Act One: Iago's Persuasion to ethos, pathos, or logos

In Act One, Iago reveals to the audience how masterful he is in the art of persuasion based on his conversations with Roderigo and Brabanito. The play opens with Iago's subtle manipulation of Roderigo, which has huge implications for the end of the scene when he speaks with Roderigo again privately. In the first scene, Iago appeals to the pathos of Roderigo to gain his sympathy and trust. After Iago explains his situation with Othello and his reason for resentment, Roderigo responds by saying, "...I would rather have been his hangman" and that he "would not follow him then." The impact of Iago's long monologues discussing his unjust treatment by Othello are obvious in these two small phrases said by Roderigo: he is sympathizing with Iago and relating the situation back to his own life. Then when Iago describes his plan of revenge for Othello, Roderigo becomes excited and eager to join his plans. By appealing to Roderigo's pathos, Iago transferred his own emotions (anger and revenge) to Roderigo. This proves to be very significant in the last part of Act One when Roderigo (now trusting Iago and seeing them as people in similar situations) says he is so plagued by frustration with his love for Desdemona that he is going to drown himself. In the proceeding conversation, Iago appeals to Roderigo's logos. He exclaims to Roderigo that killing himself over frivolous emotions would be ridiculous and that as his friend he would help him attain the love of Desdemona. Iago sets forth a plan for Roderigo: he will make money so he can go to Cyprus and win the love of Desdemona who will soon grow tired of a Moor - they will both work together to bring revenge on Othello. By creating a plan and convincing Roderigo that he is also invested in this plan, Iago easily manipulates Rodergio by appealing to his logos.

Iago also persuades Desdemona's father Brabanito to hate Othello and distrust his daughter by revealing their secret marriage and describing the situation in graphic and vulgar terms. In this way, Iago is appealing to Brabanito's pathos and ethos. By revealing the relationship and the secrecy, Iago is appealing to his emotions of anger and shock. By describing the relationship in a racist and vulgar manner such as "an old black ram is tupping with your white ewe," he is appealing to his values and morals - he knows that Brabanito does not want his daughter married to a Moor.

Othello As the Other

How is Othello portrayed as an other?

Othello is generally portrayed as an other through his personality and actions. Shakespeare was heavily influenced by the writing by Leo Africanus. One writing described Africa, generally associating it and its inhabitants with violence, easily addicted to wrath, ignorant, and warfare.

These characteristics are easily seen in Othello; he is easily drawn by Iago into attacking his wife, he is violent (as seen by the time when he just slapped Desdemona) and he is a war hero. Africa was viewed as the other in European views and as a result, anyone who was associated with Africa, was also viewed as an other. Another aspect that characterizes Othello as an other is his courting of Desdemona. At that time in society, it was unheard of for a black man to get married to a white man, yet Othello, a black Moor, courts and marries a white woman, Desdemona.

Part II Wide Sargasso Sea

This part of the novel is narrated by both Mr. Rochester as well as Antoinette, but split into three sections. The language in this part of the book, at least for the first and last portion of it, are clearly more eloquent and well composed thoughts than in the first and last parts of the book. Rochester's tone seems to sound as though he is trying to tame Antoinette, he makes the dealings with her seem parallel to those one may experience with a child. Antoinette's perspective is similar to that in the other parts of the novel where she seems childlike and infinitely curious about many things.

Power Lenses in Wide Sargasso Sea

I thought today's class discussion on the power constructs in Wide Sargasso Sea was very interesting. As was mentioned in class, Rhys was definitely commenting on feminist and post-colonialism criticism by having Christophine dominate Rochester in that weirdly-structured passage (p. 139 in my book). But when I looked at this passage later at home, another aspect I noticed was Christophine's complete dominance of Antionette/Bertha as well. Although Bertha is not actually present for the dialogue, on page 140 Christophine criticizes Rochester for changing Antionette's name and thus treating her like a "doll," forcing her "to cry and speak." Then, later on this very page, Christophine admits that she gives Bertha some kind of potion that puts her in a perpetual sleep. It's ironic how lines earlier Christophine accused Rochester of manipulating Bertha, but she is guilty of the very same manipulation, which is revealed later in the conversation. Rhys not only has Christophine dominate Rochester, which could symbolize female independence and superiority, but she gives Christophine the power to literally induce Bertha into a coma. Considering the time period in which the book is set, Christophine has a tremendous amount of power for a colored woman.

The second part of this blog entry is dedicated to examining the structure in Part III of Wide Sargasso Sea. This part of the novel was by far the shortest. Also, it was characterized by many breaks in the text, which could symbolize the sure deterioration of Bertha's psyche. She can't remember her actions, and her thoughts are jumbled/rambling, which is mirrored through the broken up structure of the text. Lastly, an important part of the last part is presented through a dream, which is particularly of significance. In this way, Rhys almost makes Bertha less accountable for her destructive actions because they come to her subconsciously. I'm intrigued to hear what other people thought about part III......

Jane Eyre as a literary allusion

When I was reading Jane Eyre (especially at the beginning) I started getting the sense that a lot of modern books and story lines appear to be based on Bronte's novel.

Jane's childhood reminded me of both Harry Potter's and Matilda's for two reasons. First off, all three of these characters are living with relatives who feel a distaste and disregard for their "charity cases." The parents deify their own children, shunning the outsider and leaving them to be terrorized by the cruel older brother figure that ALL THREE CHARACTERS HAVE. Secondly, all three escape their situations through education. The children are taken under the wing of a guardian angel figure (Mr. Lloyd, Hagrid, and Ms. Honey) and find their ways to happiness. To make this comparison even more obvious, both Harry and Jane find solace by escaping to boarding school and excelling as both teachers and students at different times. Additionally, both Matilda and Jane have an antagonist at school. Both Ms. Trunchbull and Mr. Brocklehurst take the advice of their benefactors that the children are to be watched with a keen eye because of their despicable characters. Harry Potter and Matilda are some of my favorite "kid" books, I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that I was a big fan of Jane Eyre as well.

I also found Jane's situation with Mr. Rochester to be eerily similar to "Little Orphan Annie"'s with Mr. Warbucks. Annie was taken in by Mr. Warbucks for a very specific purpose, to be a PR stunt, but their relationship grows from there. Although they come from shockingly different social situations, they begin to appreciate each other beyond the purpose that initially related them. From here, they want to stay together and share Mr. Warbucks' wealth. Similarly, Jane is taken in as a governess and ends up falling in love with Mr. Rochester. This parallel may not be as strong as that between Jane Eyre, Matilda and Harry Potter, but the similarities seem to be more than coincidence.

My question is, did anyone else notice any major parallels to contemporary literature, movies, etc. while reading Jane Eyre? The book is so renowned, and the plot so engaging (in my opinion) that I feel like there are a lot of allusions to it in places we wouldn't expect.

-Matt

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Jane Eyre, just what is she?!?!

So, I believe that yes she did evolve as a character as a whole throughout the novel, but overall, she is that same woman that she was at the age of 10. She was and is a woman who did not have love as a child and so sought it out as an adult. Because of these two things, she has a strong sense of loyalty towards her friends and family. The Reeds definitely didn't love her and sadly enough, Mrs. Reed will never come to love Jane, even in death. So basically, she feels a strong sense of loyalty for her friends and family, so she buys that gravestone for her best friend who died over 10 years ago, and she splits her wealth with her family. Throughout her life she sought love and she wanted to show her love for others by giving and using her sense of justice in that regard. Even if it does seem that she did change, and her values seem to falter or perhaps jump around a little bit, the reason that this is happening is because she seeks out that love.

Welcome to AP Literature Period 3!

Hi Everyone!

I hope that you each had an enjoyable weekend! For those of you who have blogged before, welcome back! For those of you who are new to this... WELCOME!

Our blog will serve as a sort of virtual classroom, coffeehouse, debate arena. It generally transcends each of these designations. Sometimes you will be asked to respond to a specific question, but more often than not you will respond to each others queries and theories.

So, let's begin!