Othello and To Kill A Mockingbird

Othello and To Kill A Mockingbird

As the author of To Kill A Mockingbird, reading Othello was quite an interesting experience for me, and I spotted many similarities between my work and Shakespeare's.

"Her father saw it, and the defendant has testified as to his remarks. What did her father

do? We don't know, but there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was

beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left.  We do know in part what

Mr. Ewell did: he did what any God-fearing, persevering, respectable white man would do under the circumstances-he swore out a warrant, no doubt signing it with his left hand."

Othello "I am glad to see you mad."

Desdemona "Why, sweet Othello—"

Othello "(striking her) Devil!"

Desdemona "I have not deserved this."

Shown above is Atticus giving evidence that Bob Ewell had hit Mayella in To Kill A Mockingbird, and below it, the scene from Othello when Othello slaps Desdemona. This is an example of the fact that even though the two books take place hundreds of years apart, nothing has changed: domestic abuse still continues to be a large issue. Othello slaps his wife, Desdemona, out of jealousy of an affair which is essentially nonexistent, and Bob Ewell abuses his daughter physically for sexually assaulting a man, although this has presumably occurred previously without any sort of provocation. These scenes also shown the blatant sexism existent within these times, the men having complete dominance over the women while the females are powerless. However, in To Kill a Mockingbird, the women definitely have more rights than they had a few hundred years before. They may still not have equal treatment, but equality is slowly improving.

"I'm think I'm beginning to understand something. I think 
I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up 
inside the house all the time...it's because he wants to stay inside.

This fellow’s of exceeding honesty

And knows all quantities, with a learnèd spirit,

Of human dealings. If I do prove her haggard,

Though that her jesses were my dear heartstrings,

I’d whistle her off and let her down the wind

To prey at fortune. Haply, for I am black

And have not those soft parts of conversation

That chamberers have, or for I am declined

Into the vale of years—yet that’s not much—

She’s gone, I am abused, and my relief

Must be to loathe her. Oh, curse of marriage

That we can call these delicate creatures ours

And not their appetites! 

Boo Radley is a character who was originally good, but had his life controlled and ruined by his father. I saw a parallel between him and Othello, who is manipulated by Iago and eventually ends up killing many people, including his wife and himself. In addition, these two are both isolated from society, but in two different ways. Boo Radley stays inside his house because he doesn't want to live in a society which shuns him, but Othello, accepted by society, is still isolated because he is unable to trust anyone but Iago. He alienates his wife, demotes Cassio because he was manipulated into drinking and getting into a fight, and Othello focuses his life solely on revenge. These two characters share these similarities, and are like the "mockingbirds" in my novel.

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music 
for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, 
don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing 
but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's 
a sin to kill a mockingbird."

"The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree,

 Sing all a green willow.

 Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee,

 Sing willow, willow, willow.

Let nobody blame him, his scorn I approve—

I called my love false love but what said he then?

  Sing willow, willow, willow.

The willow song in Othello symbolizes Desdemona as she is treated coldly by Othello, just like the lover in the song. Desdemona is a mockingbird, like in To Kill A Mockingbird, completely innocent. Despite this fact, she is killed, the equivalent of shooting a mockingbird, deemed a sin. Othello finds that he has committed a sin afterwards, and kills himself for redemption, showing that our two societies still share some similar values, like how hurting innocent beings is a sin.