Textual Analysis 29 April 2015 But seriously, was it reallythatbad? Say someone tells you two different stories about a crime; one has the crime as a major plot element while the other has a similar crime that is mentioned once to show a little background on a character’s situation and is then never brought up again. Would you view the crimes on the same level of immoral because they are similar crimes, or one higher than the other because there is more plot and story to it? One would hope the crimes would be viewed the same because they are both equally bad, but sometimes that just is not the case. There are many reasons why this could be. The crime might be petty, or it could depend on the person who commits the crimes character, or many other reasons. A person’s motivation for the crime or position of power they are in could completely change the view of the crimes they commit. There are a number of terrible things people can and have done to others for many reasons, be they for revenge, personal gain, or even just for the sake of doing it. Of all the wicked things a person can do to another however, rape is one of the worst. Rape is the act of forcing unwanted sexual acts and/or intercourse upon another without their consent. There is a common misconception about rape being that it is about an individual being too overcome by lust to control themselves and that the victim brought it on themselves somehow and that is not the case. Too often is the case believed to be the victim enticed their attacker with how they spoke or dressed and that is a fallacy. Rape is all about power and control. It is about one individual taking control of other and it is always the abusers fault. That being said, while the completion of the act is terrible and damaging, the intent and attempt of the act is almost just as

bad and can also leave behind serious problems to victims. In the case of the following stories, those consequences of the actions would have resulted in child pregnancy and the metaphorical ending of a victims life. In two of Shakespeare’s plays, Measure for Measure and the Tempest, the issue of attempted rape rears its ugly head. In Measure for Measure, there are the characters of Isabella, a young woman whose only goal in life is to be a nun, who is propositioned by the Deputy Angelo, a corrupt and hypocritical man with a lot of power, to have sex with him to save her brother’s life. It is not strictly stated that this is an attempt at rape, but is more seen as an attempt at seduction. However, if she had had sex with Angelo, he would have used his power to force that on her, which is rape. In the Tempest, there are the characters of Miranda, the daughter of the rightful heir to the throne of Mulan, and Caliban, the son of an evil witch and a devil, who had at an undisclosed time attempted to rape her to repopulate his island and take control over it.