Brighton Rock and Othello Essay Example

- which starkly contrasts the rich and sophisticated characters represented in Venice. Another striking impression conveyed by the novel further highlights the difference between the two cities - sophistication.The first chapter of Brighton Rock sets the tone for the novel with its depiction of mob life and murder, establishing violence as a prominent theme. Despite the shabbiness of Brighton, the focus on this semantic field adds emphasis to the brutal lifestyle led by the main character. Othello, on the other hand, utilizes verbal abuse between characters and emphasizes the idea that violence is not the solution. Even when Brabantio, Roderigo and Iago draw their swords, Othello encourages them not to resort to physical violence, preferring to command with his years of experience. Shakespeare's decision to set the play's war scenes in a different city from Venice serves to distance the city from associations with violence or disharmony. In contrast, Pinkie in Brighton Rock resolves his issues through multiple murders.

The portrayal of Brighton in Brighton Rock incorporates both the under and over world of the city, resulting in a violent atmosphere. This is contrasted with Venice in the first section, where characters resist opportunities for violence and the city is depicted as sophisticated and peaceful. Greene mainly focuses on the mob lifestyle in Brighton, creating a contrast between a fictionalized, superior Venice and a realistic British city. Despite this contrast, both texts examine attitudes towards women.

Brighton Rock's first section introduces Ida singing at a public bar. She is known for being confident about her body, particularly about her big breasts. This self-assuredness about her sexuality results in differing attitudes towards her among the characters.

Hale admires Ida and believes that she takes care of herself, which generates positive sentiments towards Ida. On the contrary, Pinkie displays fury and disgust when observing Ida, showcasing his disapproval towards a bold woman with an open attitude about her sexuality.

The interpretation of Greene's attitude towards women in the book is unclear. However, when describing Ida through Hale's opinion, Greene portrays her in a disapproving manner. This suggests that the attitude Pinkie portrays to the readers is what Greene intends to convey. The use of phrases such as "cowlike eye" and "warm port-winey laugh" when describing Ida is not complimentary to women according to the societal norms from the 1930s. Instead, they create a sense of masculinity. Hence, it can be inferred that Greene is trying to depict confident women who seek attention in public places as masculine, which revolts him. Depending on the perspective of the character in Othello, it sends a varying attitude towards women. Nevertheless, Desdemona's perspective depicts her character as similar to Ida's.

According to Brabantio, Desdemona is a fairy-tale-like woman, tender, fair, and happy. This viewpoint suggests that Shakespeare promotes a stereotypical attitude towards women, which was maintained in Brighton during the 1930s. However, Othello and Desdemona's perspective is that women are equal to men. This contrasts with Greene's view, where male supremacy is part of their masculinity, causing him to feel disdain for women sharing this feature. Othello reinforces gender equality when he says "send for the lady to the Sagittary, and let her speak of me before her father." Desdemona's desire to participate in the "expedition" to war with Cyprus shows her outspoken nature, similar to

Ida. Furthermore, like Ida's presence in the public bar - a place alleged to be for men - Desdemona's involvement in war challenges traditional views of women during their time period.

In general, attitudes towards women presented in the texts are dependent on the character's perspective and are controversial. If one adopts the perspective of Hale towards Ida, Othello towards Desdemona, and the feminist attitudes of both women, a modern liberal view of gender equality is portrayed. However, taking the views of Greene and Pinkie, who place women in stereotypical roles reflective of their time period, promotes the idea that women should adhere to their gender roles. Both main characters in Brighton Rock and Othello, Pinkie and Othello, possess unique features which make them stand out. Over time, their characters develop and change.

Before his introduction in Shakespeare's Othello, Roderigo, Iago and Brabantio paint a 'sexual' and 'dirty Moor' image of him, contrasting with his reputation as a skilled soldier. However, once introduced, the audience discovers that this was only the perspective of Roderigo and Iago. Othello is actually a more poetic character, demonstrated through his 41-lined speech professing his love. Similarly, Pinkie's confident and dominant image as a 'hunter' initially creates an impression of thuggery, but further reading reveals that he struggles to assimilate into the mob lifestyle. This is illustrated by his suicide act and being deemed unworthy of Mr Colleoni's attention, indicating his unimportance in the mob's hierarchy.

Despite the fact that Pinkie's character may be comparable to Iago in Othello because they are both cunning, Pinkie's plan for Hale 'to pay' and Iago's plan to 'double knavery' are prime examples of this. Pinkie

and Iago are also similar in that they attempt to portray themselves as something they are not; Iago stated 'I am not what I am', while Pinkie displayed himself as a 'Boy' with 'smooth skin' to create a sense of innocence, despite his true nature being one of 'hideous and unnatural pride' and 'grey eyes (that have) an effect of heartlessness', conveying a sense of deception. The contrast between the two texts is mainly due to Greene concentrating on the common and lower class of Brighton in the first section, as opposed to the wealthy characters of Othello. This is exemplified by the semantic field of violence expressed throughout the first section of Brighton Rock, juxtaposed with the avoidance of opportunities for violence in Othello.

Despite their differences, some of the characters share common traits. For example, Ida and Desdemona both have similar attitudes towards women, while Pinkie, Othello, and Iago all possess certain characteristics that are conveyed to the audience.