Murderous Misery

In A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell, the most ironic thing in this story is that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are the better investigators. The men treat the women as inferiors. The county attorney diminishes the role of women and talks to them as lesser people. He makes insulting jokes about them and comments on how terrible of a housewife Minnie is. Mr. Hale makes a comment wondering if the women would recognize a clue if they saw one. Ironically, the women were the only ones who made any progress in finding evidence. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters end up finding the incriminating evidence: " 'It's the bird. . . . Somebody wrung its neck.' " (Glaspell, 421). Ironically, the women keep this to themselves and decide to let Minnie live. This is where the title explains their motive to let Minnie seem innocent. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters judged Minnie to be innocent because her husband was cold and hard. He was a terrible husband and made the house reek of loneliness. The only reason Mrs. Hale did not meet Minnie at her house was because the house seemed cold and lonely. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters were empathetic toward Minnie and decided she had suffered enough in her life.

Dying for Perfection

In Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy, the speaker satirizes the pursuit to become perfect and gain social acceptance. The title Barbie Doll highlights the girlchild's desire to become a barbie doll. She was healthy and intelligent. She had strong arms and back, an abundant sex drive, and manual dexterity. She had great traits for a woman, yet her nose and legs were a problem: "Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs" (Piercy, 835). She focused on that sole thought and it ruined her life. She changed herself and figuratively died. She killed her old, true self to be accepted by the people around her. The most ironic thing is that puberty was not done yet. Puberty created her nose and leg problems and puberty was going to change the rest of her body later. Her desire to be socially accepted destroyed her original and unique self.

Honest Love

In My mistress' eyes by William Shakespeare, the speaker contrasts his description of his woman with the descriptions of women in other love poems. His woman's eyes are not like the sun. They do not shine with a radiant beauty. Her lips are a pale red, with coral having a redder hue. Her skin is darker than that of pure white snow. Her hair is black and not golden, what love poems seem to prefer. Her cheeks lack color and other smells please the speaker more than her breath. Her voice is not pretty or perfect and she is not a goddess. Yet, the speaker still loves her. He may be brutally honest, but he has a love for her that he believes to be rare and genuine : "I think my love as rare/As any she belied with false compare" (Shakespeare, 885).

You Killed Kenny. You Illegitimate Child!

In Hunters in the Snow by Tobias Wolff, Frank's character contributes to a rather ambiguous ending. Frank is characterized as a forgetful friend. He forgets what Tub says several times. " 'I guess I wasn't paying attention.' " (Wolff, 196) shows that Frank forgets and does not focus his attention. He then apologizes to Tub about his problem. They begin to have a meaningful conversations at the several rest stops. Frank tells Tub about his wanting to have an affair with the babysitter. Tub explains how he hates being ridiculed for his weight and Frank buys him several pancakes to stuff his face. However, Kenny is still in the truck, waiting to go to the hospital. Frank and Tub forget about Kenny. They do not pay attention to what they are doing. They takes his blankets and end up driving in the opposite direction of the hospital. They barely even acknowledge him at the end of the story. As Kenny thinks that he is going to the hospital, Tub and Frank have completely forgot about his injury and took that turn far back in their journey.

Othello Acts IV-V

Oh, the IRONY! In Othello by William Shakespeare, the end is filled with dramatic irony. Considering the entire play, Iago has been quite successful. He seemed unstoppable. None of the characters could have guessed Emilia's character shift between Act IV and Act V. In Act IV, she decides to speak her mind with Desdemona, which sets her up as the flaw in Iago's plan in Act V. The revelation of Iago's evil was quite ironic for the characters. The entire play he was called Honest Iago. His animosity and villainy were kept hidden from the characters for the entire play before this moment. Othello's transformation into a frenzied murderer thirsting for revenge certainly surprised the other characters. He completely destroyed his reputation that we first learned about in Act I. In the end, and through all the irony, the play comes to a just conclusion.

Othello Acts IV-V

In the final scene of Othello by William Shakespeare, Desdemona has perished at the hands of Othello. Interestingly enough, they still had love for each other till the very end. Othello loved Desdemona for her looks but had to kill her to justify her falseness. He does not want to kill her, but he has to so that she will not  tempt other men. Desdemona accepts her death and continues to love Othello. She tries to persuade him to not kill her, but she has no luck. Although she has had many chances to escape and live, she chooses not too. She is overly loyal and obedient to her husband, to a fault. In her last act of life, she pardons Othello, "Nobody, I myself. Farewell" (V.ii.123). Desdemona truly loved Othello and Othello loved her, even among Iago's lies and corruption.

Othello Acts IV-V

In Othello by William Shakespeare, foreshadowing appears once again. This time, all the evidence points to the death of Desdemona. Othello believes that Cassio was mocking Desdemona when in fact he was mocking Bianca. Bianca, then, appears with Othello's handkerchief, infuriating Othello even more. Othello swears to kill Desdemona and plots with Iago on how do it: "Do it not with poison, strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated." (IV.i.191-192). Furthermore, in scene three, Desdemona sings a peculiar song. A maid of her mother's was singing it and died while singing the song. This happens after Othello commands her to go to their chambers. Desdemona asked Emilia to place the wedding sheets on the bed. Desdemona has accepted death and if she is going to die, she wants to die on the same sheets that were on the bed on her wedding night.

Othello Acts IV-V

In Act IV of Othello by William Shakespeare, Iago's wife Emilia  has begun a shift in her character. Earlier in the story, she was shy, inward, and unquestioning. She accepted the abuse from Iago and did nothing to stop him or seek help from her friends. She did everything that he demanded of her, especially taking the handkerchief. By the end of Act IV, Emilia shifts into a more outspoken character. Throughout scene three, she converses with Desdemona about what has happened, and the subject of men. Emilia begins to voice her opinion and vents her frustration with men: "Let Husbands know/ Their wives have sense like them." (IV.iii.89-90). This dynamic shift in character is surprising, since Emilia has played a very minor role throughout the play. I believe that she is the flaw in Iago's plan. He would never suspect that his obedient wife would become dynamic.

Othello Acts I-III

Othello by William Shakespeare contains many examples of foreshadowing. All of those examples come from Iago's elaborate plan. His plan is flawlessly coming together, but what will exactly happen? This is the first act in which Iago does not conclude with a soliloquy, so he does not have any thing new to reveal. I believe that Othello will end up murdering Desdemona because it is a tragedy and because he wants to kill her: "To furnish me with some swift means of death/For the fair devil." (III.iii.479-480). Also, I believe that Othello will commit suicide because it seems that all of Shakespeare's tragic heroes commit suicide. After he kills Desdemona, he realizes the shame he has brought to Italy, and commits suicide, so that people will remember his good name. The villain, however, will not live either. He will  go to kill Cassio to tie off loose ends and blame the death of Cassio on Othello. Cassio will actually kill Iago and expose him for the true villain he really is. That, I believe, is how this tragedy will finish, based upon foreshadowing and Shakespeare's other plays.

Othello Acts I-III

In third scene of act three of Othello by William Shakespeare, the handkerchief is introduced. The handkerchief is the love of Othello and Desdemona. He first gave it to her as a keepsake for their love: "This was her first remembrance from the Moor." (III.iii.301). Emilia gives the handkerchief to Iago and it will become his tool for evidence. The love that Othello and Desdemona have for each other is symbolized by that handkerchief. When she uses it on him, she is giving him her love. Othello believes that her love is two small and drops it, showing that he has no more love for her. Now that Iago has it, he holds the power of their love in his hand (symbolically). By using it to continue to corrupt Othello, Iago will obtain Othello's position. Iago's maniacal plan seems to be unstoppable. Maybe he is the greatest villain ever created.

Othello Acts I-III

Throughout Othello by William Shakespeare, Iago twists the words of the characters he interacts with and uses it to undermine them. Cassio tells Iago that he cannot handle alcohol but Iago encourages him anyway. Iago tells Montano that Cassio is an alcoholic and drinks himself to sleep every night: " 'Tis evermore the prologue to his sleep./He'll watch the horologe a double set,/If drink rock not his cradle." (II.iii.110-113). Mantano believes every word of this and insults Cassio by calling him a drunkard. Cassio fights him and Othello strips him of his rank, all according to Iago's plan. This example of dramatic irony contributes to Othello's demise. The reader knows of Iago's lies and schemes, yet the characters believe him to be honest and good. Cassio has now lost his position in the army and must now seek Othello's forgiveness. With Iago's help, he decides to ask Desdemona to pursuade Othello; however, Iago will use their interactions to accuse them of having an affair. Every occasion of dramatic irony foreshadows the demise of Othello.

Othello Acts I-III

Throughout Othello by William Shakespeare, Iago changes the way he speaks. He switches between prose and iambic pentameter. This switching of voices shows his two-faced nature. When speaking in prose, Iago is enacting his scheme to somehow sow the destruction of Othello. He tells his plan with many lies and changes so that the character undoubtedly accepts his advice. When speaking in iambic pentameter, except for his soliloquies, Iago is speaking as the noble, loyal, and honest character that he is made out to be. No one suspects him of sowing the seeds of Othello's destruction. Rather, Othello and the other characters turn to Iago for advice to prevent Othello's and their destruction. During Iago's soliloquies, he explains his plans: "Cassio's a proper man. . . . After some time, to abuse Othello's ear/ That he is too familiar with his wife." (I.iii.372-377). Iago plans to conjure a false affair and use it to take Othello's position. It will be through his two-faced nature that he plans to accomplish this feat.