Society and Responsibility

TM / TL

The moor / thick-lips - racialised language

How does Shakespeare expose societal prejudice in this line?

Through early racial slurs, showing how Venice already frames Othello as an outsider

How does racism function in Othello’s context?

As a structural backdrop, enabling Iago’s manipulation by reinforcing Othello’s insecurities

What does this reveal about social attitudes in Othello?

Social attitudes create a context in which injustice is tolerated

What is significant about Act 1 Scene 1’s introduction in Othello?

Voyeuristic introduction

How does Shakespeare show societal exclusion in this scene?

Opening in darkness, with characters observing Othello rather than addressing him

How does staging emphasise Venice’s complicity?

Characters discuss Othello’s marriage as scandal rather than fact

TWT, FBIOC’

The whole town, frightened by it’s own crime’ - Communal guilt

How does García Márquez expose town-wide responsibility?

Uses collective narration

What does the image of the town “frightened by its own crime” highlight?

Societal hypocrisy—everyone knows yet does nothing resulting from rooted fear

How does Chronicle’s focus differ from Othello’s?

Unlike Shakespeare’s focus on interpersonal betrayal, Chronicle indicts a whole social ecosystem

OCOTCFSATTRITG

Only cut of the combs for soup and threw the rest into the garbage - brutal imagery + metaphor

How does domestic imagery function in Chronicle?

Trivialises death, showing how violence becomes normalised

How does García Márquez use grotesque juxtaposition in this passage?

To reveal moral numbness: life reduced to parts, waste, routine

What idea does this passage reinforce about the community in Chronicle?

The community’s failure is habitual rather than dramatic

Comparative Insight for the Topic Sentence

How does Othello portray responsibility?

Condemns individuals (especially Iago, then Othello) for their choices within a prejudiced society

How does Chronicle portray responsibility?

Disperses blame across a whole town, showing how shared responsibility becomes shared denial

What does Shakespeare emphasise in contrast to García Márquez?

Shakespeare emphasises psychological agency whilst Garcia Marquez emphasises collective moral collapse.