Another Important Theme

"Gosh! Everybody excels in some one thing. Some in many! . . . All you've got to do is discover in what!" (The Glass Menagerie, 1280).

Maybe it's a little cliche, but it's worth noting.

Arguably, the themes we discussed at the beginning of this unit -- realism, family relationships, and memory -- are the most important within the play. However, I really latched on to this little speech that Jim gave Laura about her inferiority complex. Literally, Laura didn't say a word in the entire play after she gave Jim the broken glass unicorn, so I can't be absolutely certain that she received his message; nonetheless, it's a valid and relevant one.

All three Wingfields are somehow trapped. Amanda is stuck in the past, Laura is restricted by her extraordinary shyness, and Tom lacks the adventure he desires. As an audience, we know that Tom moved on when he left St. Louis. Amanda probably didn't move on -- she couldn't get over the fact that Jim was engaged. Laura may or may not have received the message.

The message is this: if we fail to determine and dedicate ourselves to the areas in which we excel, we become trapped and, if you will, fragile, like glass. Jim delivered this speech with a special focus on Laura who he says has an "inferiority complex" (and that seems like a reasonable judgment). If Laura doesn't gain some confidence and offer herself to the world, she'll continue to be trapped at home with her glass menagerie. But the message, as I said before, applies to all three trapped Wingfields. My eloquence is waning and doesn't compare to Jim's, so I'm going to stop now.

Let's talk about Tom!

"But I'm not patient. I don't want to wait till then. I'm tired of the movies and I am about to move!" (The Glass Menagerie, 1268).

No, not that Tom.

Surprisingly, not that Tom, either. However, this may be a good opportunity to expose this secret thought of mine that I've had for the past two years -- am I the only one who thinks that Thomas Jefferson looks like Mrs. Bohn? Either I'm crazy or she should seriously look at her ancestry.

One of the questions in the book asks, "What qualities possessed by Tom, and by him alone, make him the proper narrator of the play?"

Tom seems to be the most round character in the play -- temperamental, poetic, friendly, trapped -- so I think he has the most interesting perspective. Only he could have delivered the final few lines of the play because he was the one who felt bounded by St. Louis and needed to find adventure.

An obvious answer the question is that Tom is a poet. He barely focuses on his day job and instead writes poetry; Jim calls him "Shakespeare." The ideal narrator of a play should have the poetic eloquence that Tom has.

Finally, the character list says that Tom is "not remorseless, but to escape from a trap he has to act without pity" (1234567 -- sorry, I got carried away -- 1234). Perhaps Williams wanted to have a narrator who connects with the others characters the least, and Tom fits that description well. That way, we see the characters from a relatively impartial lens instead of, say, Amanda's lens that would be very protective of Laura and critical of Tom.

Realism, Family Relationships, and Memory

"The scene is memory and is therefore nonrealistic. Memory takes a lot of poetic license. It omits some details; others are exaggerated, according to the emotional value of the articles it touches, for memory is seated predominantly in the heart" (The Glass Menagerie, 1235).

In my first blog entry for this play, I'll comment on realism versus nonrealism, complex family relationships, and memories -- I came up with these three themes on my own, of course.

The quote above explicitly declares that this play -- or at least the first scene -- is memory, so it's also nonrealistic. I agree that there are many nonrealistic aspects of the play that derive from the fact that the audience is essentially viewing Tom's memory as if it's a video camera.

I noticed quite a few cues for music during the play, which is nonrealistic and very effective. "The Glass Menagerie" plays first when Laura doubts she will receive gentlemen callers, again when Tom hurls his coat at Laura's glass collection, and yet again when Tom and Amanda discuss Laura's future. It becomes a sort of theme song for Laura that connects events that revolve around her and the problems she faces as an extremely shy girl. Also, "Ave Maria" plays when Amanda is giving Tom the silent treatment, which is weird. Maybe it's supposed to parallel Tom's belated apology to her, but the fact remains that Williams didn't specify which "Ave Maria" he wanted to be played. If I were in charge, I would obviously pick Schubert's "Ave Maria."

Moving right along, I would say that this play is actually mostly realistic. A lot of the realism derives from human conditions, including complex family relationships. Amanda and Tom quarrel after Amanda interrupts his "creative labor" (1246). Tom goes to the movies because his own life lacks "adventure" (1252). Tom acts like his father throughout the play, to his mother's dismay -- genetics is realism, right? This kind of stuff occurs in normal, day-to-day life.

Concluding As You Like It . . . in your pants

"JAQ. Rosalind is your love's name?
ORL. Yes, just.
JAQ. I do not like her name.
ORL. There was no thought of pleasing your when she was christened" (As You Like It, III.ii.42).

I finished reading this play on Valentine's Day. Appropriate, no?

I'm trying to find an excuse to blog about this one part where Jaques and Orlando have a conversation with each other. So, I'll say this very astutely -- I think there are some important thematic ideas in Act III, Scene ii.

First of all, I would like to have a Jaques or an Orlando in my life, please. They were so quick and sarcastic when they were arguing about love -- so it's funny and serious simultaneously. I was hoping that they would fall in love by the end of the play, but unfortunately, Orlando ended up with the cross-dresser.

Jaques disapproves of Orlando's love -- he even says that it's Orlando's "worst fault." Orlando defends himself, "'T is a fault I will not change for your best virtue." Who's right, here: Monsiuer Melancholy or Signior Love? I would say that this scene highlights the complexity of love; to some, it's a horrible fault, and to others, it's a great virtue. That's a theme, right? Love is complex -- some believe that love is a fault while other believe that love is a virtue.

Jaques is probably so melancholy because HIS love (Orlando) is feverishly searching for a girl who cross-dresses. This analysis is all rooted in the text, by the way.

On a practical level, what's up with the cross-dressing?

"I would cure you, if you would but call me Rosalind and come every day to my cote and woo me" (As You Like It, III.ii.45).

Let's talk about dramatic suspense.

At first, suspense occurs as the audience worries about the fate of Orlando with a crazy Duke and Oliver coming after him, but I'm not going to talk about that. Once we get past that, we find suspense as Rosalind forms this weird plan in her mind to . . . I'm not really sure I understood her methods throughout the play. I mean, she got what she wanted in the end, but I feel like there must have been an easier way to do it than cross-dressing.

My point is that Rosalind knows how she's going to end up with Orlando and even how she's going to get three other couples to get married by the play's end. We, as the audience, don't know what exactly is going to happen because while we get a lot of information from Rosalind, we can't read her mind like we can in some literature. There's a discrepancy between what Rosalind knows about her plan and what the audience knows about her plan, and since the audience increasingly learns more and more details of Rosalind's scheme, suspense is created.

Let me point out one more suspenseful thing, here. "Let your wedding be tomorrow" (V.ii.69). "To-morrow meet me all together" (V.ii.71). "To-morrow is the joyful day, Audrey; to-morrow will we be married" (V.iii.72). With the repetition of the word "tomorrow" (with or without a hyphen), I got pretty excited about tomorrow. And I think that tomorrow lived up to all the hype -- the ending was very happy. A little too happy for me, maybe. The real question is . . . did Avatar live up to the hype? Man, I'm full of Parks and Rec references tonight.

Look for my new CD next month: Memories . . . of Now

"Now will I stir this gamester: I hope I shall see an end of him; for my soul, yet I know not why, hates nothing more than he" (As You Like It, I.i.5).

Sometimes in literature, we have a Harry and a Voldemort, a Luke Skywalker and an Emperor, or an Othello and an Iago. However, in As You Like It (in your pants), identifying a protagonist and antagonist is difficult and perhaps [dramatic pause] impossible. I'm going to try and see what happens.

Let's start with potential antagonists. We first have Oliver who says that quote up there about how he hates his brother Orlando for no good reason. Then, we have Duke Frederick, who unlawfully banished his brother Duke Senior and then later Duke Senior's daughter just because she is her "father's daughter" (I.iii.13). It seems to me that Duke Frederick is a tad more evil than Oliver -- he commands Oliver to bring Orlando to him "dead of living" and then threatens him with seizure of his "lands and all things" (III.i.34). The problem here is that Oliver has a quick change of heart and falls in love with Aliena/Celia, AND Duke Frederick was converted by some "old religious man" at the conclusion (V.iv.77). If I had to pinpoint an antagonist, I would say that it's Duke Frederick, although he's not a typical antagonist when he changes his ways in Act V.

I don't think I can identify a single protagonist because most of the characters are just so . . . nice and good. Forgive the four-year-old vocabulary, but it's true. Touchstone is kind of vulgar and perverted, I guess. The most central character in the play is Rosalind, perhaps, so if I have to pick someone, I guess I'll pick her. Sense my enthusiasm here.

If I, at any point, refer to Duke Senior as "Duke Silver," please forgive me. This is the fault of Parks and Rec.

Long Live Othello!

Intentionally or not, everyone forms instantaneous judgments of others based on their appearances and backgrounds.  William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello illustrates the theme that preconceived notions such as racism may effect and advance unwarranted disdain for other individuals.  Because Shakespeare’s theme recurs in works such as J. K. Rowling’s novel Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Aaron Sorkin’s television series The West Wing, Othello is timeless and universal.

In Othello, Iago hates the general Othello from the very first scene.  The general has selected Cassio as his lieutenant whose experience on the battlefield cannot compare with that of Iago.  Additionally, Iago references a rumor that Othello has had an affair with Emilia, Iago’s wife; whether or not that rumor holds true, the antagonist intends to “do as if for surety” (I.iii.369).  Although these two central issues motivate Iago to hatch a plot against Othello, his blatant racism further invigorates his contempt for Othello.  While informing Brabantio that his daughter Desdemona has married Othello, Iago shouts, “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram / Is tupping your white ewe” (I.i.88-89).  The mischievous villain compares Othello to an animal more than once, and he casually refers to his general as “the Moor” with an insulting tone.  Of all the characters in the play, Iago displays the most potent racism.  Later, the antagonist plants a single rumor that entangles Othello and his companions: “Look to your wife.  Observe her well with Cassio” (III.iii.198).  Though not the primary reason for his hatred of Othello, Iago’s racism supplements and advances his contempt for the Moor.

As the second installment of perhaps the modern world’s most popular book series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets tackles Shakespeare’s theme of disdain based on prejudice.  Harry’s classmate and adversary Draco Malfoy despises Gryffindor house, to which Harry, Ron, and Hermione belong.  In this novel, Malfoy flaunts Slytherin’s new broomsticks to the Gryffindor team – “‘Everyone’s just been admiring the brooms my father’s bought our team’” – and after Hermione observes the inferiority of the Slytherins’ wealth to the Gryffindors’ talent, Malfoy insults her by saying, “‘No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood’” (Rowling, 112).  Ron later clarifies, “‘Mudblood’s a really foul name for someone who is Muggle-born – you know, non-magic parents’” (Rowling, 115).  Malfoy enjoys a wealth of reasons to hate Hermione; she is intelligent belongs to a rival house.  His prejudice against Muggle-born wizards and witches further intensifies his contempt for her, and accordingly, Malfoy’s relationship with Hermione and her friends remains sour throughout the entire series.  Like Iago, Malfoy prematurely judges based on lineage, and his rapport with other characters suffers.

In addition to the Harry Potter series, the television drama The West Wing shares themes of racism and derision with Othello.  Partway through the first season, President Bartlet informs his daughter Zoey of derogatory letters she has received due to her relationship with Charlie Young.  Charlie is both the personal aid to the president and a young black man.  After hearing about the dangerous letters, Zoey cancels her date with Charlie at a club near which white supremacists are holding a rally (Sorkin, “The While House Pro-Am”).  Here, Charlie’s enemies find ways to manipulate his dating life with no motives beyond pure racism.  The second season follows a shooting during which President Bartlet and Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman are wounded, and the Secret Service discovers that the criminals are white supremacist teenagers.  Charlie expresses confusion as to why the teenagers would have targeted the president; Agent Butterfield responds, “The president wasn’t the target” (Sorkin, “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part II).  Young racist teenagers despise the president’s personal aid solely because of the color of his skin, and they nearly assassinate the president of the United States out of their contempt.  Shakespeare writes of the same racism that energizes Iago’s hatred of the Moor.

Othello’s theme of the consequences of prejudice applies not only to Shakespeare’s setting but also to modern cultures.  Unfortunately, discrimination like racism, a constant component of most societies, shows no signs of termination.  Other common forms of prejudice – judging someone’s clothes, hair, or speech – are even more prevalent and take place in the minds of nearly every individual on the planet.  Though everyone is subject to these snap judgments, how one responds to his immediate assessments of others defines his true character.

Works Cited

Perrine, Laurence. “Othello.” Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Fort Worth. Harcourt College. 2002. 1361-462. Print.

Rowling, J. K. “Chapter Seven: Mudbloods and Murmurs.” Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York: Scholastic, 1999. Print.

Sorkin, Aaron. “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part II.” The West Wing. Dir. Thomas Schlamme. NBC. 4 Oct. 2000. Television.

Sorkin, Aaron, Lawrence O'Donnell Jr., and Paul Redford. “The White House Pro-Am.” The West Wing. Dir. Ken Olin. NBC. 22 Mar. 2000. Television.

I Hold Your Hand in Mine

"I'm sorry now I killed you, / For our love was something fine. / Until they come to get me, / I shall hold your hand in mine ("I Hold Your Hand in Mine," 13-16).

I would like to dedicate this next song, "I Hold Your Hand in Mine," to the lovely couple of the evening, Othello and Desdemona. Unfortunately, neither of them could make it tonight as they are both dead.

Who's that handsome genius? His name is Tom Lehrer, retired Harvard mathematician and satirical musician, and among his vast collection of approximately fifty songs (half of which I am more than willing to perform for anybody), he wrote a few love songs, one of which is entitled, "I Hold Your Hand in Mine."

After Othello smothered his loyal wife with a pillow because he thought she was doing the dance with no pants with Cassio, Emilia belatedly informed Othello that everything Iago told Othello about Desdemona and Cassio was a huge lie. Out of love for his deceased wife, Othello stabbed himself in the chest, lay next to Desdemona, kissed her, and breathed his last. Lehrer's love song amazingly parallels the events and themes within the final scene of Othello, although his version is marginally more morbid:

In this number, Tom Lehrer presents his cynical view that what we call "love" may be on the cusp of insanity (or well beyond that point). As the speaker within "I Hold Your Hand in Mine" kissed his dead lover's hand after he killed her, so too did Othello kiss Desdemona after he killed her. Shakespeare teaches that the human defects of jealousy and assumptions can get in the way of true love, and Lehrer teaches that other human defects -- mental instability, for instance -- are obstacles to true love.

A final important similarity is that even after the deaths of their lovers, both Othello and the speaker in "I Hold Your Hand in Mine" still love their partners (or at least claim that they do).