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Race in our society
Racial discrimination in today's society
Racial discrimination impact on society
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Racism Destroys Self-Identity A society consists of different cultures with people of diverse looks, values, and beliefs. In a world with one predominant culture, those perceived as different from the norm are associated with negative images, treated inferior to the superior culture. The negative images associated with color, specifically blackness, has a detrimental effect on the victims who are racially stereotyped. The character of Othello is a unique character in English literature, because unlike the other members of society, Othello was an outsider in Venice, a black man living in a white world, marrying a white woman, and leading white men as a soldier. Othello is persuaded that his wife, Desdemona, is cheating on him leading him to …show more content…
Self-identity is linked to racial and culture identities. By being perceived as dangerous, a black man is taught to associate himself with ugliness and fear, conforming to the culture of the white society and in turn destroying his social identity. Racism subjects the victims as “immoral human beings, which challenge the humanity and social racial identity of African Americans” (Cowhig 157). For examples, Brent Staples is a reputable and educated man, attending the university of Chicago, but people are quick to assume that a “youngish black man-a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket seemed menacingly close” (Staples 314) to a woman one late evening in an impoverished section of Chicago. As a black man, Staples understood “that being perceived as dangerous is a hazard in itself” (Staples 310). Therefore, he accepts his treacherous conditions and conforms to white values and beliefs. He destroys his self-identity, becoming a white-face, in exchange for security and safety. For examples, Staples waited to leave a building or enter the subway until the nervous white people around left, walked in the daylight rather than at night, started wearing business clothes rather than jeans, and sang songs depicting white culture such as Beethoven and Vivaldi. The black man conforms to white culture, seeing …show more content…
By not even recognizing the black population as human beings, society is instilling long-term psychological effects on a person. Racism creates feelings of inferiority, destroys self-identity, and damages mental health. Studies of discrimination and mental health indicate effects of “depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and psychological disorder” (Ruma 35). Othello’s deterioration from a rational, peaceful, and calm man to an irrational, violent, and impulsive man was driven by the color prejudice and racism. The negative images associated with the black color has long-lasting effects on the self-esteem of the victims. It is imperative that racism is minimized in society to save any more innocent lives from being physically, mentally, and emotionally destroyed by racism, as the lives of Othello, Desdemona, Emilia, and Roderigo serve truth to this fact. Psychological effects of racism is not temporary, it has affected the lives of the black population in the past and continue to do in the present. The injustice of racism is a prevalent problem, as the forms of racism has taken different forms in accordance with the changing times, but the long-lasting psychological effects of racism is painful and
In this narrative essay, Brent Staples provides a personal account of his experiences as a black man in modern society. “Black Men and Public Space” acts as a journey for the readers to follow as Staples discovers the many societal biases against him, simply because of his skin color. The essay begins when Staples was twenty-two years old, walking the streets of Chicago late in the evening, and a woman responds to his presence with fear. Being a larger black man, he learned that he would be stereotyped by others around him as a “mugger, rapist, or worse” (135).
Being the only black man in a white society makes him an outcast in the play. He is referred to as “The Moor” and his relationship with Desdemona is “in a period when such a marriage would be rare and controversial” (Baker and Womack 1534). As Othello’s social prejudice became a conflict, his self-esteem diminishes and Iago uses this to his advantage. Iago begins to imply that Desdemona is being unfaithful to Othello and that she prefers her “type” of class that he will never belong to. Since Cassio is more of her race, class and age, Desdemona would prefer someone like him instead of Othello. Iago uses the fact of Desdemona betrayed her father by marrying Othello and implements to Othello that having betraying her father, is very likely to betray him. Knowing that women in that time period were unfaithful proofs to Othello that Desdemona would be unfaithful as well and ignited him. Gradually, Iago wears down Othello with jealousy to the extent that Othello is believing him and now is turning against Desdemona. Iago has created a trustworthy bond between Othello and himself creating lies and promotes him to lieutenant. Mostly, Iago takes over Othello’s mind by using his insecurity against
The play “Othello, the Moor of Venice” by William Shakespeare can be difficult to comprehend but has a deeper meaning. Othello is an African American and was not accepted by Desdemona’s family, in which he was accused with bewitching Brabantio’s daughter into running away with him to Cypress. Othello and Desdemona started their lives together, thinking that it would last a lifetime. Iago ruined their marriage because he is envious of Cassio, due to the fact that he was chosen by Othello to be the lieutenant. Iago manages to manipulate and convince Othello that Desdemona is unfaithful to him. This leads to Othello being easily misled and being very easily influenced. While Iago was lying to Othello and him believing the lies, it made Othello have no faith or trust in his wife, even though Iago had no proof. Iago convinced Othello that Desdemona had an affair with Cassio. The play shows the theme of revenge “Killing myself, to die upon a kiss” in which Othello
Several lines in this speech suggest that Othello starts to blame himself. One in which is “Haply, for I am black/ And have not those soft parts of conversation/ That chamberers have, or for I am declined/ Into the vale of years” (263 – 266). He thinks because he is of a different color that his wife is no longer in love with him. This bring into the subject of interracial marriage. To this day many oppose the marriage of blacks and whites. Not knowing what to think at this point in the play, Othello conjure ups the idea that the being blacks has caused his wife, Desdemona, to cheat on him with a younger, fit soldier. Not knowing that this is false he asks his wife many times if this is true.
Shakespeare possibly uses Othello to address his fellow citizens’ beliefs and misconceptions about people with physical variations. His use of Othello, the Moor, as the protagonist, and Iago, the Venetian, as the antagonist, fundamentally deviates from the current view of different ethnic groups. Although the color black is viewed as “evil,” Shakespeare also places separation between the color and the inherent goodness or evilness of the human race (Orkin 166-167,170,173). This device allows Shakespeare to portray the “human” aspect of the Moor, an assimilated, civilized Christian. Although his character can be viewed as elab...
The play is a story of a black hero in the white community at an era of alteration from racist past to a less biased future. During this social transform period, a black Moor is able to be promoted over other white men and therefore Othello is in a higher ranking than most of white people in Venetian society. However, during this period of alteration, many social disciplines and social understanding are arbitrary. On one side, the society promotes a certain degree of racial equality by having black Moor appointed as general. On other side, Othello is alienated in Venetian society because most Venetians see him as an outsider whom is protecting their country. Therefore, Othello only gains respect for his bravery in fighting the war and his reputation for being a skilled general in the army and nothing else like his lieutenant, Cassio is, who comes from an upper class and white race family and has strong social skill. Othello is clearly aware the fact that he is not being recognized as part of Venetian society, yet he cannot do anything to the existing class prejudices. But not only that he is fully aware of presented racial prejudices, this racism has somewhat made him feel racially inferior to other light skinned people around him.
In the Sixteenth century, as we see clearly from Othello and other works of both Shakespeare and Cinthio's original version of Othello, race was a topic of great debate and discussion. Today, in the twenty-first century the debate retains its controversy and passion. However, attitudes towards race have taken a dramatic turn during the last century. In the developed world people are now living in an increasingly cosmopolitan society would undoubtedly be more tolerant and would reject or even be offended by racial discrimination to any person or sections of the community. Openly 'racist' people today are seen as outcasts. Taking this into account, the way a modern audience would react to race and racism in Othello is dependent upon the way in which that modern audience would interpret 'Othello'. This prompts the questions of what sort of message Shakespeare wanted to send to his audience and was Othello the moor portrayed as a tragic hero or did his character eventually come to resemble the prejudices of which he was a victim. Shakespeare also discusses the issue of race with other characters such as the hateful Iago and the prejudices hidden deep in Barbantio.
In William Shakespeare’s Othello, unspoken fears of being an outsider and concerns about his public image contribute to the downfall of a tragic hero named Othello. Othello, a general in the Venetian army’s, final monologue reflects the importance of reputation and the conformity needed to fit his surroundings. He is seen as an outsider of the Venetian culture; he is frequently referred to as “the Moor” and is called an abundance of racial slurs by the Venice born natives. Although Othello never voices his internal struggle to feel accepted by the people around him, his image and physical appearance are some of major issues he faces. Even in the moments before he stabs himself, Othello is more concerned with the legacy he is leaving behind than with the death of his wife, Desdemona. Shakespeare uses Othello’s transformation from a heroic military soldier to a tragic figure to warn of the dangers of obsessing over one’s reputation and the need to feel accepted by society.
Othello: The Moor of Venice is probably Shakespeare's most controversial play. Throughout this work, there is a clear theme of racism, a racism that has become commonplace in Venetian society which rejects the marriage of Othello and Desdemona as anathema. The text expresses racism throughout the play within the language transaction of the dialogue to question the societal ethos established by Othello, thereby making him nothing less than a cultural "other." Furthermore, the character of Desdemona is displayed as mad, or out of her wits, for marrying such an "other," and the audience sees her slip from an angelic state of purity to that of a tainted character. Also, the menacing Iago, a mastermind of deviant rhetoric, is able to play Othello and Desdemona against one another until their marriage fails, while at the same time destroying his adversary and friend, Cassio. Thus Iago has a specific agenda, not only to get back at Othello for choosing Cassio instead of him, but also to make Cassio the victim of his plan to destroy the forbidden marriage referred to by Brabantio as a "treason of the blood" (1.2.166-167). Essentially, Iago is a representative of the white race, a pre-Nazi figure who tries to inform the public of the impurity of Othello and Desdemona's marriage. He demonstrates how this miscegenation is threatening to the existing social order. Thus, through analysis of racism, the play represents the hatred possessed by mankind -- a hate so strong that society sees the mixing with an "other" to be a curse to humanity and a terrible threat to Aryan culture.
Without these categorizations that make up how today’s society think of race, it can be argued that in the play, Othello being a Moor wasn’t important at all to anyone but Othello himself and Iago as Iago uses race to put doubt into Othello’s mind and into the minds of others to further his pursuit of power. The insecurities of Othello, as Neill mentions in his article, are spurred by Iago and Othello eventually becomes to think that Desdemona cheats on him with Cassio because of this (38). Othello’s own insecurities about his race can be seen in Act 3 Scene 3 when Othello says “for I am black and have not those soft parts of conversation that chamberers have” (Lines 265 - 267). Then further in saying “my name, that was as fresh as Dian’s visage, is now begrimed and black as mine own face” (Lines 387 - 389). However, what Neill glosses over in the first quote, is that after Othello says “for I am black and have not those soft parts of conversation that chemberers have” (Lines 265 - 267) he further says “or for I am declined into the vale of years” (Act 3 Scene 3 Lines 267 - 268). It can be argued that Othello’s insecurities are not just about his race, but of his age as well and that his undoing is not just about his race
In the tragedy Othello, Shakespeare creates a mood that challenges the way a person sees his or her self and the world. Subjects like racism, sexism, love, hate, jealously, pride, and trickery are thoroughly developed in the play of Othello to enable the audience to view the characters and also themselves. The Shakespearean tragedy of Othello was written in a time of great racial tensions in England. According to Eldred Jones, in 1600 just three years before Othello was written, Queen Elizabeth proclaimed an Edict for the Transportation of all "negars and blackmoores" out of the country ("Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays 39). It is in this atmosphere that Shakespeare began the masterpiece of Othello, a drama about a noble black Arab general, Othello, who falls in love with and marries, Desdemona, a young white daughter of a senator. From the above knowledge one may conclude that Shakespeare wrote Othello to express that all people, of all ethnicity, are basically the same in human nature. Shakespeare borrowed the idea of Othello from an Italian love story by Giraldi Cinthio. However, Shakespeare focuses more on the differences in color and age between Othello and Desdemona than Cinthio. Shakespeare does this to escalate Othello’s isolation from the rest of Venetian society and to display Othello’s vulnerability due to his color. In the tragedy not only is Othello susceptible to weaknesses but so is every major character . The tragedy reminds humans that even one’s good nature can be taken advantage of for the worse. The drama Othello expresses, through relationships and emotional attitudes, a theme that all humans are vulnerable to destruction even if they are in positions of power and glory.
Othello is a black moor married to a young Venetian woman, causing an insecurity in him when faced with a society that benefits from racist elements. Along with Othello's soldiers, the couple travels from Venice to Cyprus to prepare for battle. Othello's attending ensign, Iago, harbors a secret hatred for the general, and is determined to ruin him. Through ingenious tricks, Othello is lead to believe that his wife, Desdemona, is unfaithful to him. Othello readily admits that Desdemona deserves a more suitable lover, which solidifies Iago's lies into common sense in his mind.
The play has a main character who is black, he's married to a white woman, and he is a general. In Shakespeare’s time there was no such thought for an interracial marriage or any sort of black leadership. Othello, before this play started, overcame the standard of his ‘kind’ by rising through the ranks and becoming a respected general. Everyone, in the play, knew he was black and still listened to him, aside from Iago and Brabantio and Roderigo. He found the love of his life in Desdemona, and that may have been ruined because he may have been unsure of
The character of Othello, by contemporary standards, was curious, perhaps even paradoxical – a black man among the upper echelon of Venetian society and a moor at the head of an army of white Italians. It is not surprising, then, that Othello’s inherently precarious social position would have been a source of anxiety. In fact, as Othello’s perception of his “otherness” grew, so too did his tendency to criticize himself purely on racial grounds. Eventually, this interfered with his ability to love Desdemona as his conception of love operated within strictly racial guidelines. Because Othello’s sense of self-worth was tied inextricably to his sense of acceptance within his community, his ability to love himself gradually declined as he began to associate himself with
Do you think that race has everything to do about who we are? Because people has been discussing that race in “Othello” by William Shakespeare is not an issue in the story. Race is an important part in “Othello.” It is one part of the element that what makes Othello an outsider, even though he has political power and great reputation all around.But due to all of the doubtness to his experiences, is because he is black. Based on the race in Othello is important in the story based on the Racist insults, how the story would have changed, and weakest target.