Relations to Othello
Othello was a very interesting story, which was very intense and dramatic. Much of the story involved a man named Othello. He was hearing rumors that his wife, Desdemona had been cheating on him. This made him very angry, and he craved revenge. In order to get his revenge and to teach Desdemona a lesson, he killed Desdemona through suffocation. There are many stories, news, and music in today’s world that relate to Othello. One song that really comes to mind when reading this story is “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood. Also, in current news, there was a story about a man, Josh Powell who killed his family in order to hide his secrets. He possibly also killed his wife two years earlier. All these stories are very tragic; however, they all relate to the character Othello in the story.
“Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood is a song that relates tremendously to this topic. It is about a boy who cheated on his girlfriend, and she now wants to get revenge. She does many damaging things in order to get the revenge she wants. As the song states, “I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped-up 4 wheel drive; carved my name into his leather seat. I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights; slashed a hole in all 4 tires. And maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.” These are some of the lyrics to the comical song, “Before He Cheats.” It shows how she destroyed his car, and wrote her name in order to give him a reminder of what he did to her. There is also a line in the song that states, “I might've saved a little trouble for the next girl. 'Cause the next time that he cheats, oh, you know it won't be on me” (“Before He Cheats”). In addition to getting revenge, this line shows that she did that damage to his car and his life because she wanted to teach him a lesson to not hurt anyone like that again. “Before He Cheats” reminded me much of Othello in Othello because when he thought that Desdemona cheated on him, he got his revenge by killing her. He states, “It is the very error of the moon. She comes more nearer earth than she was wont and makes men mad” (Othello). In this line, Othello is basically blaming Desdemona for her own death, and that she had drove him to this point of killing her. He also said that he wanted to teach her a lesson because he did not want her to hurt anyone else like she hurt him. This song talks about her revenge and anger the entire time. It also speaks about how she does not want him to hurt anyone else, so she is going to prevent that.
In current events, there was a man named Josh Powell, who had two young boys and a wife who disappeared mysteriously two years ago. He actually was a suspect of his wife’s murder, but the police and attorneys did not have enough evidence to prove it. Powell said that he and his kids went on a camping trip at midnight in the freezing cold the night his wife disappeared. Police found this statement very suspicious, and it made Powell look even guiltier. The day he finally regained custody of his kids, he set his house on fire, and killed them all. In the article it states that Powell told his two boys that “he had a big surprise” (Josh Powell). It was said that a possibility of his reasoning was that Powell was thinking that his kids were beginning to remember too much about their mother’s death (Josh Powell). This terrifying and horrific story reminded me of Othello because he also killed his wife. Othello says in the story, “She’s like a liar gone to burning Hell. ‘Twas I that killed her” (Othello). This line is significant because it proves that Othello did kill his wife, and at that moment, he did not regret it. No one is positive if Josh Powell killed his wife, but it is beginning to look like he murdered his wife (Josh Powell). If he did kill his wife, in his mind the reasons were correct and were probably the same reasons of Othello. The way this story also relates to Othello is that it was said that Josh Powell most likely killed his two sons because they knew too much about their mother’s death. In Othello, Cassio would have killed anyone who figured out his devious plan. This terribly depressing and frightening story related very much to Othello through the violence and reasoning.
Othello involves much violence, and people acting very devious and sneaky. “Before He Cheats” and the story about Josh Powell relates much to Othello. They all speak of revenge or violence in their stories. Even though all of these instances talk about revenge, it is not the answer. As tempting as it may be, getting back at someone for something they did never helps a situation. It is always best to be the bigger person and just figure out a better situation to the problem.
Bibliography
Josh Powell to Boys: "I've Got a Big Surprise" - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. CBS News, 10 Feb. 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57374542/josh-powell-to-boys-ive-got-a-big surprise/>.
Shakespeare, William. Othello. New York: Harcourt, 1623. Print.
Underwood, Carrie. "Before He Cheats." Play On. Max Martin, 2008. CD.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaSy8yy-mr8&ob=av2e= video of "Before He Cheats"
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