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You think you know someone

Othello is one of favorite plays I have read by Shakespeare so far. Shakespearian language can be very confusing for many readers. Many readers find translation to better understand his language. Going to see the play of Othello by the Lr Playmakers gave me a new interest for Shakespearean plays.  

A character that really stood out to me in this play was Iago. Iago was a character that was trusted by everyone. He was known as man of honor and people came to him with their problems. Iago was the great Othello’s main man. Othello trusted Iago with his life and left him in charge when he had to leave the kingdom.

Othello had a beautiful wife named Desdemonia. Many characters in the play had a thing for Desdemonia. She was in love with her husband a gave him her all. Iago saw this twisted love nest as way to bring down the kingdom and take reign. Iago first started plotting on a character named Rodrigo. Rodrigo was madly in love with Desdemona. Iago convinced Rodrigo to sell everything he owned to get the attention of Desdemona through gifts. Rodrigo listened to Iago because he Iago was the man of honor.

One of Othello’s main officers named Cassio also seemed to have a special relationship with Desdemona. It seemed to be strictly friendship, but Iago saw a way to make it look like otherwise. Cassio was already not in good sights with othello because of a couple drunken mistakes. Iago had convinced Cassio to get drunk when he knew he shouldn’t.

Iago began to feed Othello doubts about his wife without actually coming out and saying it. Othello began to believe him after Iago did some things to feed Othello’s doubts. This whole time Iago remains to be seen as the most honorable friend everyone has. Everybody but Rodriego believes everything he is saying. Rodreigo starts to doubt Iago because he has done everything Iago told him to do and he still isn’t getting any attention from Desdomonia.

Othello starts making his suspicions known to his wife Desdomonia. She is very confused on why Othello is acting differently, especially since she has not done anything wrong. Desdemona’s main focus is getting Cassio and Othello back to being close like she promised Cassio. Little does Desdomonia know, Othello believes her and Cassio have something going on outside his marriage.

Thanks to Iago’s convincing Othello is driven mad and commits to killing Desdomonia for her alleged cheating. Iago tells Othello that he will Cassio himself. He end up getting Rodrigo to do it but Rodrigo fails and ends up getting killed by Cassio. Othello kills his wife while shes in bed. Her maid finds him and tells him that something about Iago is not adding up and that is her husband. Othello ends up killing himself,  Desdomonia’s maid also dies. Iago laughs at all the catastrophe he had caused.

This play really got me thinking. Do I have any Iago’s in my life?  Iago was able to trick everyone by being a great listener and then not giving them the best advice. He prided himself on being one of the most trustworthy, honorable people in the kingdom. The people you think you know best are the ones who could be plotting on you the whole time. Sometimes people want what you have so bad they will wait in the shadows and pretend to be a friend all while plotting.

This betrayal makes it hard to trust people. But I have always lived to trust people until they show they aren’t trustworthy. This form of trust still gives me the option to be betrayed. But I don’t think it is right to not trust people at first either. In my opinion there needs to be a balance. You shouldn’t let all your business out but you have to learn to trust people to move forward in life.

In John Crow’s Devil there was a man who came to town that everyone thought they knew. He came to town grabbing everyone’s attention. Most people thought he was a prophet of some sort because of the attention his presence demanded.

When he first came to town he seemed to be doing the right thing. People who had never been to church were coming in, and getting saved. He also started holding people to the standards set by God. After a while he started going overboard. His true self became a little more clear for some people to see. The pastor who was over the church before the apostle had came to town could see the apostle for who he really was. The apostle made everyone in the church and town believe the pastor was crazy and had lost all his wits.

The pastor kept fighting for what he knew to be true. Sometimes you grow tired fighting alone. This is what happened to the pastor. He was easily taken advantage of by the apostle who everyone thought was good. At the end of the story we found out the apostle was comitting homesexuality within the church. He wasn’t the man everyone thought he was.

You Think You Know People

Othello is one of favorite plays I have read by Shakespeare so far. Shakespearian language can be very confusing for many readers. Many readers find translation to better understand his language. Going to see the play of Othello by the Lr Playmakers gave me a new interest for Shakespearean plays.

A character that really stood out to me in this play was Iago. Iago was a character that was trusted by everyone. He was known as man of honor and people came to him with their problems. Iago was the great Othello’s main man. Othello trusted Iago with his life and left him in charge when he had to leave the kingdom.

Othello had a beautiful wife named Desdemonia. Many characters in the play had a thing for Desdemonia. She was in love with her husband a gave him her all. Iago saw this twisted love nest as way to bring down the kingdom and take reign. Iago first started plotting on a character named Rodrigo. Rodrigo was madly in love with Desdemona. Iago convinced Rodrigo to sell everything he owned to get the attention of Desdemona through gifts. Rodrigo listened to Iago because he Iago was the man of honor.

One of Othello’s main officers named Cassio also seemed to have a special relationship with Desdemona. It seemed to be strictly friendship, but Iago saw a way to make it look like otherwise. Cassio was already not in good sights with othello because of a couple drunken mistakes. Iago had convinced Cassio to get drunk when he knew he shouldn’t.

Iago began to feed Othello doubts about his wife without actually coming out and saying it. Othello began to believe him after Iago did some things to feed Othello’s doubts. This whole time Iago remains to be seen as the most honorable friend everyone has. Everybody but Rodriego believes everything he is saying. Rodreigo starts to doubt Iago because he has done everything Iago told him to do and he still isn’t getting any attention from Desdomonia.

Othello starts making his suspicions known to his wife Desdomonia. She is very confused on why Othello is acting differently, especially since she has not done anything wrong. Desdemona’s main focus is getting Cassio and Othello back to being close like she promised Cassio. Little does Desdomonia know, Othello believes her and Cassio have something going on outside his marriage.

Thanks to Iago’s convincing Othello is driven mad and commits to killing Desdomonia for her alleged cheating. Iago tells Othello that he will Cassio himself. He end up getting Rodrigo to do it but Rodrigo fails and ends up getting killed by Cassio. Othello kills his wife while shes in bed. Her maid finds him and tells him that something about Iago is not adding up and that is her husband. Othello ends up killing himself,  Desdomonia’s maid also dies. Iago laughs at all the catastrophe he had caused.

This play really got me thinking. Do I have any Iago’s in my life?  Iago was able to trick everyone by being a great listener and then not giving them the best advice. He prided himself on being one of the most trustworthy, honorable people in the kingdom. The people you think you know best are the ones who could be plotting on you the whole time. Sometimes people want what you have so bad they will wait in the shadows and pretend to be a friend all while plotting.

This betrayal makes it hard to trust people. But I have always lived to trust people until they show they aren’t trustworthy. This form of trust still gives me the option to be betrayed. But I don’t think it is right to not trust people at first either. In my opinion there needs to be a balance. You shouldn’t let all your business out but you have to learn to trust people to move forward in life.

Comedy to History

Demetrich A Curry

English 131

In Sarah Vowells Assassination Vacation she takes us on a trip throughout history. History is not the easiest subject to read about. Sarah Vowell introduces a way for readers to stay entertained while talking about the subject she loves. Specifically Vowell is in love with the subject of president assassinations.

One of the first assassinations Vowell brings up is Lincolns. He was killed by John Wilkes Booth. This happened during a play  in Ford’s Theatre. In chapter 1  Vowell visits the Ford’s Theatre to watch a play called 1776. She jokes about going to the Ford’s Theatre to see a play as equivalent to going to Hooters for the food.

As Sarah Vowell sits at the Lincoln memorial she starts remembering one of Lincoln’s speeches. He talks about how both the north and south pray to the same God. Vowells jokes about how Lincoln is talking like they are just two football teams going against each other. Sarah Vowell shows a more personal, humor side of Lincoln.

In the second chapter of Assassination Vacation Vowell introduces us to President James Garfield. She tells us first of all how irrelevant President Garfield was. Untill he was shot nobody really cared about him. After Garfield was shot the whole country kept up with his progress. Again Vowells comedy is shown again when she starts talking about Garfield’s life for a couple paragraphs. After a couple paragraphs she says “but back to his death.”

Sarah Vowell got me to read a full book just on presidents. History is not for everyone but Sarah Vowell got me interested by the way she wrote. She captured me like i was in the backseat of the car with her the whole time. I got to know her friends and her family while learning new stuff I had never heard.

Works Cited

Assassination Vacation, Sarah Vowell

You Have To Love You

 

In John Crow’s devil the author Marlon James describes a conflict between oneself and lust. This conflict is a constant struggle for the character named Lucinda. She is often times looked at as the town whore, although she spends a lot of time in the church.

 

On page 134 in JCD  there was a battle between the apostle and the former pastor that left them both helpless.Lucinda collected the apostle so that she could take care of him.

 

Lucinda struggles with a very deep conflict within herself. She suffers with two personalities. One she calls day Lucinda and the other night Lucinda. Day Lucinda works in the church and does everything she is asked. Night Lucinda is a lustful, talks to spirits, and hates herself. As Lucinda began taking care of the apostle’s wounds she became very distracted by his naked body. She tries to punish herself for these lustful thoughts but she could not get them out of her head. Lucinda walks out of the room frustrated with herself for not being able to rid her thoughts. The moon reminds her of her true self the one she tries to hide from everyone. Lucinda returns back to the room with the Apostle and begins to lust over him once again.

 

Lucinda’s’ struggle comes from the way she was raised. Her mother never spoke positive things to her. She remembers her mom telling her how she was a “bad seed and that she tried to kill her the day she was born.” (pg 184) Lucinda has never felt beautiful because of comments like that from her mother. She looks to the Apostle York as man of God. But also a man she would love to be with sexually. The Apostle has never really given her any sign of him feeling the same way. So this is why Lucinda takes advantage of the state he is in. Lucinda is driven to touch the Apostle while he is not awake and naked. Usually she can control herself but she has put herself in a place where she has been overcome with lust.

 

Lust is a powerful feeling. Constantly looking at something that we know we want, but can’t have is not the smartest decision. When Lucinda first started having thoughts she should have removed herself from the situation. Being that she struggles with her own identity that decision is even harder for her to make.

 

Overcoming temptation and lust is easier said than done. We all struggle with something whether we like to admit it. How we deal with our lust and temptation is something that is personal to everyone. In the story Lucinda whips herself to try and get lustful thoughts out of her head. This obviously doesn’t work. Day and night Lucinda are the same person. She tries to pretend that there are two parts to her, instead of accepting her own struggle. When we pretend that something is not wrong or that we don’t have a struggle it becomes harder and harder to control.

 

In this story I see a woman who did not love herself enough to accept who she was. Her conflict was brought on by the denial of her situation. She did everything she could to hide it and change it on her own. She never once asked for anyone’s help or guidance. Our struggles usually can’t be solved on our own. We will end up punishing ourselves when we try to do it alone. Accepting who we are as a person including the good and the bad is important to being a whole and healthy person.

 

Work Cited

 

James, Marlon. John Crow’s Devil. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

 

About Deme!

I Demetrich Curry am one of the most un complicated people you will ever meet. I enjoy keeping life as simple as possible. Here at LR I am a sophomore. My senior year i was recruited here to play football. I am still involved with the football team, but I am taking a year off to focus on my grades. I have one sibling my little sister. I call her little, but we are actually only sixteen months apart. I do enjoy all types of music but my main focuses are hip hop and country depending on my mood. My favorite rapper is Chance The Rapper, and favorite country artist is probably Chase Rice. I also have a very cool, crazy girlfriend that would be mad at me if I didn’t include her.