘Change 4 Life’ initiative run by the NHS which offers free nutritional advice to those who want it. The problem is though, that as much good as these schemes are doing they aren’t working well enough. The obesity levels in this country are still rising and we need more action to stop it. We need to have more healthy eating schemes in place around the country in places such as schools, at the work place and even at hospitals. People need to understand the risks of junk food and the major health effects it can have causing obesity, and with obesity comes a vast array of other negative  health effects which include heart disease, certain cancers, high blood pressure, joint problems, psychological difficulties and diabetes. There have been other recommendations on ways to tackle obesity with ideas like banning the advertising of foods high in saturated fat, sugar and salt before 9pm, this can help with the problems of childhood obesity as children would be less likely to have seen these advertisements meaning they were less likely to be influenced by them. Another change that could drastically tip the scales towards healthier eating is giving local councils the power to limit the number of fast food outlets near schools and leisure centres limiting the availability of these types of food to young children. There are also plans for the government to spend  £300 million on weight management programmes, that may sound like a large amount but it is far less than the cost obesity is having on the pockets of the NHS. Taxation on tobacco products has already been proven to help reduce the number of smoking related deaths and the amount of money collected in taxes from tobacco products in 2012 ( £12.1bn) far outweighs the cost smoking related illnesses have on the NHS annually ( £5bn) so surely the idea of taxing fatty and sugary foods is not too drastic. Especially when there are around 35,000 obesity related deaths each year. Other ways to tackle obesity have to do with activities rather than food. Along with the increase in junk food intake by people in the UK there has also been a large lack of exercise or sporting activity. Most people nowadays have jobs that involve sitting at a desk for long periods of the day, this combined with the fact that most people commute to work by car or bus rather than walking equals to a lot of sitting down during the day. After work most people just want to relax and so often sit down on the sofa with a cup of tea and watch television rather than do something active. This problem is hard to tackle but if initiatives at the work place are introduced which include things like sporting clubs offered free by the workplace or other incentives to walk to work rather than drive this can serious help with the daily inactivity. The workplace can also help by removing vending machines that give out junk food and replace them with one  that give out a healthy snack. Finally one more thing the government can do to help with this problem is to subsidise the cost of healthy foods in shops. This will be useful as one of the main reasons people eat unhealthy food is because it is often cheaper than most healthier products. If the healthier products are cheaper than other choices then people are more likely to eat healthily. Or instead of subsidising the food the government could give out food vouchers to those struggling for money to give them discounts on the healthier products in shops. This combined with taxation on the fattier foods can completely change the perception of healthy food in this country and we can begin on the road to eradicating the problem of obesity in the UK. By Rajan Gill 11E

Managing Change Paper Part 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Managing Change Paper Part 3 - Essay Example Most of the times, the management of the company recognize and then exploit the new potentials that seem dormant in the organization (Duncan, 1998). The changes that are done to the organization have three basic stages that they follow to make sure that the changes occur in a manner needed by the organization. The first stage involves the realization that the current strategies are not suitable for the situations of the organization (Duncan, 1998). The second stage that the change undergoes is the establishment of vision for the future of the company. The last stage that Facebook organization undergoes is implementing the changes and making new systems that supports the changes to be done. The major change that Facebook organization have undergone is the technological change that is introduced as components of large strategic change (Duncan, 1998). A most important aspect in technological change is that it determines the person in the organization that is threatened by the change that

Music and Dance Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Music and Dance - Term Paper Example One can even observe this in the present day, such as how cheerleaders would put on some amazing gymnastics and heart-pounding drum beats for the crowd. In fact, as has been portrayed countless times on the silver screen as well as the big screen, even supposedly primitive and uncivilized societies have their own form of music and dance, which they then incorporate into their rituals and ceremonies. This should be a clear indication of the importance of the arts in our everyday lives. As a matter of fact, to say that this is omnipresent in the present day and age is an understatement. Our ancestors were furthermore said to make use of dance and rhythmic music in order to put soldiers in a so-called battle trance, momentarily discarding their individual identities and losing themselves to the music (Jordania, 2011). Another study by Pieslak (2009) shows military units taking advantage of songs and dances in a manner similar to the above, psyching themselves and their comrades up just before commencing their combat missions. Other cultures have also used such arts for healing, as noted by Guenther (1975). And in more everyday settings, these have long served as a means to convey one’s feelings or retell tales of epic deeds. They say music comes in many different forms, and this is no different when applied to Latin music. Quite understandably, one might take this sentence to mean that Latin-American music has a lot of subgenres, which is not exactly false. However, more than just diversity in terms of the kinds of music, this can also pertain to the purpose music has served in the lives of the Latin-American people. More so than in other cultures, Latin-American culture owes much of its identity to its music.

Raising awareness of Social Studies for Young Learners Essay

Raising awareness of Social Studies for Young Learners - Essay Example 332). . Social studies are important for students to cope with the problems encountered as they enter school. They are taught the meaning of diversity in school, which reflects the diverse society from which they come from in terms of ethnicity, religion and social status. They learn to appreciate diversity, which is useful in their day to day interactions outside school. The studies equip students with life skills of avoiding conflicts in the society. Students are taught the importance of rules and regulations and the need to obey them. They are also taught to appreciate the established institutions and how to participate in their activities. For example they are able to understand democratic processes and how they can participate in future through voting (Gross, S. & Wehner, 2092). A classroom comprises students from various backgrounds that reflect the society they come from. Children from different families study together and social studies help them to understand their place in the society. For example some children may come from diverse backgrounds such as rich, poor, white, black families. There might also be differences in terms of political and religious affiliations. The fact that the classroom mirrors the society indicates that children have been exposed to diversity. Social studies ensure that children understand this diversity and the importance of social harmony. Mere contact with diversity without its understanding may not help to avoid conflicts as children develop in to adulthood. For example, it is one thing to know that the society comprises white and black people, yet it is another thing to understand that colour difference does not mean inequality (Gurin et al. 361). Children in the social studies class are taught to accept and appreciate diversity. They are made to understand that every person

Industrial Relations in Australia College Essay

Industrial Relations in Australia College - Essay Example Strong economic performance and high standards of living in the life of Australia have owed their tribute to the significant legislative reforms of the work place legislation in the work place relation system. The reforms within the workplace relation has helped to achieve high productivity and a positive growth in wage. Lower rates of industrial disputation has also been an effect of work place relations act. More reforms to increase flexibility and choice for employers and employees in the workplace is a subject of current target. This is due to the fact that other work place relations reform are being preserved by the government as being vital to come up with a legislative frame work relevant to Australia modern work place and the changing nature of work. (Reams, 1994, 101-104). Essentially, this is aimed at increasing Australia economic growth and international competitiveness relative to other regions in the world. The governing role of workplace in Australia is an effort of both the federal and the state legislation. The government of Australia has been fully empowered to make laws about workplace relations governing a range of circumstances including in-relations to Saccos such as; preventing and settling interstate industrial disputes, foreign corporations and trading, alternatively described as financial corporations within Australia, commonwealth employees, interstate and commerce employees in Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. (Irwin, 2001, 106-109). Federal legislations is liable to prevail without inconsistence incase of a situation where the inconsistence is sited between federal and the state legislation in the past disputes between the employers and employees in Australia was a common occurrence requiring the intervention of the federal and state government. This situation at the current has been surmounted by the formation of the Australia Industrial Relation Commission. The positive contribution of this legislation and commission is immensely out spoken. It is at current automatic that Australia work force relation is no longer relying on external intervention in their deliberations but rather to the other side of encouraging employers and employees to reach agreements at the workplace level or at the business enterprise level, which is the principle target of the government. (Lengwwa, Flinterman, 1988, 22-25). The workplace relations' act (1996) played substantial role towards this target: there has been less reliance on wide ranging (Awards) by industrial tribunals for determining pay and conditions of employment. It has also encouraged agreements making at the work place level or business enterprise level and therefore it has become the main way to follow in deliberation towards the determination of the and conditions for the employees within the federal workplace relation systems. (Bischoff, 1985, 93-95). The effectiveness of workplace relations' act of 1996 as rendered Awards merely a sieve of minimum wages and employees' conditions rather than its initial role of determination and prescription

Organization Justice , Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Organization Justice , Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example There are many steps that are taken to manage ethics in the company. Firstly, the code of ethics is designed and practiced efficiently. The code of ethics is the first most important aspect which has to be covered by any company. It is a document which sets up and monitors the ethical practices of the organization. This code of ethics are reviewed by a committee on a regular basis and checked. Secondly it is essential to ensure that the employees understand the code of ethics and thus the company trains and educates its employees for ethical behavior and gives them the potential to understand the meaning of the code of ethics (Suhonen, 2011). Thirdly, the company provides their employee with the facility of reporting complains and ethical issues wherever they occur. In order to ensure that a company is managing ethics and operating ethically, these three important steps must be taken. These steps would help in establishing organizational ethics which are understandable by every employee and the employees have the surety that all their complaints will be heard and resolved. With such policies and ethical practices, all companies can successfully enact ethically and solve all ethical challenges that come their

Executive Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 14

Executive Summary - Essay Example teve Jobs; decline in share prices; and emergence of stiffer competitors offering cheaper products; among others, investors and spectators were gleaming at any possibility that Apple’s future performance could be on the decline. First, to counter competitors’ move of producing relatively cheaper alternatives to the iPhone, it was revealed that â€Å"Apple could produce an iPhone for less than $150 to broaden its appeal† (Has Apple peaked? par. 7). This is a viable strategy given that competitors have already launched several alternatives to the smartphone at significantly affordable prices; especially in emerging markets, like China. Secondly, Horace Dediu, a spokesperson from Asymco, a research firm, was cited to disclose that â€Å"it would be a mistake to think Apple is resting on its laurels† (Has Apple peaked? par. 13). His proof was the soaring of capital expenditure of Apple which is an indication that it is producing a new product to be launched in the market. Third, the legal battle Apple has encountered with Samsung was noted to be indicative of it being on the defensive stance. I am convinced that any organization threatened by competitors in terms of product patent would do the same thing. As a competitor, like Samsung, the apparent increase in capital expenditure that indicates that Apple is concocting a new innovative product should spur me to increase my research capabilities and try to find out from all possible avenues what these technological gadgets could be. Likewise, I could set my product engineers to design new, creative, and more innovative gadgets that would potentially be seen as blockbuster products and could be purchased at relatively cheaper amounts than what Apple normally offers. If I am personally involved in Apple as an employee, I would definitely by knowledgeable of any possible new product innovation or future product launches that are being designed. As such, I could validate that Apple could simple be at the steady state

Interpretation of The Rich Brother by Tobias Wolff Essay

Interpretation of The Rich Brother by Tobias Wolff - Essay Example Much as he behaves in the story, I conjured up the image of a selfish, mean, and rude guy with a lot of money for Pete. The facts of the story that led me to draw this image of Pete in my mind were his distaste for Donald’s act of giving away his $100 that he expressed by throwing Donald out of the car and not even realizing how bad he has behaved. Instead, Pete says to Donald, â€Å"you’d better go† (Wolff 12), thus deceiving himself that he does not need Donald. Pete has the audacity to nod to the music in his car after throwing his brother out of it. While the overall impression of Donald was that of a good guy without money, I missed out some of the most important underlying messages in the story like the real meaning of being rich unless I had discussion about this story with my friends. After discussing the story’s interpretation with my friends and listening to theirs, I reached the conclusion that the story contains some very important messages tha t make it more meaningful and sophisticated than I had presumed. My friends came up with their own opinions and conclusions they had drawn from the story, all of which sparked a number of questions in my mind; who of the two brothers is really rich; the one with more money or the one with the better character? Does Donald really need Pete to make a living or is Pete really in need of somebody with a high character like Donald? Is money so powerful that it deprives man of all sensitivity, sensibility, and humanity? Does money do that to everybody or there was something very wrong about Pete that it did that to him? These and many more questions were discussed with the peers. Comparison of the two interpretations has led me to the conclusion that when we read something and interpret it by ourselves without consulting anybody, we are likely to adopt a biased approach toward interpreting it so as to draw the meaning that we want out of it. We approach the reading in a certain way and th ings seem to make sense that way. While we definitely have a viewpoint, we tend to overlook, if not completely ignore, various other meanings that can be derived from the same reading. The state of mind in which we read a story plays a decisive role in what conclusions we draw from it. In order to get the most out of a reading, it is advisable to discuss the story with peers so as to get their opinion. While the best results can be achieved if all peers have personally read the story at least once, the reader should at least summarize the story to the peers so as to ensure that everybody gets to know about it even if he/she has not personally read it. When I discussed the story and my interpretation of it with my peers, not only that practice exposed me to a variety of themes, ideas, moral lessons, and conclusions hidden in the opinions of my peers, but I also noticed a widening of the horizon of my own thoughts. The practice opened my mind and I also came up with new conclusions th at I might not have been able to do alone. The strengths of personal interpretation include surfacing of a well-defined opinion of the reader that might be unique, sharpening of mind as one ponders over the facts of the story alone without anybody’s guidance or help, and maximization of learning as no other activity is as strong as building memory and interpretation skills as personal interpre