Violence

English II Honors 1/28/11 Essay #6 Violence is a big part in literature, and also in real life. Many stories we read this year showed scenes of violence. They contributed to the meaning of the story and also showed the different attitudes of the characters. In Othello, The Pearl, and The Good Earth, scenes of violence occurred. First of all in Othello, Othello thought that Desdemona was cheating on him. As a result of this, he planned to kill her. When she was lying in her bed he smothered her with a pillow and she died. Othello committed suicide, and then the other characters came into the room. Iago then killed his wife Emilia, and Iago stabbed Roderigo. Other acts of violence include Roderigo wounding Cassio, and Cassio wounding Roderigo back. Violence did play a superfluous part in the play. Many acts of violence upon each character took place during the story line. Second of all, The Pearl contained acts of violence as well. Kino and Juana were poor, and when they found The Pearl of the World the whole town of LaPaz knew about it. When the word got around, many people tried to steal the pearl. This resulted in Kino trying to protect the pearl, and protecting himself against the burglars. So, in many incidents Kino wounded the person trying to steal the pearl. Also, toward the ending of the story Kino and Juana’s son Coyotito was shot in the head by the men that were chasing them. Thus, violent acts were superfluous in The Pearl. Next, acts of violence were seen in The Good Earth as well. The drought, the locus swarm, and the flood caused the famine. Wang and O’Lan had barely enough food to keep themselves alive, and they had to support their family too. It was very difficult for them, and it led them to violent measures. O’Lan committed infanticide. Her daughter was very young, and she would have died from malnutrition. Although, violence was not seen in superfluous measures. In conclusion, acts of violence were seen in many stories we read this year. In the stories I have just discussed above, violence was easily seen. Violence took place in different ways, some more superfluous then others. But each story’s acts of violence contributed to its meaning of work.