Racism And Racism In Othello

Racism has always been a prevalent social force in European society; it is a lens through which every person living within has an altered view of the world around them. In literature, this topic has been widely explored, but few works provide as bold and as insightful commentary on the role of race as relative to the time period in which they were written as Shakespeare’s play “Othello.” In this tragic drama, the powerful racism hanging over the Venetian State in the 16th century contributes to the deteriorating self image of Othello, leading him to enact his own tragic downfall. This emphasizes the work’s theme of jealousy as an all-consuming evil that can make even the greatest of men succumb to their own wickedness and corruption. From

He is often the victim of direct insults towards his race, as well as the perception held by others that he as a person is no more than his skin color. An example of this when Roderigo refers to him as “thick-lips,” a trait of his race, rather than his personal identity (I, i, 66). Iago, the story’s villain, is particularly guilty of reducing Othello to this single trait in his animal depictions, referring to him as a “black ram” (I, i, 88) and a “barbary horse” (I, i, 110) in an attempt to emphasize the primitive nature of his kind. There is continued racism targeted at Othello in the form of the rejection of interracial marriage. When Othello marries Desdemona, the noble, white daughter of senator Brabantio, Brabantio accuses him of witchcraft with no basis other than the belief that under normal circumstances, his white daughter would have no reason to love a black man. Iago emphasizes this disgust, claiming that Othello is “tupping” Brabantio’s “white ewe” (I, i, 89). Through these established racist views, we are able to infer that Othello’s race strengthens the negative opinions some other characters have of him. Roderigo dislikes Othello more intensely for marrying Desdemona