COURSE WORK
 
    The case of Robert Mercati, a man who suffered from Othello syndrome – a physiological condition that causes irrational paranoia and jealousy – is strikingly similar to the story of Othello by William Shakespeare, the syndrome's namesake. Mercati had extreme suspicions over his wife, Margaret, and began to spy on her in attempt to control her everyday actions. He believed that she was cheating on him for over thirty years. Margaret, a sufferer of acute rheumatoid arthritis, had limited mobility due to her condition. This made Mr. Mercati’s suspicions even more preposterous as his wife was not necessarily in physical ability to carry out such activities. Unfortunately, as Othello did in Shakespeare’s acclaimed work, Mr. Mercati strangled his wife to death. Upon this happening, Robert too killed himself, just as Othello did. The incredible similarity of these situations is eerie and practically carbon copy. Presumably, to those who do not suffer from Othello syndrome, it would seem that such suspicion is irrational. Unfortunately, this case proves the reality and devastation of the disease.


Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10273979/Diamond-thief-who-killed-himself-and-wife-had-Othello-syndrome.html
 

Quote 1 - "And though I knew that he was a good man, and wouldn't hurt me, I was frightened again." 

Richard, the protagonist, is an increasingly curious fellow. He does not like to accept things upon first encounter and is very analytical about everything that happens around him. This is especially true when he is thinking about Don Shimoda, who has now confessed to being the Messiah. Richard, while accepting of the fact the Don is indeed the "saviour", is wary of his power but still wants to stay by him. He is continually drawn to Don. He speaks several times of wanting to leave him, but he feels he cannot. He must follow Don and see what he does. What this says about the work as a whole, is a commentary on a Messiah and their followers. Those who follow Jesus know of his almighty power, but believe that he will only do good with it. One could argue that this book is about self realization. Possibly, the reader is their own Messiah, and what they do in their lives with their own power, should only be good for the benefit of themselves and others.

Quote 2 - "The last I saw of Donald Shimoda, he was sitting on the rim of his cockpit, and the mob had him surrounded."

Before this quote takes place, Don effortlessly flies his plane over a "mob" of people in awe of the flight. This is the point in the work when Don accepts the work of a Messiah once more, and allows the people to flock to him as though he truly is Jesus. Richard very articulately describes Don's godly and unrealistic flying abilities in a near jealous way. He seems to be reluctant to accept that Don could be a better pilot than him, especially considering he has power to do so. Richard appears to become increasingly jealous towards Don, and at this end of the chapter, Richard gets into his own plane and flies away to an isolated area. Due to the fact that an element of jealously comes from Richard a lot in the book, one can presume that the writer is trying to portray someone who is just like the reader. Everyone becomes jealous of others for different reasons, it is human nature. However, is it really worth the time being jealous? Don is simply using his abilities for his own pleasure. Richard who has described himself as a "gypsy flier", does not often come in contact with other pilots. This means that when he does finally find a friend in someone, he feels as though he can never be good enough, or be like Don. This is why he flies away. What these tells the reader is that while we may gravitate towards these jealous responses, we must resist, accept, and be our own selves. 

License Plate

777 GYPR

I chose this combination because the numbers "777" are regarded as a perfect representation of the "Trinity" in many religions. I also chose "GYPR", referring to the description "GYPsy flier", by "R", Richard, the protagonist. I feel that Richard is like a gypsy, constantly on the move, nomadic and never settled. He seems to also be this way in his spiritual path. This is why I feel this combination of numbers and letters is a representation of Richard.

 
The work being discussed is: "Illusions - The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah" by Richard Bach.

1)   Two quotations that reveal setting.

Quotation 1

“And every once in a while I watched his plane closely while passengers changed seats. Not a mark on it, no oil-drop anywhere, and he apparently flew to dodge the bugs that I had to wipe from my windshield every hour or two”. The protagonist, Richard, begins to question Don, a fellow pilot whom he has just recently come in contact with. His plane is seemingly flawless after every ride. Richard also makes note of a certain aura Don possesses. This is where the reader – and Richard – begins to see Don as a heavenly figure.

Quotation 2 

“You looked lonely”, I said across the distance between us.
“So did you.”
“Don’t mean to bother you. If I’m one too many, I’ll be on my way.”
“No. I’ve been waiting for you.”
I smiled at that. “Sorry I’m late.” 

This is the first conversation that takes place between Richard and Don. Richard was going about his day flying is plane above the fields below, to see another plane, landed. In his curiosity he ventures down and meets Don. Both of these characters are pilots; this conversation shows a free spirited nature that Richard possesses, demonstrating a love for new places, and new people. Richard speaks of how he rarely comes into contact with other pilots in the area so an opportunity like this is an exciting one. This also says something about Don, as Richard naturally gravitates towards him even before he knows anything of the man.

2)   Four physical objects that are essential to the setting.

One - The cornfields and farmland are greatly described, taking place in Ferris – which according to my external research – is in the state of Michigan, USA. This evokes thoughts endless landscapes and a state of calm, revealing a laid back dog days of summer attitude.

Two – Both Richard and Don are pilots; so, their planes are a key physical object. They meet because of Richard’s interest in Don’s plane parked in the fields he flies over. This is the basis of their relationship.

Three – Money. Richard and Don both charge a going rate of $3.00 for ten minutes of time in the air per passenger. This isn’t much money at all, and as Richard stated, if he doesn’t fly anyone, he doesn’t eat. This shows the status of both Richard and Don, and the lifestyle that they lead. They do not have a back up plan or money saved up when times are difficult. Flying is life.

Four – The perfection and absence of any flaw from Don’s plane at any given time. This portrays Don as someone more than just any other person. One begins to relate this to the subtitle of the book “The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah”. Don is the Messiah. 

 
What aspects or general themes from Cinthio’s Heccatommithi would make an interesting adaption into Othello on stage?

The sudden turn of the Ensign’s love to hatred for Disdemona is an interesting aspect because it reveals his distorted motivations and clear jealousy of the Moor. He will stop at no lengths so relieve himself of this grief, going as far to kill someone whom he possesses great love for, simply because he could never be with her. Also – Disdemona’s own sudden racist and condemning comments towards the Moor would have a profound affect on how the Moor would view his wife. It would be interesting to see the turn of incredible boundless love to incredible speculation towards a person, eventually leading to the motivation to murder someone.

Prediction – The Moor will be killed by torture.
 
What are Hugo's motives; why does he manipulate the other characters?

Hugo demonstrates a very clear, jealous side of him. He witnesses many of his peer’s happiness and cannot help but feel he does not have the same. These feelings of jealousy and less-than are rooted in a lack of attention and love from his father. In a desperate attempt to make himself feel better, and to draw attention to his own self, he desires to strip his peers of their own happiness and wellbeing.

Why might Odin be vulnerable to Hugo's actions?

Being one of Hugo’s good friends, Odin cannot help but naturally be in agreement with Hugo’s actions. Odin himself is under a high stress environment making it easy for him to gravitate towards Hugo, even if he is not able to see his “friend’s” distorted goals. Struggles with a current relationship make things worse for Odin, but make Hugo’s motivation to damage the people around him even stronger.
 
Ideally, leaving our personal information in the hands of government for the benefit of greater security seems like it holds reasonable ground. However, in the article written by Daniel J. Solove, Solove makes a solid argument in the fact that personal privacy is not always respected in times of turmoil. If we are to give up our personal, private information for this purpose of greater general security, where does our private information really go? We must question who - and what - is guarding our information, and to what extent this information is being protected and what it is being used for. Without questioning government of their motives with our private information, our privacy cannot be assured. Also, in the event of a security leak, one must question implementations in place to retrieve such private information. The “Luddite” Argument that Solove brings up is interesting as it literally applies to our beings as an individual. Rather than simply being information on paper, this information applies to real physical attributes. If such characteristics including eye pattern, fingerprints and voice were to be in criminal possession, it is almost worse than written data as these traits are not something that could be changed or altered. Acquiring such delicate information could lead to even more extreme security precautions, making the government an ultimate database of personal and private information. The value in giving up this much private information is polarizing, but at this point it seems that the negative aspects may indeed outweigh the positives.
 
In reading “Once Upon A Time” I found that I understood the story quite well. I was able to comprehend the underlying message of the story and what the author was trying to portray. I did not use any reading strategies, but I think that in future I will so that I can be more familiar with the overview of the written work after I am finished reading. When the class talked about the story, I did not even pick up on the ‘fairytale’ element, to be honest. As soon as it was brought up it seemed like a very clear and purposeful part of the story. Obviously that is something that I missed. Generally, I thought I did quite well. I enjoyed the story, and the way the author portrayed the overall message.
 
In the wake of such insanity and discrimination to the LGBT community of Russia, Stephen Fry’s opinion of boycotting the 2014 Olympic games, held in Sochi, is far from absurd. Russia’s government has blatantly separated a group of people who have committed no crime and have shown no reason to be publically humiliated and punished. These people have been attacked simply because of their sexual orientation, an aspect that has virtually no effect on the well being of others. One must question as to how a government can make a decision like this and proclaim that it is political, and not personal. It is personal. It directly relates to a single group of people; it is discrimination. Being that Russia has displayed this extreme lack of tolerance it is not just for other countries to support this action by traveling to Sochi to compete. While these countries may claim that they are pro-LGBT, competing in Russia will simply show the opposite.

Mr. Fry makes a valid point that the actions of Russia are eerily similar to those of the German government during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Jewish people were beaten, murdered and humiliated by the Germans, as well as not being allowed to compete in the Olympic games. While one could argue that the extent the Germans went to in regards to eliminating the Jewish people is far beyond the extent the Russians are taking on the LGBT community, this action represents the same motive. The actions against the LGBT community of Russia will only worsen while these unjust laws continue to be enforced.

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