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Crime and Punishment and Othello: Comparison and Contrast Essay

by: Aubrey Wood

In both Crime and Punishment and Othello there is a theme of

necessary

balance. Crime and Punishment's theme that man must be balanced in

order to

function properly is very similar to Othello's theme that, traically,

!ealousy

is destructive, even to the one that holds it.

In Crime and Punishment, "as#olni#ov's e$treme intellectualism

caused

him to stop functionin as a complete and balanced individual %hich

ultimately

cost him his freedom. &or Othello, it %as his e$treme !ealousy that

caused him

to become emotionally unbalanced, %hich cost him both esdemona and his

o%n life.

 In both cases the e$tremes create unbalance %hich ends up costin alot. (here

is a difference, ho%ever, and that too lies in the e$tremes) %hile

"as#olni#ov

is too intellectual and lac#s emotion, Othello is a rae of emotions and

re*uires some intellect or rationality.

One stylistic device both authors used to demonstrate this

unbalance is

foreshado%in. On pae + in Crime and Punishment, "as#olni#ov says,

-If they

*uestion me, perhaps I %ill simply tell. &all to my #nees and tell.-

(his

foreshado%s "as#olni#ov's confession to the police and his subse*uent

sentencin

to iberia. "as#olni#ov is obviously unbalanced if he can detachedly

hypothesi/e about his confession. imilarly, esdemona's %illo% son

foreshado%s her o%n death. In this %ay %e reali/e Othello must be

e$tremely

unbalanced if his %ife can foresee her o%n death %hen they are still

ne%ly %ed.

0oth foreshado%ed events %ould usually be considered as neative. (he

main

difference is that %hile "as#olni#ov's imprisonment is temporary,

esdemona's

death is permanent.

(he interestin thin about both foreshado%ed events is their

irony.

While both events are usually construed as neative, ood thins comefrom both.

1ot until he has been in iberia a year does "as#olni#ov finally

renounce his

overman theory and become complete and balanced once aain. Also,

esdemona

%ill be able to forive Othello and be %ith him throuhout eternity.

What ma#es

these happenins different is their !ustness. "as#olni#ov %as

rihtfully

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imprisoned for his crime, %hile esdemona %as un!ustly murdered for a

crime she

did not commit.

&inally, both stories include a very important epiphany.

"as#olni#ov's

acceptance of love and 2od at onya's feet is both similar and

dissimilar to

Othello's reali/ation of his mista#e near the body of esdemona. (hey

are

similar because both men ain the *uality they lac#ed) "as#olni#ov

ains emotion

and Othello ains intellience, or #no%lede. (hese epiphanies are

dissimilar,

ho%ever, because onya is alive and "as#olni#ov's story ends %ith a

promise of

rene%ed life, %hereas esdemona lies dead and Othello adds to the death

count by

ta#in his o%n life.

0oth Crime and Punishment and Othello spea# of balance, but they

definitely do it in their o%n uni*ue %ay. Crime and Punishment ives

us hopethat %e may find balance, %hile Othello %arns aainst the conse*uences

if %e do

not. 3opefully, %e can find our o%n balance in life %ith less turmoil

than they.

.