William ShakespeareOthello Graphic Novel (Saddleback's Illustrated Classics)

This is a very helpful text for use with special education and/or low functioning readers in an educational setting. It includes key quotes, but also paraphrases in such a way that students can understand the primary characters and plot without getting overwhelmed.

In these illustrations, Othello is white. Making this change makesbit difficult to understand why Othello feels insecurities as an outsider in hsi community.

As the other reviewer noted, this edition depicts Othello as white, which is a total misread of the play and presents a major block to student comprehension of the story. The central conflict of the play is that Othello is NOT the same race as the Venetian characters. There is a useful conversation to have with students about how the Elizabethans conceived of racial categories or what exactly a Moor would be considered today, but the text itself is very clear about the fact that Othello has dark skin and features consistent with African ancestry (he is referred to as the "black ram" and his hair is compared to dense curls of a sheep). He is perceived as an outsider, culturally, religiously, and racially. The events of the play make little sense if you eliminate this fact.Additionally, most teachers (I teach ESL and ELA) supplement our reading of the text by showing scenes from films. There are no film versions of this play that depict Othello as white. Showing our students a black character on film and then giving them an edition where he's white presents a basic stumbling block to their comprehension of the text.I wish the publishers read these reviewers and that my school could get our money back.