National Lampoon's Deceptively Simple Vacation

Probably the most complex of the stories we've read is A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O'Conner. The reason is almost as simple as the story first appears to be. Because nothing in the story actually happened in real life, and none of the characters are real people, we can assume that O'Conner made them all up. Also, because this story is not only in a literature textbook but also being taught in a literature class, we can also assume that it is an example of "good" writing. Therefore, everything in the story, every word, character, place, action, etc., must have a purpose or some deeper meaning, or else it would not be in there. And A Good Man is Hard to Find is chock full of things and actions that must have some sort of purpose. Also, none of these hidden meanings are obvious, and most don't seem to be there at all. This makes the story seem all the more simple, but therefore more complex. At first glance, it appears to just be a story about a family vacation gone tragically wrong, but we know it must be so much more than that, or else analyzing it would be pointless.

Perhaps the most elusive of all the meanings in the play is the Grandmother's final words: "Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children!" The more those lines are analyzed, the more complex they are revealed to be. The title is also deceptively simple, like the rest of the story. Were this not a "good" piece of literature, the story would probably be about someone attempting to seek out a good man, and how difficult such a venture would be. This story is nothing like that. In A Good Man is Hard to Find there are men who seem good but may also be bad, and bad men who may also be good. None are sought and none are found. Thus, the title, like the rest of the story, must be a part of the deeper meaning, or else it would not have been included. None of the other stories' meanings are so elusive.

Othello Essay - NOT The Final For Serious Draft

One of the most common elements of all the works is the lack of control the characters have over what happens to them, and how they deal with this lack of control. In A Prayer for Owen Meany and Oedipus Rex, the characters are controlled by their fate, and a higher power. In Othello, on the other hand, everything that happens to the titular character is caused by a mortal, Iago; while Iago is made more evil because of his refusal to accept things as they are, Othello reveals his nobility through his acceptance of the consequences at the end.

From the moment Iago convinces Cassio to drink at the party to when Iago confesses to all that he has done, Othello does not have control over his what he does and what happens to him. He is bound by his sense of honor and his inherent insecurities to trust Iago and lose his faith in Desdemona. In this lies Iago's genius. Like Oedipus had no choice in killing his father and marrying his mother, and how Owen had no choice in sacrificing himself for the Vietnamese kids, Othello has no choice in destroying his life. He is “as tenderly… led by the nose as asses are” (Act I, Scene III) by Iago. Shakespeare is playing with one of our greatest fears in Othello - that we have little or no control over what happens to us. The scariest part of Othello is that, unlike Owen Meany and Oedipus, Othello's fate is not controlled by a higher power, which probably has good intentions. Instead, the fate of Othello is controlled by a man, one who most definitely has very bad intentions.

Although Iago's motives are never fully revealed or explained, what he is doing is pretty straightforward: he is playing god. He is basically playing the part of the Greek gods in Oedipus and the Christian god in Owen Meany. Iago refuses to accept that Othello could choose “a great arithmetician” (Act I, Scene I) as his lieutenant instead of him, and attempts to change this fact by acting as a god. However, by acting as a god, Iago loses his humanity, and thus becomes more evil. In Oedipus and Owen Meany the higher powers are regarded as unfeeling, unknowable forces that lack human compassion but have an unquestionable sense of right and wrong. In both works, the characters have no choice in following the will of the gods, but they assume that the gods know what they are doing, and they accept it. Iago, however, is only human, but by attempting to elevate himself to the status of a god he loses his compassion but does not gain a sense of right and wrong. All he is left with is great power and great anger, and that can only mean doom for all those around him.

Because Othello is Iago's counterpart, instead of controlling others he is the one being controlled. Also unlike Iago, he is honorable and compassionate, and, when he realizes the truth about what has happened, he accepts it. He admits that he was “one who loved not wisely but too well” (Act V, Scene II). Like Oedipus at the end of his play and Owen throughout his book, accepting that he has no control over what happens to him is what makes Othello noble. Rodrigo, in sharp contrast to Othello as Iago's right-hand man, does just the opposite. Instead of accepting that he can never have Desdemona, he asks Iago, the controlling force in the play, to change his fate, which, of course, doesn’t happen. Thus Rodrigo, unlike Othello, is generally regarded as weak, dishonorable, and “a fool” (Act I, Scene III). All three works show their characters' essential nobility through whether or not they accept and take responsibility for what they do, despite the fact that they are not in control over what happens to them.

Othello, like Oedipus and Owen Meany, is noble because he has no control over his destiny and he accepts that; Iago is evil because he does not accept what happens to him and tries to play the respective parts of the Greek gods in Oedipus and the Christian god in Owen Meany. What we do when we can't control what happens to us and how we try to control what happens to others are essential parts of human nature and thus important parts of Othello, as well as Oedipus Rex and A Prayer for Owen Meany.

FATE in OTHELLO - 1st Essay Rough Draft

Fate is evident in all of the works, but almost most so in Othello. However, in Othello, fate does not mean so much the idea that your destiny is predetermined, like in Oedipus Rex or A Prayer For Owen Meany; fate in Othello is more the idea of how little control we actually have over our own destiny. In the play, Othello's fate is controlled almost entirely by Iago, who essentially plays God; Othello not having control over his fate and accepting that he has no control in the end is part of what makes him noble.

From the moment Iago convinces Cassio to drink at the party to when Iago confesses to all that he has done, Othello does not have control over his destiny. He is bound by his sense of honor and his inherent insecurities to trust Iago and lose his faith in Desdemona. In this lies Iago's genius. Like Oedipus had no choice in in killing his father and marrying his mother, and how Owen had no choice in sacrificing himselffor the Vietnamese kids, Othello has no choice in destroying his life. Shakespeare is playing with one of our greatest fears in Othello - that we have little or no control over what happens to us. The scariest part of Othello is that, unlike Owen Meany and Oedipus, Othello's fate is not controlled by a higher power, which probably has good intentions. Instead, the fate of Othello is controlled by a man, one who most definitely has very bad intentions.

Although Iago's motives are never fully revealed or explained, what he is doing is pretty straightforward: he is playing god. He is basically playing the part of the Greek gods in Oedipus and the Christian god in Owen Meany. By acting as a god, Iago loses his humanity, and thus becomes more evil. In Oedipus and Owen Meany the higher powers are regarded as unfeeling, unknowable forces that lack human compassion but have an unquestionable sense of right and wrong. In both works, the characters have no choice in following the will of the gods, because it is assumed that the gods know what they are doing. Iago, however, is nevertheless still only human, but by attempting to elevate himself to the status of a god he loses his compassion but does not gain a sense of right and wrong. All he is left with is great power and great anger, and that can only mean doom for all those around him.

Because Othello is Iago's counterpart, instead of controlling others he is the one being controlled. Also unlike Iago, he is honorable and compassionate, and, when he realizes the truthabout what has happened, he accepts it. Like Oedipus at the end of his play and Owen throughout his book, accepting that he has no control over what happens to him is what makes Othello noble. Rodrigo, in sharp contrast to Othello, does just the opposite. Instead of accepting that he can never have Desdemona, he asks Iago, the controlling force in the play, to change his fate. Thus Rodrigo, unlike Othello, is generally regarded as weak and dishonorable. All three works show their characters' essential nobility through whether or not they not only accept their fate, but also take responsibility for it nonetheless.

Othello, like Oedipus and Owen Meany, is noble because he has no control over his destiny and he accepts that; Iago is evil because he tries to play the respective parts of the Greek gods in Oedipus and the Christian god in Owen Meany. What we do when we can't control what happens to us and how we try to control what happens to others are essential parts of human nature and thus important parts of Othello, as well as Oedipus Rex and A Prayer for Owen Meany.