Othello, the Beast With Two Backs.

Othello the moor ( person of the black skin) is the husband of Desdemona (and also her killer) and is the main character of the play "Othello", obviously.  The reason for this is that Othello thought that Desdemona was cheating on him with Cassio, the Lieutenant.  This was Iago's plan so that he could get his "rightful" job.
In the end Othello kills Desdemona with a pillow.  He impressed his wife Desdemona by telling her about his adventures in life.  And (SPOILER ALERT) he kills himself when he finds out he killed the faithful Desdemona.

Click the Schmoop logo for a cool summary of the ending of Othello.

That video is from an actual performance of Othello.

And I know this has been used before and you should probably take points off for it but.

The Possible "Cheater", Cassio.

Iago, that squirrel I talked about last time, has the idea that Cassio is also attracted to Desdemona.  It might just be one of the "Iago" rumors, but it also might be true.  Some quotes like this one
"O behold […] You men of Cyprus, let her have your knees,
Hail to thee lady! And the grace of heaven,
Before, behind thee, and on every hand,
Enwheel thee round. (2.1.8)

That quote, from Cassio, shows his attraction towards Desdemona.  I'm not completely sure if that was just him being a gentleman or if that was for real.  Before that, Iago said he wanted to spread a rumor that Cassio was attracted to Desdemona so Othello would get mad and Iago would get the moor's job. If you read this Shmoop summary of him you might have some of the story spoiled for you, but it has some great content. (Click the picture for the link.)

Cassio in a new version of Othello.

Another Shmoop this one is a timeline of Cassio's role in Othello. P.S. Sorry I couldn't find another funny picture of Cassio. (Click the picture anyway.)

This video shows a great representation of both Cassio and Iago in Act III Scene 3.

 

Desdemona the Woman of Desire... I guess...

As all of you know by reading the title Desdemona is the one to be with in the Shakespearean days. She's the perfect woman, in beauty at least. Of course I am just assuming this because, in the play, she doesn't seem to show much trickery, but this could mean she's more trustworthy then anyone else in this arrangement.  She's not like Iago, that squirrel, and she's not like Roderigo, the desperate one.  In the picture below she is depicted like she is in the play. (I think she is pretty ugly.)

She is the one that is wanted by Roderigo, Othello(husband), and now recently, Cassio, the man that "stole" Iago's job, Lieutenant.  As you can tell she's at the center of the drama. She also ran away from her father for the moor, Othello. Timeline for Desdemona's life in Othello here.  That is a wonderful summary, but it is a large SPOILER ALERT.  

That video is hilariously true and very worth your watching.

Scroll down a bit in this link to find Desdemona's description by sparknotes.

Iago that Squirrel... Deceiving Squirrel.

Iago, as most of you know, is not the guy you want to be friends with. In fact if you were friends with him I would feel terribly sorry for you.  Iago is most definitely a squirrel, in a way.  He is a deceiver at heart and is the foil of Othello, the main character. Iago is no friend of Othello and will, squirrel him, for lack of better words.  He will get under his skin and get that job that he wanted so bad, Lieutenant.  But, of course, he did not get that job, in fact, he got the worst job he could have hoped for, flag-bearer. But, just as he deceived Roderigo, he will deceive Othello.

<--SPOILER ALERT

<-- Love this summary.

Watch out for Iago in this wonderful summary.

5	IAGO Though in the trade of war I have slain men, Yet do I hold it very stuff o' th' conscience To do no contrived murder. I lack iniquity Sometimes to do me service. Nine or ten times I had thought t' have yerked him here under the ribs.	(Act 1, Scene 2, lines 1-30).
	OTHELLO 'Tis better as it is.
10 15	IAGO     Nay, but he prated And spoke such scurvy and provoking terms Against your honor That, with the little godliness I have, I did full hard forbear him. But I pray you, sir, Are you fast married? Be assured of this: That the Magnifico is much beloved And hath in his effect a voice potential As double as the Duke’s. He will divorce you, Or put upon you what restraint and grievance The law (with all his might to enforce it on) Will give him cable.
20 25	OTHELLO     Let him do his spite. My services which I have done the signiory Shall out-tongue his complaints. 'Tis yet to know— Which, when I know that boasting is an honor, I shall promulgate. I fetch my life and being From men of royal siege, and my demerits May speak unbonneted to as proud a fortune As this that I have reached. For know, Iago, But that I love the gentle Desdemona, I would not my unhousèd free condition Put into circumscription and confine For the sea’s worth. But look, what lights come yond?

The Seven Sided Life Of Liesel Meminger

The Seven Sided Die is a chapter in part 5 of the Book Thief.  I will be talking about the figurative meaning of each side.

Click the pictures of the dice for links.

The first side of the die in the book is about the haircut Liesel gave Max.  But of course this meant more than just cutting the of the hair.  It showed that Liesel was not afraid of failure and, in fact, accepted it. It also showed that Max trusted Liesel.

The second side of the die is about how Liesel brings newspapers to Max whenever she can, and if she can it makes her day.  This side of the die does not only represent the extreme friendship between Liesel and Max that no one really understands, it also shows Liesel's dedication to Max.

The Weather Man is when Liesel gives Max A weather forecast.  This reminds you that Max hasn't been outside for a long time and when Liesel comes back and tells max about the Weather He draws what Liesel said and makes a story about it.

The fourth side of the die is about Max fighting Hitler in his dreams.  Eventually Max fights back to Hitlers relentless punching and knocks Hitler over.  But, once Hitler got backup he told the crowd, which represents the citizens of Germany, that they need to help themselves by helping him destroy the Jewish Scum.  They then all come and punch him till he wakes up, or if he is daydreaming, snaps out of it.

The fifth side is just Max telling Liesel about his day dreaming.  Except Max tells her that he wins.

 This is where Liesel walks down the basement to see Mama, Papa, and Max painting over pages of Mein Kampf for Max's next book.  As far as I could tell this part didn't really have a figurative meaning.

This is the longest section of this chapter.  Liesel and Rosa lose their last customer, the Mayor.  The Mayors wife gives Liesel the book "The Whistler" and hopes it makes up for their loss. Unfortunately Liesel did not accept it.  Once Liesel reached the sign that said "STEINER-SCHNEIDER-MEISTER"   she decided to turn around and go back to the mayors house. She threw the Whistler back at the mayors wife's feet and then beats her up with words.  As she does this Liesel see's her brother's ghost, I guess that's what it was, and decided not to listen to him trying to get her to stop.

The Standover Man

From pages 221-236 Liesel finds a "book" that the Jew that is hiding in her basement wrote.  Of course more happened in this chapter.  Max the Jew came to the door of the Hubermanns.  Hans and Rosa had to let him in because Hans owed Max's dad a favor.  They where friends in the army but max's Father died.  Max lives in the basement hiding from the Germans.  Liesel slowly teaches him how to read and write. Of course that is how Max wrote "The Standover Man".  Its about how people always stood over him and were more important then him.  But in the end he discovers that the most important stand over man to him wasn't actually a man but just a girl, Liesel.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Hans owes the Vandenburg's a favor because Max's father saved Hans' life during WWI

Liesel brought Max extra food.  She helped him learn to read and write by writing on the wall in the basement with Han's paint.

Look Here Too

The Book of Fire

Liesel now stole her second book!  Of course as you can tell from the title she steals it from fire.  The Nazis were burning books and as the fire was burning out Liesel reached in and grabbed a book.  She stole it after little hesitation.  At first it was to hot to hide because it was hot.  But it was wet to so it wasn't burning.  After a while she was able to put it into her coat and there you have it, book #2, stolen.  After the book got to hot in her shirt she pulled it out and showed it to Hans,  then she realized it was called The Shoulder Shrug.

Click on the picture.

Liesel's third book came to her, she didn't steal it. Of course she didn't exactly like it, because it was written by Hitler.  Mein Kampf.  Liesel gets it from Hans after he buys it for a few cigs.  This is book number three in Liesels very special collection of books.