Differences And Similarities Between Othello And Oj Simpson

A black man is respected by many at a time when few other members of his race are able to break through the racial barriers of the white dominated country he calls home. He falls in love with and marries a white girl. However, he is to see his fall from grace through his relationship with his wife. A wife he physically abuses and later murders. This scenario is true for two men, O.J. Simpson and Othello. One is the fictional Venetian general from the 1603 Shakespeare play. The other, one of the greatest American athletes of the 20th century. While these two may appear to be two very different men, their stories bear many similarities.

In the 1603 play Othello by William Shakespeare, the main character, Othello, is a Moor living in Venice

Simpson was an African-American male who rose to prominence during an era of American history of much racial tension. Simpson played college football for the University of Southern California during the 1960s, at a time when a substantial amount of the country was under racial segregation. In 1968, just four years after the passing of the Civil Rights Act and the same year as the passing of the Voting Rights Act, O.J. Simpson won the Heisman Trophy, the highest honor or award for a college football player. Simpson transcended racial barriers by winning the highest award available in his field at a time when African-Americans were not seen as fully equal under the law. Simpson went on to have a successful career playing in the National Football League where he won two Super Bowls and broke records by becoming the first player to rush two thousand yards in a season. Doing so made him well respected in the predominantly white United States. Simpson was so respected that ABC News once referred to him as “an American icon” who was “revered” by the public(Deutsch et al.). Simpson eventually married a young white woman named Nicole Brown. Simpson physically abused Brown throughout their marriage and is believed to have murdered her. Brown was murdered after being stabbed over 20 times on June 12, 1994 and in a highly criminal case, Simpson was acquitted on the charge of murdering her. The murder of Brown and the trial led to Simpson’s fall from grace in

Simpson, there are many similarities to be noticed. Both Othello and Simpson were respected black males in a white dominated society, Othello in Venice and O.J. in 20th century America . Both Othello and Simpson married white women younger than them, Othello married Desdemona and Simpson married Nicole Brown. Both Othello and Simpson physically abused their wives. Othello murdered his wife, Desdemona, because he was angered by claims that she was cheating on him. Simpson was accused of murdering his wife, Nicole, for the same reason. Both Othello and Simpson believed that their situations with their wives were caused by their immense love for them. Othello committed suicide due to emotional regret over murdering his wife while Simpson contemplated suicide due to his emotional reaction to the death of his ex-wife and the allegations that he murdered