FIRE!!!!!

I think it was a little funny, when Jack tried to kill Ralph with the fire. Then they get saved by the navy, and so over all, Jack saved the kids from the island, although he was the one who wanted to stay on the island. The fire can symbolize Jack's hatred for Ralph, and as the book goes on, his hatred gets bigger until it takes over the whole island. As Ralph tried to hide from Jack, he coundn't because the fire follows him like Jack. Jsohau Hill

Fighting the urge of giving in....

The boys on the island have completely gone mad. They murder a pig (brutally and in a very disturbing manner), kill Simon who has done absolutely nothing wrong but try to keep some kind of sanity on the island, and are after to kill one another. I slowly see Ralph, the boy who we looked to for some civilization, slipping into the violent person that Jack is. I believe that the author is showing how no matter how civilized and composed a person can stay in desperate times, we all have inner evil that can take the best of us in taking desperate measures. This is showing that Jack decided it would be easier to feed his inner evil and become violent in hunting for the "beast" and having dominance over the boys. At this point in the book, I think Ralph is fighting the urge to giving in to his inner evil and is giving up on the hope of survival and rescue. Ralph seems like when he acts like a savage he doesn't realize it, but when he looks back on it he questions and looks for excuses on why he acted the way he did. Everything was taken to a next level when Simon was murdered. The boys were so preoccupied and caught up in the thought of killing and being blood thirsty, that I think that some of them knew it was Simon while in the process but still didn't say anything because they were desperate for that rush of killing. They are all concentrated on killing this beast, that is not even real, that the boy who actually knew the truth about it was murdered by themselves! Can they not see that they are the beast themselves! According to www.dictionary.com, a beast is a cruel, coarse, filthy, or otherwise inhuman like person. This definition perfectly describes Jack and his little followers. Ready to kill at any moment and does not have any guilt for it. They are the beast. Not the man trapped in a parachute. This book has gotten me quite worked up! I am furious as Jack and am dreading the death of Piggy :(! I still believe that Jack will kill off everyone off on the island due to paranoia or command of the Lord of the Flies. I can't wait to see what will happen!
Sydney:)

Othello

I think that Othello does truly love Desdimona, she is not just a way for his status and ego to grow. Though the murder of Desdimona was an evil thing for Othello to do, deep down he honestly felt that he had no choice, because she had gone behind his back and cheated him. You can see Othello’s true feelings for Desdimona by many ways, one way was nearing the end of the play after he commits the murder he says that he loved her much, but he did not love her wisley. This meant that he really loved her but once he became suspicious and jealous of her affair with Cassio, he let it get to him so much that he felt there was nothing else to do other than the murder. Aonther way that you can see that he does love Desdimona, and that it is not just an act, is when he and Iago are trying to find ways of killing Desdimona. Othello wanted to do it quick, to get it over with. However, Iago knows that Othello deeply loves his wife and having to kill her slwly and painfully would, in a way, kill him too.

-Ellie Adams

My Opinion.. Kenzie Smith

Othello is a honorable man, but he needs to work on what he does with life. He says that he killed Desdemona with honor and I do not believe him, because he "loved" her with everything that he had. Othello should have thought about what he was thinking and then he would have realized that Desdemona was telling the truth and he would have changed his mind about killing her. Desdemona was completely in love with Othello, she would have never cheated on Othello. Iago needed to stay out of their business. I believe that if Othello thought everything through he would have saw that Desdemona loved him and that she was faithful.

Well...I agree, kind of.

This person's opinion about Othello's true character are very critical. While I understand a little bit of where he is coming from, I can't bring myself to agree whole-heartedly. For starters, I do believe that Othello loved Desdemona with all his heart. Shakespeare introduces his readers to Othello in the way that a tragic hero should be presented: full of all things good and pure like honor and compassion and a certain "soft center" that makes anyone who meets him take an immediate liking to him. He's a great warrior; fully committed to his country. He sees the best in people, as is clearly demonstrated by his perverse love for the villain, Iago. Finally, He's in a relationship that is bursting at the seams with boundless love. Being in love with Desdemona is just one of those things that makes the reader like him that much more.

True to the form of a tragic hero, as the story progresses, we see Othello's good personality start to slip a little. I don't think it's because he's becoming less of a good person; I'm sure he is still quite as honorable and heroic as he was in the beginning of the story. However, his pure heart has developed a blemish: Iago. Iago planted ideas of awful doubt into Othello's head. Doubt about his own insecurities and flaws and at the center, the catalyst for bringing out these fears about himself was Desdemona. Iago's lies wove a story around chance and circumstance that made Othello truly doubt Desdemona's faithfulness and his own "worthiness" of her love.

It is proven that human nature leads us to cover our fear with rage and anger. I think when Othello finally gets around to disposing of his wife, this is kind of what he's doing. Othello is afraid that he's not good enough, so he covers it up with anger and jealousy. This is the part where I kind of agree with the article. Othello killed Desdemona simply because of what she was accused of to "save face" so to speak. He felt he needed to protect his own reputation and the only way to do that was to get rid of what he thought was destroying it. He was scared of looking bad and he reveals that he already had some deep-set uncertainties with his own likability and a combination of those two would bring out the worst in anyone, I think. With all his anger in the way, Othello couldn't even think strait. So, at the end, when he kills Desdemona, she was not a person to him until after she was dead; she was simply a crack in his well-built protection around his insecurities. Unfortunately, that's what happens when a person like Othello with deep down uncertainties about himself.

In conclusion, this article brings up some good points about Othello and his actions, but I don't really think it's all that accurate. Othello was in love, and that is what ultimately killed Desdemona.

---Taylor

This different view on Othello is very interesting and something to think about. However, I do not believe in this prospect. Othello is showing so much remorse in Desdemonas death that he goes as far as to kill hismelf for the wrong he's done. Some of Othello's last words were "Of one that loved not wisely but too well." He's talking about how they should talk of him when he dies. I interpert this as that he loved Desdemona so much that he over reacts when he hears she may be sneaking around him. He loved too well in the sense that he may think he loved her so much that he was blinded by the "signs" she had been showing unintentionally. I honestly believe Othello and Desdemona loved each other with all of their hearts and neither of them were in the wrong until Iago started in with his evil. The term "trophy wife" is used when you can tel the husband doesn't really care about his wife, only to show her off. The way Othello wants Desdemona to go to Cyprus with him and that he had Emilia go with her so she had female company shows he cares. Personally I find no evidence in this mans assumption of Desdemona and Othellos relationship and do not agree.


Brittany Jurczyk

Welcome back! Othello

In a story by Salman Rushdie (The New Yorker, July 2001), a character makes sthe following remarks about Othello:

"Othello doesn't love Desdemona....He says he does, but it can't be true. If he loves her, the murder makes no sense. For me, Desdemona is Othello's trophy wife, his most valuable and status-giving possession, the physical proof of his risen standing in a white-man's world. You see? He loves that about her, but not her. Desdemona's death is an "honor killing." She didn't have to be guilty; the accusation was enough. The attack on her virtue was incompatible with Othello's honor. She's not even a person to him. She's his Oscar-Barbie statuette. His doll."

Do you think this is a valuable commentary on the character? Why or why not? Support your thoughts with evidence from the text. The text is our best support for dealing with controversial topics like this.


Answer by Friday, April 16, 2010. Remember to sign your name so I know who earned credit for your post.