American Literature
American Literature
Question 1:
The theme of jealousy is majorly portrayed in the play, Othello. Othello has never shown any signs of jealousy toward his wife, Desdemona. He was indeed aware of the friendship Desdemona had with Cassio. However, it was not until Lago started manipulating Othello's idea that he began showing signs of jealousy. He implants false statements into Othello's mind making him think differently by suggesting that Desdemona and Cassio have been having an affair. Lago purses his brow and says "indeed" to cast suspicion on Cassio's relationship with Desdemona (Shakespeare 1903). Othello is manipulated and believes Lago, who he thinks is a noble and honest man. As a result, he becomes jealous and vicious toward Desdemona's wife.
Question 2:
In the 9th holy sonnet, Donne rants about sin and claims that he has God's debt since he is a sinner. He suggests that God would be merciful if He forgets his sins. He also mentions the serpent, which symbolizes Satan and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the 10th holy sonnet, Donne speaks of death and affirms it as powerless but merely a peaceful happening. He personifies death and suggests that we tend to think highly of it. In the 14th holly sonnet, Donne claims that he is not worthy of God and is dire in need of help (Donne et al., 2005). Donne has a strong faith in God; he believes God will forgive him his sins. The commonalities in the three holy sonnets are that they are based on the religious context as they talk about sin and God's forgiveness.
Question 3:
Swift makes the Lilliputians so tiny to introduce a new perspective on its partisanship and politics in the Lilliput chapters of Gulliver's Travels. For instance, Swift gives differences between low and high heels on the political affiliation (Swift 1995). Swift claims that the court ruling of England is based on injustice, and he satirizes the judges by saying the whole purpose was self-serving.
References
Donne, J., Parrish, P. A., & Stringer, G. A. (2005). Holy Sonnets. Indiana University Press.
Shakespeare, W. (1903). The tragedy of Othello. Methuen.
Swift, J. (1995). Gulliver's travels. In Gulliver's Travels (pp. 27-266). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
