Iago-Moral Pyromaniac

"Iago, as Harold Goddard finely remarked, is always at war; he is a moral pyromaniac setting fire to all of reality.......In Iago, what was the religion of war, when he worshiped Othello as its god, has now become the game of war, to be played everywhere except upon the battlefield."
--Harold Bloom

To respond to this passage, one should mostly focus on the shift from a religion to a game. How would you prove that this insightful comment is true? Of course, in order to prove this idea is true, do not fail to incorporate the excellent idea of "a moral pyromaniac" in this shift.

In my opinion, Iago's ability to manipulate those around him so well reminds me of the card game bullshit. In this game, players attempt to lay down all their cards in sucessive order, yet one must lie and lay down unsucessive cards because they often lack the abililty to play the ones that should come after the previous card. When Iago figures out that Othello has overlooked his creditials for the job Cassio recieved, he loses all sense of reality. He creates a world where he is control of everyone's thoughts and feelings through manipulation. And, in a sense, he becomes "a moral pyromaniac setting fire to all of reality," because he burns away (much like a devil) the reality of peoples own feelings on the island of Cyprus. I feel like Harold Bloom got the idea on point becuase he incorporated Iago's blurring of reality and feelings while still refering to the ever-present motif of Iago embodying Satan himself in the play. Iago literally loses all sense of religon because of the game he wishes to play with everyone's heads in order to get back at Othello for self-motivated reasons.

Assignment 0-n-e Meaningful Quotes

"'When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is the the dead person is in bad condition in that particular moment, but the the same person is just fin in plenty of other moments. Now, when I myself hear that somebody is dead, I simply shrug and say what the Tralfamadorians say about dead people, which is "So it goes."'" -Kurt Vonnegut Slaughterhouse 5

Wow. What a mind-blowing concept. To think that time is not a progression of events, but rather independent moments happening simultaneously, completely dismantles every human's mindset of death. This concept really spoke to me, and I like the way Vonnegut portrays it to us through a seemingly mentally instable person. Billy Pilgrim's story has now become one of my favorite novels, and this particular quote helps sum up one of the important messages of the book about how we humans think of life and death.

*NOTE: I DO NOT ENDORSE EVERYTHING THAT THIS QUOTE SAYS, NOR DO I VIEW WOMEN AS OBJECTS, OR ENCOURAGE THE USE OF THE "N" WORD. THANK YOU*

Yo, I got slugs for snitches
No love for bitches
Puttin thugs in ditches
When my trigger finger itches
I got a rep that make police jet
Known to get a priest wet
I never beg for pussy like Keith Sweat
Is Big L slow? Hell no
Bitches get fucked on the roof when I ain't got no hotel dough
I'm known for yoking jacks
And beatin them with smoking gats
Leavin token blacks with broken backs and open caps
So with that bullshit, step to the rear son
The last thing you want with Big L is a fair one
Cause in a street brawl, I strike men like lightning
You see what happened in my last fight friend?
Aight then
I beat kids with lead pipes
I leave a trail of dead mic's
Where I'm from, niggaz jewels get ran like red lights
Old folks get mugged and raided
Crimes are drug related
And we live by the street rules that thugs created
Clowns get smoked about a thousand volts
For selling pounds of coke
Front in this town and get a tech stuck down your throat
I'm tellin you shit is about to get drastic soon
I'm quick to blast a goon
And break a motherfucker like a plastic spoon
I got the looks that make your hotty stare
I keep a shotty near
It's the nigga with notty hair who Gotti fear
Tracks I'm know to roast
Until the microphone is ghost
Props I own the most
I'm leaving niggaz comatose
Front and get your brain pinched
Big L will have your whole gang lynched
I started smoking dust and been insane since
This rap shit was a great gift
The other night some snake riffed
And got a hot lead face lift
All through high school I had braids
I kept mad blades
Stabbing teachers to death that gave me bad grades
I cook the mic like a beef steak
Cause my techniques great
And I'm the nigga police hate in each state
Cause I'm the neighborhood lamper
Punk brother vamper
Fuck around you'll find my silk boxers in your mother's hamper
Cops drop when my glock makes a pow sound
I'm from a whyle town
You know my style clown, so bow down

-Big L aka Lamont Coleman Rest In Peace

This verse was just the first of a two part freestyle (meaning he came up with the majority of the above on the spot to a given beat) by my favorite rapper of all time. Big L's wordplay and ability to rhyme words 4 to 5 times in a row rivals the work of Shakespeare. I feel that his raw and edgy lyrics represent his childhood growing up in one of the roughest parts of Harlem. I am always amazed everytime I hear Big L on the microphone because his ability to freestyle is matched by few. Although his lyrics can be rough, in my humble opinion, he is one of the greatest poets of all time.

Blog #2: Oedipus Teachings

After spending the first three days of class scruntinizing the very meaning of Oedipus Rex, and how it still applies to today's world, I have come to the conclusion that Sophocles wrote this work to bring joy to its readers. When it comes down to it, there is truly no story more depressing and tragic than that of Oedipus, and I believe he wrote the story negatively for a reason. The readers of Oedipus Rex can pick up the play and realize that their lives, no matter how awful and meaningless they may seem, can never reach the level of Oedipus. I feel like his story, in the end, has a positive message because it provides hope for the hopeless, shelter for the homeless, etc. I have never read a story so depressing that acctaully gives hope by the end of it. I can honestly say that I feel better about myself after reading Oedipus Rex because I know that my life will never be as messed up as his was.

-Just keep listening to zone 6.