"Emelia is the real hero of Othello".

Write an introductory paragraph which presents your thesis and at least two main points in support of this, as well as one of the body paragraphs.

In Othello there are no characters which have rightly deserved the title of 'hero.' Even though Emelia was the most heroic of all characters she was in no way a hero. In the first part of the play Emelia is presented as the wife of the villain, Iago, and therefore is seen as a villain also. She cements this view of her being a villian by stealing Desdemonas handkerchief, she then confirms it a second time by not telling Desdemona that she stole the handkerchief after she saw how upset it made her. The only time that Emelia seems like she is a Hero is in the last scene, she stands up to Othello and reports Desdemonas murder, although this can just been seen as guilt, of being the root of all these problems.

Desdemona and Emelia's relationship should have been one of mutual respect and trust, but Emelia betrays this trust and subsequently causes Desdemonas death. By stealing Desdemonas handkerchief, which she knew she loved very much, she could not have meant anything good out of it and therefore had not good intentions. A hero can not be a person who intentionally causes trauma to another person close to them, therefore in no way is Emelia a hero.

Homework week 2/3

Reputation in Othello

Based on what we have read so far, discuss the importance/significance of reputation in relation to the following characters:

Desdemona
Cassio
Iago

Aim for the development of solid, analytical paragraphs. Ensure that your main points are substantiated by relevant, pertinent evidence and that you take the time to synthesise the evidence.

Reputation seems to be of vital importance in Othello, in particular to Iago and Cassio. In the time Othello was based in public appearance and reputation was obviously held highly. Desdemona is one of the only people in the play that seems not to see the significance of reputation. Cassio is seen as a very respectable and overall liked character, it is this good reputation that could be the reason for his high view of public appearance, because of his fear to loose his. After he has succumb to alcohol, something he was very reluctant to do, and humiliated himself in front of not only his officer, Othello, but also the public. It is seen in in Act 2 Scene 3 Cassio's dispair after his outburst, "Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation!" (2.3.242-243)

Iago knows the importance of reputation in a different way, by using it to his advantage and to manipulate Othello. Iago has a renowned reputation for being a very honest, trustworthy man and this is what Othello bases their friendship on, "I know, Iago, Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter." (2.3.228-229) When Iago recounts the story of how Cassio started the violence Othello takes Iago's side of the story as the truth because of his reputation.

Desdemona, however, does not realise the significance of reputation and not only ruins hers, by getting married to moor, but also does not realise Othello's professional reputation. Being the daughter of Brabantio, a senator, Desdemona is expected to marry a successful white man. Instead, she marries Othello, a moor. By doing so she ruins her reputation of being pure and innocent.

Wednesday, October 6th Task

Is Iago justified in reporting Desdemona's marriage to Othello to her father? Consider his motives, Brabantio's response and the cultural assumptions about race in the play. Write a paragraph response, clearly identifying your thesis in the topic sentence.

Iago is justified in telling Brabantio about Othello and Desdemona's marriage, as he had a right to know about his only daughters recent marriage. However, it is Iago's motives that causes his actions to become selfish and unjustified. Iago's intentions for telling Brabantio were not out of kindness, they were out of his desire to get rid of Othello. Brabantio's angry response would be typical of a person in the time period in which Othello was written, where the cultural assumption is that Moors are a lesser person than white people. All of these factors would lead to Othello being hated by his father-in-law and would achieve Iago's hopes of being promoted. Iago is therefore not justified in telling Brabantio about Desdemona and Othello's marriage because not only were his intentions sinister, he was also aware of how Brabantio would respond to the news of a Moor stealing his daughter away from him.