The Code Of Honor Essay, Research Paper

The Code of Honor

Both Othello and The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn trade with the issue of race, particularly the impression of race as a.social concept x. Othello is.being taken by the insolent enemy and sold to slavery x ( Shakespeare 1.3.136-137 ) ; Jim is a runaway nigga. Both of them have of all time been a slave dealer severally, but their narratives are wholly different: one becomes a general ; one becomes a free adult male at the terminal. What does do this difference, even though they are of all time at the same degree? By close reading, we know Shakespeare and Twain suggest that award is more to people than merely their races when measuring the societal value.

Peoples who have honor are respected from other people and remain high in their society. What should be see as honest? Service to the state, knowing, or even money, and so on. Othello is a Moor, and he is of all time sold to slavery. What does do him to be a baronial general? It is the services to the province: .My services which I have done the Signiory shall out-tongue his ailments x ( Shakespeare 1.2.18-19 ) . Even the Duke will non look down on Othello, who is an Arab, like the Turks ( the enemy of Venice ) . He believes.Othello, the fortitude of the topographic point is best known to you x ( Shakespeare 1.3.219-220 ) and employs him.against the general enemy Ottoman x ( Shakespeare 1.3.47-48 ) . Therefore, race is non an obstruction to Othello s military calling. Twain besides suggests race is non the lone issue to specify societal concept. For illustration, .There was a free nigga at that place, they said he was a P fessor in a college, and could speak all sorts of linguistic communication, and knowed everything they said he could vote x ( Twain 26 ; ch.6 ) . This professor is the same race with Jim, but why he even has the right to vote? It is non merely because he lives in the North of American, but besides because he is knowing. No every nigga in the North has the award of vote, really merely few does at that clip. Therefore, race is non wholly determined whether the professor or a nigga has the right to vote or non. Other people respect Othello and the nigga professor for their award, and the people do non truly care about their races.

On the other manus, dishonour will do people lose their society place and their repute. In Othello, Cassio is an honest lieutenant, .an honest fellow ten ( Shakespeare 3.3.4 ) . Othello trusts him, treats him as his friend, and calls him.good Michael x, .Michael x. It is this expansive award that Iago is covetous of. But bibulous Cassio loses his repute since he fights with Montano other than guards the ticker. Othello calls him.Cassio ten and tells him.never more be officer of mine x ( Shakespeare 2.3.248 ) . A lieutenant all of a sudden becomes an ordinary adult male due to the dishonourable thing he does. .O, I have lost my repute! I have lost the immortal portion of myself, and what remains is beastly ( Shakespeare 2.2.261-263 ) , Cassio confesses. Twain besides give us some illustrations. For case, pablum additions the repute from the new justice s household because they have sympathy for him, and pablum besides swears: .It is the manus of a adult male that s started in on a new life. x.The justice says it is the holy clip on record and tucks the old adult male into a beautiful room x ( Twain 22 ; ch. 5 ) . It seems that pablum s value is revalidated. But one time pap.trades his new coat for a jug of forty-rod ( Twain 22 ; ch. 5 ) and gets drunken once more, pablum loses his flick of repute and becomes old pablum once more. .The justice reckons a organic structure could reform the ole adult male with a shot-gun ten ( Twain 22 ; ch. 5 ) . Cassio and pap all are white people, who are the bulk in their society, but they do non hold expected societal value because they do something dishonorable. Therefore, the codification of award is different in all these illustrations, but award is used to find the societal concept other than merely race.

Since award is so of import and valuable, people will make everything to prosecute their award, to contend for their award, and to support their award. Why does Othello desire to kill Cassio and Desdemona? He thinks Cassio cuckolds him, which makes him experience he loses his award. His matrimony is the extremum in his life because it is non common, or even a guilty for a Moor to get married a white adult female at that clip. Othello makes his matrimony become world for his services to province. His award is confirmed by the Duke and by Venice. Desdemona, Venice, and Othello are interconnected. If one nexus is broken, the system of interconnectedness will be destroyed. .Farewell! Othello s business s gone! ten ( Shakespeare 3.3.354 ) , that is why Othello s shouting when he feels the relation between he and Desdemona is in crisis. After Othello receives the missive from Venice, which.commands him place and deputes Cassio in his authorities x ( Shakespeare 4.1.237 ) , he realizes the nexus between him and the province is besides in crisis. Duke wants to maintain a alert oculus on Othello so as to command him place. Duke does non wholly trust Othello because he is non one of them, and he is afraid that Othello might bewray Venice if he remains in Cyprus. Though it is Othello who defeats the Turks, Cassio is appointed to take over Othello s place. Losing his place and his

married woman to Cassio, Othello has nil. He must recover his award, and the lone thing he can make to support his award is to kill Cassio and Desdemona. His program for slaying is carried out. .An honest slaying, if you will. For naught I did in hatred, but all in award ten ( Shakespeare 5.2.290-291 ) , Othello commits suicide after he kills Desdemona and knows the true narrative. It is the decease of Othello that makes him recover the award to Desdemona: he can remain with Desdemona everlastingly ; he will non be humiliated by returning to Venice as a captive. Twain gives us many episodes to exemplify how people deal with award. For illustration, Colonel Sherburn s slaying of Boggs is besides an grounds of barbarian nature of society and different codification of award. Colonel Sherburn is a.proud-looking ten and.best dressed adult male in that town. ten When the rummy, .best-natured old sap, x Boggs, continues to diss and dispute him, Sherburn thinks he will lose his repute and being looked down by the rabble. To support his award, he issues an ultimatum, and, true to his word, shoots the withdrawing Boggs dead. It has barely been a just affaire d’honneur, but the Colonel has kept his word and regained his award. Ironically, the rabble deficiency the bravery to threading up the Colonel, who has shot an unarmed and withdrawing rummy, because.they don t battle with bravery that is born in them, but with the bravery that s borrowed from their mass ten ( Twain 134 ; ch.22 ) It is the Colonel that governs the rabble and that town, like Duke in Venice, so he has all the power to do the rabble believe what is honor and what is dishonour. Even he does something dishonourable or inhuman, the rabble can non borrow any bravery from one another to catch him, or even state a word. Therefore, one s societal value needs to be validated by other people, particularly by the people who are high in society.

Because people s honor demands to be validated by other people, sometimes people even do non cognize they have honor unless their award is be confirmed by other people. The matrimony to Desdemona is the great award that Othello of all time has. Othello does non take good attention of her and himself. He ever thinks this matrimony is excessively much for him. How come a white adult female becomes a Moor s married woman? He ever inquiries this world, and even suspects the royalty of Desdemona. In his last address, he confesses: .Then must you talk of one that loved non sagely, but excessively good ; of one non easy covetous, but, being wrought, Perplexed in the extreme ; of one whose manus, like the base Judean, threw a pearl off richer than all his folk ten ( Shakespeare 5.2.340-345 ) . Cipher tells Othello that the matrimony fits him and Desdemona. Even Brabantio, his father-in-law, warns him: .Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see: she has deceived her male parent, and may thee x ( Shakespeare 1.3.288-289 ) . How can Othello recognize he has the.pearl x in such society? It is the society that makes Othello blind. In Twain s fiction, we besides find the same issues that illustrate the proof of award. Jim is a runaway nigga. On the journey down the Mississippi on a raft with Huck, he is afraid of being sighted by other people, because he knows that what he is seeking to make is disgrace in his society. He does non desire anybody formalize this dishonour ; he does non desire anybody releases his secret ; and he wants to be a free adult male after geting Cairo. His concern and anxiousness blinds him. He does non detect his award, like his charitable. Until the people in Phelps farm gimmick him, the physician validates his award: .I ne’er see a nigga that was a better nuss or faithfuller, and yet he was resking his freedom to make it x ( Twain 255 ; ch 42 ) . .So, every one of them promised, right out and hearty, that they would t curse him no more tens ( Twain 256 ; ch 42 ) . Let s reexamine what the people treats him before the physician s address: .chained him once more, and non to no bed-leg, this clip, but to a large basic drove into the bottom log, and chained his custodies, excessively, and both legs, and said he warn T to hold nil but staff of life and H2O to eat x ( Twain 255 ; ch 42 ) . What does do people halt tormenting him? It is merely the physician s proof, which makes the people believe Jim is a adult male with virtuousnesss because he does something honest, and they forget he is a runaway nigga at a monment. What Jim has done is merely something comes from his charitable. Jim has the award long earlier ; merely no people care to formalize it. Ironically, Tom.manages to put a nigger free that was already free before x ( Twain 261 ; ch 43 ) . Jim has been free when he is on the river! Cipher tells him this, so he is still a runaway nigga. He suffers more before Tom can put him free in Tom s manner, which makes Tom feel he has honor in making such thing.

After near reading Othello and The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, we realize the same critical point in these two great plants: award determines societal concept, although we might reason that the other factors, like the races, the characters, the traditions and so on, besides affect the societal value. In fact, these factors have dealingss to honour, or are byproducts of award.

Shakespeare. Othello. Signet authoritative. New York: Penguin, 1998

Mark Twain. The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Oxford, 1999