The Power of Words in ‘Othello’, ‘The Book Thief’ and ‘The King’s Speech’

The Power of Words in ‘Othello’, ‘The Book Thief’     

and ‘The King’s Speech’

In ‘Othello’ and ‘The Book Thief’ the theme of Power of Words runs throughout both texts. The Power of Words is seen in a positive light in ‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak, but seen in a negative way in William Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’.

The power of words is first seen in ‘The Book Thief’ when Liesel is in Ilsa Hermann’s house, in her  library. Liesel felt the pull of the books were too strong. Every time Liesel read a book she felt the power that words had over someone in a positive way. It was interesting that Liesel saw how strong the power of words was because at that time in Summer 1940 in  Nazi Germany the power of words was being used all over the country through Hitler. Liesel sees how words affect her in a positive way because she loves to read.

The theme of the Power of words is also seen in ‘Othello’. The Power of Words is used in a negative way in ‘Othello’. It is first seen when Iago gets Cassio drunk to take advantage of him because he knows that he can’t handle alcohol very well. He makes sure Cassio gets into a fight with Roderigo and strike him.

When Othello enters, Iago uses his power of words to benefit himself by telling him that Cassio started the fight, but making it sound like he didn't want to tell Othello because he didn’t want to betray Cassio.

The Power of Words is seen again in a positive way in  ‘The Book Thief’ in Max’s book for Liesel ‘The Word Shaker’. It is seen when Max writes about Liesel and ‘’how powerless a person could be WITHOUT words.’’ He knew how powerful words are to Liesel and how they have benefited her in a positive way. He describes the people who understand the power of words as word shakers. He finds that himself and Liesel are word shakers. They both understand the power of words and have built a strong friendship because of it.

The Power of Words is also seen again in ‘Othello’. It is seen for the second time when Iago is using his ‘friendship’ with Othello by telling him about Desdemona and Cassio and how she took the handkerchief that Othello gave to her to show her that he wouldn’t betray her. Iago stages it so Othello is hiding when Cassio comes into the room and Iago asks Cassio about Bianca but making it sound like he was talking about Desdemona. When Cassio leaves Othello comes back out and gets so worked up about what Iago is telling him he goes into a fit.

The last time the theme of the  Power of Words is seen in a positive way in  ‘The Book Thief’ is when Liesel is telling Max his own story of ‘The Word Shaker’ to make him fight for his survival. ‘Is it really you? The young man asked’, she said. ‘It is from your cheek that I took the seed?’ This gives Max the strength to remain standing as he is being whipped by the Nazi soldier. He is not going to let the negative power of words win over the positive power of words.

Lastly the negative use of Power of words is seen in ‘Othello.’ The last time the use of the Power of Words is seen in a negative way in ‘Othello’ is when Desdemona sings a song called ‘Willow’. Desdemona is sent back to her room by Othello because he cannot look at her after what Iago told him about her and Cassio. Desdemona is in her room with Emilia who is helping her go to bed. She starts singing a song called ‘Willow’ that a maid called Barbary that her Mother sang before she died. The negative Power of Words is seen here because these words bring Desdemona’s death.

The theme of the Power of Words is seen also throughout ‘The King’s Speech’ because words are so powerful to Bertie. He finds is difficult to speak because of his stammer. His Father and Brother make fun of him and his stammer. This makes him feel worthless and unloved like Othello in ‘Othello’ when he feels he is not good enough for Desdemona because of his race. Bertie feels he will be a terrible king. Words scare Bertie. This makes the theme of The Power of Words to be seen in a negative light for Bertie in the beginning, but in the final scene of the film Bertie realizes that he doesn't need to be afraid of words, he can control them himself . They have no power of him anymore he has power over them.

In conclusion I have shown that the Power of Words is seen in a positive light in ‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak, but seen in a negative way in William Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’. Also, the theme of the Power of Words is scene in  negatively in the beginning of ‘The King’s Speech’, directed by Tom Hooper ,but at the end of the film the theme has changed to be positive.

The theme of love in "Othello", "The Book Thief" and "The Kings Speech"

The theme of love in Markus Zusak’s “The Book Thief” and William Shakespeare’s “Othello” is very import to how the story and characters develop throughout the story. Both “The Book Thief” and “Othello” are set during war times In “Othello” and “The Book Thief” , love is a force that overcomes large obstacles and is tripped up by small ones. It provides “Othello” with intensity but not direction and gives Desdemona access to his heart but not his mind. If offers Lisel hope of a better future and gives hans purposes.Types of love and what that means are different between different characters.

“The Book Thief” focuses on characters who are learning to love in the face of great hatred. There is also romantic love in the novel. Of course, it's an innocent childlike romance that tragedy cuts short. The novel is set in a Nazi Germany, where giving another person something as seemingly small as a crust of stale bread or even a smile could be seen as act of immense kindness. These acts almost always involve penalty. To love in such a harsh world is both a necessity and a triumph for the characters of “The Book Thief”.

In “Othello” love is the defining theme in the text. It is love that drives the story forward. It is Othello’s love for desdemona that allows Iago to manipulate Othello. Iago often falsely professes love in friendship for Roderigo, Othello and Cassio and betrays them both. For Iago, love is leverage. Desdemona's love in friendship for Cassio is real but is misinterpreted by the jealous Othello as adulterous love. Love is often seen as beauty but in Othello it is what leaves them in ruin.

The theme of love in "The Kings Speech" is very important in the film.

It is Elisabeth and her love for Bertie that makes her go out of her way and against her husband will to go and find another speech therapist in this case it is lionel.
Berties love for Elisabeth is what inspires him and gives him the perseverance to continue with his speech therapy. It gives him the courage to continue through the difficult times in his live. We see this love fuled perseverance when Bertie listens to the recording of himself flawlessly reading out a paragraph from shakespeares hamlet, Elisabeth hears him playing it and from this Bertie gains the confidence he desperatly needed .The lack of love in Berties family is what led to Berties stutter and other physical problems. We see this lack of love when Berties father dies, David goes to his mother and hug her in sorrow, seeking comfort from his mother but instead of what a normal mother would do Berties mother stood there, still.

Friendship

There are many examples of friendship in both texts, “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak and “Othello” by William Shakespeare.  The friendships in each text are very different.  There are examples of people being good friends and there are also examples of people who pretend to be friends but really don’t care about each other.

The first example of a true friendship is between Liesel and Max in ‘The Book Thief’.  The best example of this friendship is when Max is sick, Liesel is constantly worrying about him.  When he is in the basement, only inches away from death, all Liesel does is pray for him to get better.  Liesel is always down in the basement keeping him company, even though he is asleep and doesn’t respond to what she is saying. He is sick for weeks and Liesel goes down to the cold basement every day for hours to read her book ‘The Whistler’ aloud to Max.  This shows the loyalty and genuine concern Liesel has for her friend Max.  

This friendship is not a one way street, Max writes a short book for Liesel. He spends days down in the basement painting picture and writing sentences in a short book which he gives to Liesel.  He names the book ‘The Standover Man’.  In this book Max describes how during his life many people have been good friends to him, Wenzel Gruber who used to stand over him after beating him in fights then turned into one of his best friends and kept him in hiding for over two years.  Max then goes on to speak about how his best friend and true standover man is actually Liesel. After days of hard work in the freezing basement Max gives the book to Liesel at night. Liesel loves the book he writes for her and keeps it for life.

These two occasions in the book really show how the friendship between Max and Liesel is real.

Parent- child relationships

The parent - child relationships in ‘The Book Thief’, ‘Othello’ and 'The King's Speech'

The theme of parent - child relationships is an occurring theme in both ‘The Book Thief’ and ‘Othello’.  We see how different parents act and how their children are affected by that.  The way each parent acts affects their own child’s attitude towards them.  Hans manages to gain Liesel’s trust and is kind to her. He respects her opinions and their relationship grows.  Brabantio, on the other hand, doesn’t respect Desdemona’s opinions.  Although he does respects her love for Othello, this is after Desdemona runs off and marries Othello in secret. In ‘The Book Thief’, Liesel has just lost her brother and both of her parents. She is scared and in an unknown place.  Hans understands how she must be feeling and tries to reach out to her.  He knows that she probably won’t trust him at first so he gives her time to adjust to her surroundings and is just kind to her, he comforts her at night as her parents cannot.  Hans is missing a daughter and Liesel is missing a father.  Liesel then finds it much easier to live her new life with her new parents.  Liesel is not afraid to talk to Hans if something is wrong. However, the opposite is seen in ‘Othello’.  Brabantio doesn’t love Desdemona like Hans loves Liesel.  In ‘Othello’ Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, doesn’t seem all that interested in Desdemona’s life.  Here we see a different kind of parent - child relationship, one that is lacking trust.  Brabantio cares for his daughter but he is a very controlling character and thinks he knows what is best for Desdemona.  He doesn’t trust her judgement, and he thinks differently from the way she does.  There is clearly not enough communication in their relationship, as Desdemona feels that she needs to run away in order to be happy.  

The way the parent sees the world also affects how the child sees the world. There is a big contrast between the way Hans and Brabantio see the world. Hans teaches Liesel to be kind.  While Brabantio is not as accepting.  In ‘The Book Thief’, Hans is very kind and very accepting of everybody.  He does not join the Nazi Party as he does not believe that anyone should be discriminated against.  This is what he teaches Liesel.  He shows Liesel that she should be kind to everyone, even Jews, as if they were her own family.  Liesel continues to always be kind, and never judge a book by it’s cover.  She becomes close to Max, and like Hans, is brave enough to help him.  Hans does not hesitate once to help Max.  Hans is not a sheep.  He doesn’t follow in everybody else’s footsteps, he sticks to what he believes in.  We see this trait in Liesel.  On the other hand, Brabantio does not teach Desdemona to be kind to everyone. Brabantio is the complete opposite to Hans.  In ‘Othello’, Brabantio looks down upon Othello because he is a ‘moor’.  He is disgusted at the thought of Desdemona marrying a moor and he has no problem telling the world.  He immediately becomes angry when he learns of their marriage and says ‘O treason of the blood!’  He doesn’t believe it and claims that Othello put Desdemona under a spell.  The way he acts affects Desdemona negatively, as she feels that she needs to go behind her father’s back in the first place. Desdemona is the one to convince her father that she will be okay with Othello. He is hesitant at first, but agrees, although he doesn’t fully trust Othello.  

Actually having a caring parent around will affect how the child turns out. Rosa deep down is a caring mother. She is always looking out for Liesel, even if Liesel doesn’t know it.  Desdemona doesn’t have a mother, not one that we know about.  In ‘The Book Thief’, Rosa is the big, tough, scary parent.  She is described as a wardrobe, tough on the outside, but a mystery on the inside. Rosa does love Liesel like her own daughter, her love for Liesel is just hidden. She too, like her husband, did not hesitate to help Max, even though it put her life at risk.  Rosa is a genuinely caring person, but not enough people know that.  When she dies, Death tells us, ‘Make no mistake, the woman had a heart’. Liesel knows this, that is why she feels safe with the Hubermanns.  This compares to ‘Othello’ because, unlike Liesel, Desdemona has no mother.  In ‘Othello’, we are only told about Desdemona’s father which leads to believe that she does not have a mother.  It must have been difficult for Desdemona not having a female influence while growing up.  She is quite different to Liesel as she has had no female role - model.  She is used to males being in charge, and considering the time she is living in, is used to men making all the rules.  She only has one parent to care for her, but her doesn’t take that much of an interest in her.  The other main person in her life is her husband, so she sometimes feels lost without her mother’s opinion, especially when Othello begins to distrust her.  

In 'The King's Speech', Bertie is a very caring father, like Hans in 'The Book Thief', he just wants his children to be happy and to have no worries. He has some horrible memories of his own childhood, so he never wants his children to feel they way he did. He makes his daughters laugh by reading stories and pretending to be a penguin. Similarly, we see Lionel playing with his children and entertaining them by acting out plays. In comparison to Bertie and Lionel, Hans will do anything for Liesel, even though he is not her real father he does his best to comfort her. He plays his accordion to her every day, and he spends a fortune on books for her. However, the same is not seen 'Othello'. In contrast to Bertie and Hans, Brabantio puts his own best interests before Desdemona's. Although deep down he must care for his daughter, Brabantio is a controlling character, he has strong opinions of Othello and he is not afraid to voice them. Compared to Brabantio, Lionel thinks before he speaks.

Violence in the World – Author’s GVV - "Othello" , "The Book Thief" and "The King's Speech"

In William Shakespeare’s play “Othello” , Marcus Zusak’s book “The Book Thief” and the director Tom Hooper's "The King's Speech", violence plays a central role. All of the authors and the director seem to believe that violence is human nature and that violence in the world is inevitable. 

For example, Zusak’s “The Book Thief” is set in Nazi Germany during the height of World War 2 and the Holocaust, when Germany was steeped in warfare. Zusak uses violence to shape his characters lives and impact their choices. For example, Liesel, the main character in the text has her whole life molded by the violence in the world. Her mother, a communist, is taken away from her by the brutal Nazi regime of World War II Germany and her new family. the Hubermanns, are taken away from her by violence as well, when Allied bombs are dropped on Himmel Street. Like wise in the other text that I studied, "Othello" , Shakespeare uses violence to shape all aspects of the plot and character development in the play. Othello, the titular character is a renowned Ventian general and his whole life revolves around violence. When he is corrupted and lied to by Iago, his speech goes from being very poetic and full of images of love to being very animalistic and full of images of death.
Zusak also uses Death , the narrator of the story as a way of voicing his own opinions on violence in the world, which shows Zusak's distaste for it but offers no alternatives in situations such as World War 2 where the Allies were forced to use violence in order to end the war and the Holocaust. Zusak realizes that war is inevitable and that violence is human nature. I believe that Shakespeare had the same view on violence in the world that Zusak which is very clear to see in his play “Othello”.

In the play, the premier character Othello, is introduced to us as an honourable and poetic man but he leads a very violent life as a general of a Venetian army. He manages to keep his violent tendencies at bay and he runs away with Desdemona, the most beautiful woman in Venice. But as the play progresses and as Othello’s descent in madness also progresses because of Iago’s lies about Desdemona’s infidelity, Othello’s true violent nature is revealed. I think that Shakespeare believes that humans are violent by their very nature and this is why Othello's inner animal instincts take over. William Shakespeare's Othello conveys the cycle from mental violence to physical violence on several different occasions. The mental violence in this story led to the physical deaths of Emilia, Desdemona, Othello, and eventually Iago.

In "The Kings Speech", violence plays a central role in the importance of Bertie or King George VI in his role as king of Britain. The violent brutality of Hitler's Third Reich is spreading over Europe and Bertie feels inadequate to Hitler when he sees him in a clip after watching his coronation. Hitler is everything that Bertie is not, a charismatic strong leader which sharply contrasts with Bertie's own opinion of himself, a stammering fool like "Mad king George VI"

This shows how Shakespeare, Zusak and Hooper all used violence in such a way where it plays a central role in their respective pieces of work.