"A Child Called It" Vs. "Othello"
Submitted by freefortermpapers on 06/24/2008 03:00 PM
- Category: Biographies
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"A Child Called It" Vs. "Othello"
The quote "Its is the responsibility of the writer to expose our many grievous faults and failures and to hold up to the light our dark and dangerous dreams, for the purpose of improvement" by John Steinbeck is a true statement. In the play Othello, by William Shakespeare and A Child Called It, by David Pelzer , the faults of humans are brought out for the world to see.
Pelzer tells the story of his childhood and by doing this, shows just how cruel a person could be. The setting is 1963 and at that time there were no child protection laws. This has great significance because his mother beat and tortured him in unimaginable ways. In one instance His mother's punishment was for him to stick his face in his newborn brothers diaper. He had the normal reaction anyone would. David did not want to, so the mother forced his head into it. This scene is told so graphically one can almost smell the feces as if it were right in front of you. In another grimacing occurrence David's mother who is an alcoholic throws a knife at him in a drunken rage and it gets lodged in his chest. Again it is told in a explicit manner. By the end of the book a teacher and the school nurse risk their jobs and have the police called on his mother. It is easy to believe that Pelzer tells his story in such a clear-cut way in order to coax children that are being beat, and people that know a child who is being beaten to speak up and not to be afraid of the consequences.
Shakespear's Othello who is the focus of the play by the same name was not afraid of consequences. He kills his wife Desdemona. He feels that her death was a form of sacrifice. The sacrifice was made because he truly thought that she was unfaithful. Thus making it a just action. Othello was persuaded, almost forced into doing this by the antagonist of the story Iago. Iago is the perfect Machiavellian villain. He uses everything and anything to destroy Othello. Throughout the play Iago continues...
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