Comparing the Two Main Characters in Othello and the Stranger - Essay Example

Paper comparing and contrasting the two main characters in Othello (Othello) and the book The Stranger (Mersault) by Albert Camus This paper will look to compare and contrast the works of two great authors in different times and the central themes that underlie each piece. One work is that by Albert Camus, The Strangers and the other is a play, by the renowned master Shakespeare, Othello. The focus of this paper will be to provide the reader with a brief description about the story and then focus on the characters of each piece. The conflicts that they were faced with in their society and in themselves and thus making them the outsiders in their respective communities. It will outline the similarities in the personality of the main characters and the story of their life as well as contrast the hero’s. The play of Othello centers on a few character, mainly those of Othello and that of Iago, the villain of the play, and Othello’s wife and lieutenant. The main plot of the story is derived from Iago’s want of Othello’s new bride whom he seeks to marry himself and is later told that it is impossible due to the woman’s marriage with Othello. For Othello, Iago already holds animosity towards as he was overlooked for the post of lieutenant for Cassio. Iago then carries on to manipulate the characters in the play and sets up a scenario in which Cassio has lost the trust of his friend and commander, Othello whom Iago has stirred up in a jealous rage by implicating that Cassio and Othello’s wife are in an affair. In the end Othello ultimately kills his wife in a fit of anger over her assumed indiscretions only to find in the end that he had been set up by Iago and then kills himself. The story of Meursault is not one that is too different a tragedy from that of the play of Othello yet there are contrasts. The story opens with the death of Meursault’s mother forcing him to visit the house she was in and stay there the night for her vigil and return the next day back to his town. He meets a woman named Maria who later on in the story becomes his fiancé though there is a clear disconcert from Meursault himself over the situation. The story then follows through to a murder committed by the main character for some apparent lack of reason and then his incarceration in the time which he is dubbed by the magistrate as “Mousier Antichrist” for him utter lack of faith in God. Following is a trial and the sentencing of Meursault during which time there is a discussion carrying on by many over his until finally when the end is near and Meursault finally admits that the human life has no great purpose in life and accepts his fate. Each of the two main characters in the play and the story are in a way outsiders in their respective societies. Meursault is distant from others throughout the story with no real intimacy shown even towards the woman whom he is engaged to. His lack of compassion and sorrow at the time of his mothers death sets his apart from the general public who express their feelings a great deal at occasions such as those faced by Meursault and yet he is seemingly cold and calm. His later murder of an Arab man for no reason and the clear show of remorse over the crime are seen as another crime in itself by the public who then begin to see him as a monster. Even his agreement in helping to lure the mistress of his friend Raymond to his abode even when he knew what awaited her there shows the lack of compassion on his part. Othello can be seen as an outsider in many different aspects. For one he is of a different race and ethnicity then the rest of the population of Venice at that time. This causes one to see him as an outsider and even he himself see’s himself that way at different points of the play. The fact that Othello is kept out of the loop in the entire situation concerning Iago’s plan for him and the actual relationship of friends that exists between Othello’s wife, Desdemona, and his trusted friend, Cassio. He fails to see the truth and this failure leads to the great tragedy that befalls him in the conclusion of the play. However, Othello’s character is shown as an insider due to the great respect that the citizens hold for him even though he is not shown to be one of them. He even holds respect in the eyes of the duke who was the highest authority in Venice. Through the beginning of the play there was control over emotions shown by Othello who was a soft spoken personality. Othello does not show any distress when the husband of her wife comes to the senate and exclaims of him stealing her through witchcraft. Calmly he explains the situation and rehearses this control until the time when Iago stirs up doubt in him over the faithfulness of his wife. It is at that point when one can say that Othello shows emotional turmoil. He loses the control that he Shakespeare showed in him at the starting of the play as Othello begins to show the same jealous tendencies that any normal man would in his situation. He begins to lose his confidence and trust in his wife and Cassio while turning towards the one man who is truly out to destroy his portraying the irony of life. The climax is the moment where Othello agrees to the murder of Cassio and then the murder of his wife at his own hands. The character of Othello undergoes the same emotional trauma that any man in his situation would and Shakespeare has laid this dilemma out carefully and tactfully. In contrast Meursault shows an almost lack of a personality or any emotional aspects. He appears to be cold when he finds out about the demise of his mother and even refuses to see her one last time when it was offered that her coffin be opened. He did not cry at the vigil for her and did not indulge in conversation with caretaker who was a talkative man. His lack of concern over his relationship with the only woman in his life with whom he has some semblance of any emotional contact is noticeable. There is no empathy or remorse for the killing of an innocent man which is something that would normally be of great consequence and a pivotal point in a person’s life. Meursault fails to transcend into that level of conscious thought and guilt that one might expect him to undergo making it difficult to understand whether he is just simply detached from the happenings of the world or whether Meursault simply does not seem to care about human life as others do. This play of emotions in Othello and Meursault show the sharp contrast on the characters. While Othello’s personality is lined with emotions of varying sorts, Meursault shows a singular great emotion and that to of detachment. This can lead to a question of whether emotions are of greater necessity to a person or is it better to be rid of them. From the way that both the story and the play turned out one cant say which is a better choice as both ultimately led to the demise of the leading men. Yet Othello was loved and respected for his personality and his display of emotion was a part of the package. Meursault managed to gain nothing more then an awkward friendship and a relationship with a woman which was not really based on any form of love and moreover he had the disdain of the public who viewed him as a monster. Perhaps his aloofness from such matters was what kept Meursault from a fate such as that of Othello. Othello’s emotions were ultimately the end of him and his wife. His jealousy, rage and paranoia were what drove him from those who were his friends into the arms of the man who was determined to see him go down. This brings to the forefront another matter that is of deep importance and perhaps the core of both pieces. The crimes committed by both of the leading characters can be defined as a crime of passion on behalf of Othello and when it comes to Meursault it is difficult to perhaps state the intention of the murder itself. Othello’s murder of his wife has been seen as revenge for what he believed she was doing to him. Yet can it be defined as purely a crime of revenge? For in reality the murder of Othello’s wife was nothing more than an act of murder and perhaps passion because revenge can not quite factor in a situation where the wife has not committed any crime that Othello would need to seek revenge for. The murder that Meursault commits is not clear cut in intention. The crime was intentional without any misunderstandings that could have led to any mistaken engagement between the offender and the victim. There was no cause for Meursault to even resort to a form of violence with the Arab. Perhaps Meursault killed the man for revenge on part of his friend, Raymond. Yet he did not let Raymond brandish the gun and kill the Arab himself, so perhaps an act of revenge for injury done to a close relation is out of the picture. Maybe Meursault killed the man just for the sake of him being there, the firing of the four bullets may show some form of repressed anger as one bullet or two could have easily managed the job as well. The killing of an Arab is also something that is particularly interesting as at the time that the story was written the Arabs were a minority in Algiers and maybe this discrimination of choosing a victim from this particular ethnic group shows a form of racism that is not too visible in the story. Camas chose the group in accordance with the setting of the environment at that time and yet here the minority is shown as the weaker side. In Othello Shakespeare chooses to make an individual from a minority his main character and not only that, he stages to show him as a man of honor and valor who has the trust of his superiors and the respect of those under him. Aristotle based his idea of tragic hero on a few elements which he thought were necessary in identifying who could be deemed as a tragic hero and who was falling short of the tag. According to Aristotle a tragic hero was usually of noble birth and there was a fatal flaw in him which was the eventual cause of his downfall. Though before this tragic end there was certainly a change of fortune that was more or less brought about by the fatal flaw and his actions following this revelation were helpful in creating self-awareness. As for the last element required, the hero must always stir the sympathy of the audience and make them feel his pain and understand it as their own (Tiffany). From these we can clearly see that Othello certainly fills the last requirement as his character manages to gather a great deal of understanding from the audience who see his situation as tragic and empathies with him. His fatal flaw may be his unawareness to what goes on around him and the path that he is being led down towards by Iago and his actions following the entire play and the circumstances do lead him to a sense of greater understanding as he is finally aware of what happened in reality. Othello’s fortune certainly does change over the course of time from good to bad. Whether he is of noble birth is hard to say yet one can say that Othello can be considered a tragic hero. Meursault does gain what one can deem as self-knowledge yet he fails to stir emotion at a deeper level in the audience as Othello did. Perhaps due to his own lack of them and so making it harder for the audience to relate. It would be difficult to gauge whether Meursault can be put under the heading of a tragic hero and maybe the choice is made by every reader themselves. This paper has tried to look at two piece of literature, one a story and another a play, and attempted to compare the characters in them. The lead males have many comparisons as both have a life altering moment after they commit murder and eventually are victims of death themselves. Yet the purpose or reasons behind their crime vary to a great degree as do their personalities. This paper outlines the emotional aspect of the two and whether emotions are better or worse for a man to succumb to. In conclusion it would be important to mention that thought the characters of Othello and Meursault many vary and contrast to an extent, the similarities, thought smaller in number, are quite important as they show the characteristics that were to be found in the great tragic hero’s of the past. Works cited McKinney, Beth E. "The Tragic Hero in Literature." Suite101. 5 Feb. 2010. Web. 24 May 2010. . Tiffany. "Elements of a Tragic Hero in Literature." Nuvvo. Savvica. Web. 24 May 2010. . Read More