Any paper mentioning Walt Kowalski deserves an A.

Laura Hollowell, Period 1, February 13, 2012, Reflective Essay

            Often in today’s world, things are praised that deserve little. Drugs, violence and pre-marital sex are often portrayed as desirable activities, while dishonesty and lies are seen as normal. To stand up to such evil is what all are called to do, yet few respond. There are those, however, that stare down the face of evil and triumph for good. Emilia, Walt Kowalski and Chen Guangcheng all register victories for justice by standing up for what they believe in.

            During the first four acts of Othello, Emilia is seen as a common character; she is married to the villain but does little to stand out to the audience. However, she heightens the climax by revealing the lies and deceptions her husband has created. “Good gentlemen, let me have leave to speak: 'Tis proper I obey him, but not now. Perchance, Iago, I will ne'er go home” (Emilia, Othello, V, ii, 195-197). In a time when women were to be seen and not heard, Emilia spoke out for those who could not, eventually loosing her life. She embodies Othello’s theme of speaking up for one’s convictions because did just that.

            There is another character that embodies Othello’s theme of standing up for what is right. Walt Kowalski, played by Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino, is not the typical hero; he is violent, racist, and judgmental. However, when a gang permanently ruins the lives of the people he loves, he offers up himself completely, taking the wrath of evil to save those around him. He has the courage to tell the gang what they do not want to hear, but more importantly, he has the bravery to take their retaliation. His character mirrors Emilia’s in the sense that he does what is right without counting the cost.

           While Walt Kowalski was not a typical hero, the final man truly highlights the universality of the theme: Chen Guangcheng. Living in China under the “one-child” policy, Chen has worked as a lawyer, exposing over 130,000 forced abortions and sterylizations in his community of Linyi, China. He was sentenced by the Chinese government to four and a half years of prison, but upon release was placed under house arrest. He is beaten frequently, but managed to send out a video detailing his imprisonment. By standing up to authority and exposing other’s lies, Chen is much like Emilia; they both believe in defending the silent and standing up for truth.

            Emilia presents Othello’s theme of standing up with courage to defend what is right. Walt Kowalski and Chen Guangcheng are proof of that theme’s timelessness and universality. Today, even hundreds of years after it was written, Othello speaks of what all humans yearn for: courage and love. While there are many other themes in the play that are applicable to life today, this is the most important and universal.

Works Cited

"Chen Guangcheng: Amnesty Urgent Action." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media         Limited, 12 Nov. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2012.     <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/13/amnesty-urgent-action-chen-   guangcheng>.

Gran Torino. Dir. Clint Eastwood. Perf. Clint Eastwood and Bee Vang. Warner Brothers,       2008. Film.

Perrine, Laurence. “Othello”. Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Fort     Worth. Harcourt College. 2002, 1 361-462. Print.