My name is Addison Goethe, and I am a candidate for the International Baccalaureate Diploma, as part of the AC Flora Class of 2024. I have always been fascinated with other cultures, history, and current events. As part of my IB Diploma I researched and wrote my Extended Essay on how have geographic, historical, economic, and political factors shaped recent immigration policies and the national identity of Germany and Hungary. Throughout my life, I have learned that hard work has the power to yield great results. As a testament to my hard work and vision for a brighter future for myself and the world, I was accepted to and will be attending the University of Richmond in the fall. I plan to major in Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law (PPEL) and minor in leadership studies. I also plan to concentrate in politics. I am excited to learn from the young minds of others, especially within the unique seminars and curriculum of my major. Furthermore, through my major, I have the opportunity to hear open dialogue on a number of subjects, such as political and economic based discussions. As humans, it is within our very nature to have different ideas and disagreements. Yet, as society becomes more politically polarized, the importance of openly sharing ideas without being dismissed or struck down cannot be understated. This concept was reinforced during my experience at the 76th session of the American Legion Auxiliary Palmetto Girls State. This week provided the unique opportunity to hear from people that despite being from a similar geographic location, hold a variety of viewpoints, distinctive on their own accord. Beyond college, I intend to go to law school, earn my juris doctorate and pass the bar exam. With a license to practice law, I want to better the lives of others. Healthcare law is particularly important to me. My grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease three years ago and due to rising costs, he no longer can afford some of his medications and treatments. As a result, he has joined thousands of Americans, particularly elderly Americans, who are increasingly affected by socioeconomic disparities in health care. This issue has hit close to home and created a gap that I am dedicated to fighting. When I look to the future, I am optimistic. By taking the time to better understand other cultures, their history, and how geography impacts people, I believe the world can change for the better, creating a brighter tomorrow.

Throughout Shakespeare’s "Othello," the play portrays Elizabethan Era society, in which gender roles were rigid in nature and strictly enforced by the people within it. This rigidity in gender roles is demonstrated by the male characters within the play through their rhetoric. In effect, Shakespeare contextualizes gender roles within the Elizabethan Era, showing how males within this society reinforce these roles through dialogue and description of women and the female characters present throughout the play. In such instance, the language and rhetoric of the play’s male characters is reflective of the patriarchal society of the Elizabethan Era and the power dynamics for which women attempted to survive in. Through such rhetoric, the reader’s understanding of such dynamics is developed upon as Shakespeare contextualizes the work. As such, using the rhetoric of male characters, Shakespeare contextualizes gender roles during the Elizabethan Era by demonstrating female societal pressures and expectations, while also showing the consequences women faced in defying the rigid status quo, real or perceived. Shakespeare uses male rhetoric to convey societal pressures to contextualize gender roles in the Elizabethan Era. The language of the male characters function to reinforce traditional roles and expectations, typically for women living in Elizabethan society, and demonstrate women’s value and inferiority in which women were expected to be subservient to men. Throughout the play, Othello’s male characters often speak to or about women in a way that characterizes how women should conduct themselves or behave to suit the desires or misogynistic view held by the men around them. For example, Iago warns Othello stating, “She did deceive her father, marrying you; And when she seemed to shake and fear your looks, She loved them most (Act 3, Scene 3, Lines 206-208). This quotation shows the expectation of women to obey the male figures around them. In such case, women such as Desdemona were expected to obtain 3 permission to marry or otherwise set up by the male guardian in their life. In defying this social pressure to marry according to social guidelines, women were characterized as untrustworthy and disobedient by society around them, having great implications for their reputation and relations with others. Women were also expected to behave in a manner that was considered socially acceptable. This included honoring one’s husband through fidelity and obedience. Yet throughout the play, the male rhetoric of Othello’s characters refers to women as uncontrollable, with Othello describing Desdemona as a “haggard” (Act 3, Scene 3, Line 259). Shakespeare demonstrates in Othello that in Elizabethan society, if men could not control the women around them, then women were simply characterized as wild. Shakespeare also uses male rhetoric to convey social expectations of women to contextualize gender roles in the Elizabethan Era. Throughout the play, Desdemona is characterized by the men around her as the ideal woman, possessing the qualities and manners that were expected of women during the time period. Thus, when Desdemona defies her father and the time period’s social expectations, the judgement of those around her and society is reflected in the rhetoric of the play’s male characters. Her father, Brabantio describes Desdemona stating, “A maiden never bold; Of spirit so still and quiet that her motion Blushed at herself; and she, in spite of nature, Of years, of country, credit, everything, To fall in love with what she feared to look on (Act 1, Scene 3, Lines 94-98). The strong rhetoric of Brabantio demonstrates the concept that women were expected to marry within or above their social class as a means of bringing prominence to one’s family. In Desdemona marrying Othello, she defies this social expectation, marrying someone below her social status and pursuing an interracial relationship. The expected character of a female is also rigidly defined by the male characters within Elizabethan Era society. Through his rhetoric, Othello demonstrates such rigidity, stating “She’s gone. I am abused, and my relief Must be to loathe her. O curse of marriage, That we can call these delicate creatures ours, And not their appetites (Act 3, Scene 3, Lines 265-267). As stated, women were expected to be delicate and pure, while also belonging to the men around them as mere possessions meant to please the male figures in their lives. In the patriarchal society of the Elizabethan Era, men dominated powerful positions within society, controlling every aspect of the lives of women. As a result, men were equipped with the tools needed to outline women’s place in society, as wives, mothers, and homemakers, as well as the behavior of women. Thus, when women stepped outside of such roles and/or social norms with regard to behavior, men often acted to subjugate the women around them. Through the rhetoric of male characters, Shakespeare contextualizes gender roles by demonstrating the consequences of stepping outside the societal norm. In marrying Othello, Desdemona breaks numerous societal rules and faces consequences for such behavior. Brabantio states, “For your sake jewel, I am glad at soul I have no other child, For thy escape would teach me tyranny” (Act 1, Scene 3, Lines 193-195). By marrying Othello without regard or respect to her father’s wishes, Desdemona is effectively disowned by her father. Her father’s rhetoric describing himself as not having a child, shows the steep consequences women faced in challenging the standards established by Elizabethan Era society, showing the role women were expected to play within such rigidity. As exemplified by such instance, women were expected to obey their male counterparts. Defiance resulted in great punishment or consequences by male characters. One such example of this occurs in Act 5 of the play, in which Emilia exposes Iago for his deception. Iago commands Emilia, “Go to, charm your tongue” (Act 5, Scene 2, Line 183). Yet in an act of defiance, her refusal to remain silent results in being stabbed by her husband and subsequent death from her injury. Iago’s rhetoric and Emilia’s defiance of her husband’s speech is symbolic of the consequences women faced in failing to obey the social norms of the time period. In going against the status quo, women faced great punishment, as indicative by the language of Othello’s male characters. Through the rhetoric of male characters, Shakespeare also contextualizes gender roles by demonstrating the consequences of a male figure suspecting a woman of defying the status quo. In Act 3, Iago encourages the suspicions of Othello by planting false accusations in his mind, suggesting he investigate the behavior of Desdemona. Iago states, “I speak not yet of proof. Look to your wife; observe her well with Cassio (Act 3, Scene 3, Lines 196-197). The ease of which Iago is able to convince Othello of Desdemona’s adultery demonstrates the danger women faced if suspected of going against the social expectations within the Elizabethan Era, whether the allegation of unfaithfulness held merit or not. Othello’s actions in the final act of the play, killing Desdemona, shows the great consequences women faced in defying the status quo in dramatic fashion. Othello states, “Therefore confess thee freely of thy sin, For to deny each article with oath Cannot remove nor choke the strong conception That (Act 5, Scene 2, Lines 53-56). In this scenario, Othello’s rhetoric portrays men as a dramatic savior of women from their own sins or deviances. In killing Desdemona, Othello believes he can save her from her alleged yet false adulterous ways and in doing so, his wife will once again be pure and in line with the standards set by Elizabethan Era society. This in part shows, that his actions and rhetoric are also driven by the notion that he must maintain dominance over his wife, having control over her actions in both life and death, demonstrating the scale of the gender hierarchy that existed during the Elizabethan Era that subjugated women to a submissive role. Shakespeare uses the rhetoric of male characters throughout Othello, to illustrate the gender hierarchy and presence of misogyny throughout the Elizabethan Era. The rhetoric of Othello’s male characters shows the burden of social pressures and expectations placed on women. This includes women’s roles as wife, mother, and homemaker. Yet, the behavior of women is another aspect that was often scrutinized in the public eye, in which women faced strict rules and regulations on their behavior. Any such defiance of the pressures and expectations and women encountered stiff punishment and consequences. Othello’s rage and inflamed rhetoric in describing his wife, suspecting her of adultery, represents such consequences in its most extreme form. Likewise, Othello’s belief that Desdemona has been unfaithful indicates the danger simply in being accused of defying the social order. Shakespeare contextualizes gender roles within the Elizabethan Era by showing how the expectations and pressures of being a woman within the time period and the consequences of defying the rigid social order through the rhetoric of the male characters within the play, "Othello."