Othello Part II

First off I must say that I absolutely think that the play shouldn't have been named after Othello. Although he did have a tragic ending, I think that the other characters that died also died in a tragic way for an innocent reason. I think that Othello's wife had a more tragic death than Othello because not only was she accused of something she never did but she was killed by the man that she betrayed her father for. If it were up to me I would have named the play “Iago- The Devil” because he is just something else. I have to admit that I am glad he is a fictional character, and after reading this play a weird sense of paranoia swept over me, because I imagined what if there are really people out there just like Iago (which I am sure there are plenty of all over the world).  I also can’t believe what a light punishment he got after all the troubles and deaths he has caused. If anything the play should have been named just “A Tragedy” because this play is a complete disaster whichever way you look at it. Although I liked Othello and his naïve and kind character, I think that this play shouldn’t have been named after him. I wish I could speak to Shakespeare and ask him what was his reasoning behind making Othello the title of the play.

When talking about disasters, I think that every character in this play was struck by a tragedy one way or another. The tragedies of Roderigo, Desdimona, Emilia and Othello are obvious, but Desdimona’s father also faced a tragedy. Not only was he so broken to hear that his daughter secretly got married to someone he despised, but if he only knew that his daughter was suffocated to death by the same man whom she chose to be with. If that is not a tragedy for any father I don’t know what is. Even though Cassio remained alive and become the general, I think that he somewhat had a tragic ending too, because he will never know who his true friends were and who was behind the plot the whole time. It makes me think what if Iago was released from jail for whatever reason, and he returned to be a “best friend” to Cassio and help him with his leadership. I can only imagine how ugly things would get. Although Iago remained alive too (which really made me mad), I think that he had a tragic ending as well because even though most of his little plans worked out I think one of the main goals of his was to take Cassio’s place. Now that he is going to jail, he will never be able to achieve that goal of his, which I am sure were bad news to him.

I am not sure what to think about Iago. He was either too evil or clever, or the rest of the characters were very naïve and easily fooled. I am glad Cassio ended up on the top, yet it makes me wonder why out of all characters, Shakespeare chose Cassio to be the one who will end up on the good side of the situation.

Othello Part I

In the first Act of Othello, I like how the play opens with not the main character speaking which is usually the case. I like the conversation that Iago and Roderigo have because it lets us know that Iago isn’t much of a fan of Othello’s and that he isn’t loyal to him. This introduction reminds me of the dramatic irony we talked about in class because right off the bat we find out that instead of being a loyal servant and a friend, Iago hates Othello because he didn’t promote him. Although we know this, Othello doesn’t know what is going on which shows that this conversation will play a major part in the future of the play.

I love how ironic Iago’s character is, because after he just told Brabantio about his daughter and Othello sleeping together, he met up with Othello and stated how he thinks he isn’t cruel enough for the job that he is doing. I find that very ironic, because him snitching on Othello showed his cruelty.  He also continues talking and asking about Othello’s marriage, and warning him that Brabantio will soon come after Othello. By warning him this way I think that he is trying to make himself seem like he is a good friend and that he is looking out for him, even though he is the one that snitched on him in the first place. What a sneaky little guy!

It is so obvious how hurt Brabantio is that this marriage was a secret and that it happened behind his back. I can’t believe that he said he would have rather adopted a child than have his own, which shows how disappointed and hurt he really is. Another cruel thing he said was that he is glad she is his only child because if he had more, he would have to keep them locked up. Although these are cruel words, I don’t really blame him because any father would be appalled and disappointed to find out that his daughter got married secretly, especially to the last person that he would expect. As much as he hated Roderigo, I am sure he likes him now way more than Othello, and I wonder if in future of the play he will try and help Roderigo get his daughter. I also can’t believe that Othello actually wanted to bring Desdemona to the battle against Turks. What man in his right mind would even think about putting his wife in danger, as much as she wanted to be a part of it?

One quote that caught my eye was when Brabantio told Othello to watch out and be careful because if she deceived her own father she might deceive him too. Since I’ve never read Othello before,  I am wondering if this is some kind of foreshadowing in the play, and if she really will deceive him later in the play.

The 13th Warrior Part II

So, we are done with The 13^th Warrior and I must say that even I enjoyed watching this movie just a little more than actually reading the story. I saw many resemblances between the movie and the story, and I especially liked the clever way of Buliwyf still dying due to poison just not from a dragon. I liked the movie because everything that happened was way more believable than it was in the story.

I must say that I thought that Buliwyf was going to die way earlier than he did, and just when we think that he passed away, he comes out ready to fight for one last time. As cheesy as it sounds, that scene gave me chills because that’s what true bravery and courage are all about. The last battle was a very powerful scene, and for a second when Ahmed started taking off his shoes and armor I thought that this scene was going to resemble Beowulf’s scene when he fights Grendel armor-less. I must say that I was glad to find out that he was only praying and wasn’t crazy enough to try and fight armor-less like Beowulf did.

I love the transformation of Ahmed’s character throughout the movie. At the beginning, he wasn’t happy about the fact that he was chosen as the 13^th warrior, but towards the end of the movie you could see his change and his dedication to defeating the enemies and protecting the village.

I also liked the strategy that they had when they were about to enter the cave, and this is something I wish Beowulf did as well when attacking the dragon. The warriors could have easily just walked in the cave and started attacking and fighting, however their plan got them very far down the cave and helped them kill the mother. I am sure if they just walked in there like Beowulf did, they wouldn’t have made it too far because they were obviously outnumbered. I also liked how more believable this scene was, rather than Beowulf swimming and fighting underwater for a few hours.

I wish the movie was more about Buliwyf because I think that he is the true hero of the movie and the story, but I can also see why Ahmed was the main character. For a second I thought that the 13^th warrior was a parallel character to Beowulf, but then I realized that there is already a Buliwyf in the movie.  I think that if the movie was specifically focused on Buliwyf it would be way more similar to the story and I don’t think that that’s what they had in mind. I like the twist and the fact that the main character is a completely different person, yet we still get to see and experience Buliwyf’s story and courage.

Beowulf && The 13th Warrior Part I

One thing that I forgot to mention in my previous blogs about Beowulf is that I liked the foreshadowing within the story when Beowulf is warned about his strengths, and to not get carried away because death eventually awaits him too. This brings us to the end of the story when Beowulf wins the battle against the dragon but dies anyway, just like he was told. At the time I did not see the relevance of the warning about his death, but when the story ended I totally got it.

So far I love the movie we are watching and I am almost ashamed that I did not watch it before this class. I love the correlation between the story and the movie. I read that The 13^th Warrior is based on a novel “Eaters of the Dead” by Michael Crichton. Does this mean that Crichton based his novel on the story of Beowulf or is it just a big coincidence? I would love to read the novel and see how it compares to the actual story, not to mention the fact that it has an awesome title!

One of my favorite parts of the movie was when Ahmad was fighting against the beasts and when he realized that they were humans he got the confidence and became almost fearless. I think that I would be the same way because there is just something extra freaky and intimidating about the fact that you are fighting an animal or a demon because that battle seems almost impossible to win. However, if you know that it’s a human and that there is somewhat of an equal chance of winning, that’s when you become more confident.

I must admit that at the beginning of the movie when everybody was at the king’s funeral, I thought that they were speaking some random language, yet I couldn’t grasp on what language it was. Not until later did I realize and finally remembered that it’s actually English. How embarrassing!! As much as I like the 13^th Warrior, I think that Beowulf is way cooler because he actually fought real demons (not fake monsters) and he did it bare-handed, while the warriors in the movie used weapons. I like the wooden gate or wall that they built to prepare for the second battle and this is somewhat of what I had in mind when I said that I wish Beowulf would have prepared better and thought of a plan before he fought the dragon. I wasn't thinking of weapons but something more like a strategy of how to surround and attack the dragon. If anything he could have accepted the help from his warriors knowing that he is not as strong as he used to be as a 20 year old (even if they were scared they still would've had to fight with him if he ordered that). The wooden gate in the movie was very clever because if it wasn’t for the gate, I am sure the battle would have been twice as hard because the enemy wouldn’t have any obstacles.

I am looking forward to watching the second part of The 13^th Warrior and seeing how the correlation between the movie and the story develops. Not to mention that it’s way more interesting to watch than Matrix. Just saying!!

Beowulf Part II

So, Beowulf dies at the end. I knew that there had to be a twist to the story because it would have been pretty boring if all he did was have glorious battles. However, I expected him to maybe lose a battle but not actually die (which kind of means that he lost anyways).

In my opinion, Beowulf is what a hero should be. He isn’t interested in fame and reputation like Gilgamesh, because he is more concerned about the wellness of his people and defeating the evil monsters. He as confident as it gets and without too much hesitation goes into the battles, with the belief that God will choose his destiny and that God will either let him win or lose. However, I think that he should have done more than just leave his destiny in God’s hands.  Then also comes a question, what if he did something yet he was destined to die in the end anyways?

I don’t see the significance of Wiglaf towards the end of the story. Although I admire him for his bravery and loyalty to Beowulf, I am wondering if there is more significance to this character other than that he just helped weaken the dragon. Does that mean if Wiglaf wasn’t around to stab the dragon and weaken him, Beowulf would have been dead long time ago and the dragon would have lived on and continued harassing people?

Although I did not expect Beowulf to die the way he did, I think that some kind of tragic death was waiting for him eventually, because let’s be honest; he was asking for it. I am not saying that this is a bad thing; it’s a really good thing actually because if it wasn’t for his bravery we would have still been stuck in the first part of the story for a long time where Grendel would have still been killing people left and right. However, I think that he might have gotten carried away thinking that God will save him in every battle, and with that thought he just went into any battle without much preparation, plan or weapons. This is as brave as one gets, however I think that he got a little carried away and stepped into the battle with the dragon without much of preparation which could have potentially saved his life.  It’s kind of like what we do on every day basis. We do certain things and we get good at doing them, and right when we think we got it and we assume the next time will be as easy we are wrong. He should have known that it should take some planning or some back up if he was old and going against a strong beast. Instead, it seems as if he either wanted to die or hoped that God would save him.

Now I am connecting the dots from many readings we have had so far and realizing that heroes and warriors had really high standards to live up to.  These guys are amazing and even when they died, they weren’t looked upon as losers, yet they were pronounced even bigger heroes. I enjoyed reading Beowulf and I could see why Mr. Bahlmann likes it so much.

Beowulf Part I

So far, Beowulf has been a very interesting read. For a second it reminded me of The Epic of Gilgamesh because of the typical “a hero is here to kill the monster” type of thing.

I admire Beowulf’s bravery and courage to come over seas and be so sure of himself, his strengths and his warriors that came with him. However, one of my favorite parts was when he stood up to Unferth when he called him out about the battle he lost in the seas. His answer was so quick and sharp, and it showed how confident he is. Instead of admitting he lost, he found another glorious thing to mention in order to show why even thought he lost, he is still a hero. When he said that he killed nine sea monsters and he has never heard of any man do that, he was kind of bragging but I liked it because it showed that he knew that he was the best.  I wish that when I lost in something I could find another great thing to use as an example for why I am still a winner!  Instead I call myself a sore loser!! Great lesson learned from you Beowulf!!
I also thought it was interesting how Beowulf mentioned fate a couple of times, which makes me wonder if fate will play a part in this story the way it did in Oedipus.  In the story Hrothgar seems very pleased to see Beowulf and his brave warriors, and fully trusts Beowulf with his people’s lives in his hands. However, I am just wondering if Hrothgar really believed in and trusted Beowulf’s courage, or did he just accept his help because he had no other choice and he wouldn’t lose anything if Beowulf tried to kill the monster? I am not saying this is the case, but it’s just a thought.

I admire Beowulf’s courage to fight Grendel without any weapons. I guess you can say that it was fair, but if I knew that my opponent had no weapons and my weapons could assist me in defeating him, you best believe that I would bring my weapons and not even think about being “fair”. But I guess that’s what separates me from a true hero! I find it funny how all heroes have to save something from the battle to show that they defeated the enemy. In Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu and Gilgamesh brought back the head of one of the monsters, and Beowulf proved his victory by hanging Grendel’s arm on the wall. I guess it’s just like athletes keep and show off their trophies as proof of their win, our heroes keep body parts as a proof of awesome battles and victories! Way to go Beowulf!!

The Wife of Bath

I must start off by saying that the Wife of Bath is awesome! Not that I support everything she has done to her husbands, but not many women can do the same and get away with it. She is definitely a man-eater!! I know there was a movie that reminded me of this story, where a woman bribes and manipulates older men into marrying her, and then tries to murder them in order to get their money ( I just can’t remember what it’s called).

I love how she explains that in order for virgins to exist there must be someone out there who is creating these virgins and that we should leave virginity to those who strive for perfection and indulge in our sexual powers. What I like about this is that she is going against everything people believed back then and isn’t afraid to be rebellious. I can see her as one of those people that you would see in a movie, grey and old, sitting in a rocking chair and talked about her wild young years and crazy experiences, while her grandchildren listen (only in this case she had neither children nor grandchildren).

I love the irony in the fact that she married all of her husbands for money, and the one and only time she falls in real love with a man, is the one that treats her like crap. As we already mentioned in class, the fifth husband’s name is the only name mentioned out of all the husbands she had, which shows how significant he is and that she really did love him. She explains that women always desire what is forbidden to them, which makes total sense to me.  All girls want attention, but too much attention is never too good because it becomes annoying after a while. As guys like a challenge so do we, therefore I agree that forbidden is not necessarily what we desire but what we always imagine and think about. This also makes me think about the saying “women like bad boys “or “players”.  We always say we want a guy who treats us like a princess, but then many times we see women in relationships that are bad for them, but they don’t want to leave because they are in love with the jerk that never turned out to be the prince charming she thought he was or “wanted” him to be.  This also ties in with the fact that was mentioned in class about us not knowing what we want from men, which I completely agree with. We like to pretend that we have a set of standards for a perfect guy, but most of the time we settle for something that is nowhere near our standards and then we wonder why we are in love when “he” is everything we did not want in a man. We are very confusing beings and I will proudly admit that!

I couldn’t help but think of how cruel and selfish the Wife of Bath is, when she wasn’t even worried about her fourth husband dying, because she already had another one lined up. She is heartless and maybe her unlucky fifth marriage was a punishment for all the marriages she ruined by being cruel and manipulating. This reminds me of a random thing that I am about to mention. One of my very good friends dated three girls at the same time.  It turned out, that he fell in love with one of them just when all three found out that they have been played all along. It also turned out that all three girls were willing to forgive him and stay with him (if he left the other ones of course) except the one he fell in love with, who was disgusted and never talked to him again. This is somewhat relevant to Wife of Bath’s situation, because it was almost like karma that the first man she fell in love with treated her like crap.