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Othello racism eassay
Racism in the othello play
Racism in the othello play
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The academic recourse I have chosen, titled Racism in Othello, starts out to by talking about how race has been a problem throughout history. About how your race can affect you depending on what race you are and where you happen to be. It then continues on and explains how Othello is a story that heavily grasps this subject. The writer of this academic paper even goes into great detail so as to prove his point. This resource would be very useful to my paper because it goes into great detail about how racism is present in the story of Othello and it does not stop there. It gives the ‘so what?’ The ‘so what?’ of the racism present is that it affects the main character of the story heavily, thus giving it a story.
The second academic resource I have chosen, titled ‘Proper’ Men and ‘Fallen’ Women; The Unprotectedness of Wives in ‘Othello’, starts out by stating that many Elizabethan and Jacobean plays that are considered tragedies have become known as “domestic tragedies. There is then a more indepth examination and explanation of of both Othello and The Winter’s Tale. The examination and explanation of Othello goes far more indepth than The Winter’s Tale. The paper makes a good argument, backed by a great deal of textual evidence,
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The writer states that the readers of this story are able to connect more with Emilia after the death of Desdemona because she is able to express all the feelings the readers may be feeling at the time. The writer goes on to make a compelling argument that by what she does in the end makes her a type of heroine. While I do like the overall theme and argument of this paper, I will not be using it. The reason for this is that is does not go with the theme of my own paper I plan to
William Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Othello” shows how a manipulative villain can create chaos within a society. The play was written around the year 1603 and takes place in Venice Italy before it is repositioned to Cyprus. This Shakespearean tragedy shows the effects of jealousy, love, desire, betrayal and passion in a society with an imbalance of power in a race, gender, and social position.
American history is a cornucopia of racial tension, beginning with the slave trade and spanning the centuries to the Ku Klux Klan and to the days of Martin Luther King. There is evidence that racial prejudice was just as prevalent in sixteenth century England as in modern day America. Othello can be seen as Shakespeare’s condemnation of racial prejudice.
Essential to the success of Othello is the fact that the issues and themes explored in this tragedy, written by Shakespeare in about 1604, are still relevant to the modern audience. The interest of an audience is held by themes that are fundamental to the human condition, as these reflect our world and examine human nature. Othello explores the issues of racism, gender, domestic violence, the supernatural and the pathology of the entirely evil person, which are all remarkably relevant to our time. Thus the interest of the audience is held, as issues that affect the viewers and readers of the play spark individual opinions, reflection and thought.
To begin, race is the first and clearest of differences between Othello and other major characters. However race is also the least seen issue in the play. Racism is, as stated by Martin Okin “confined to Iago, Roderigo, and Brabantio” (Orkin, “Othello: and the”). Emilia herself has her moments of racism, going from using Moor as a describer of Othello to using it as an insult. Brabantio shows this racism when he discovers that Othello has wed his daughter stating:
Racism in William Shakespeare's Othello. The play, Othello, is certainly, in part, the tragedy of racism. Examples of racism are common throughout the dialogue. This racism is directed toward Othello, a brave soldier from Africa and currently the supreme commander of the Venetian army.
Have you ever thought about how much Othello’s race and the racism around him affected his life? Othello struggled a lot during the play because of his dark skin color. He was called several racist names like “the Moor,” “old black ram,” “Barbary horse,” and “thick lips” (Shakespeare 1.1.40; 1.1.88; 1.1.111; 1.1.66).The term “racism” has been around for several years; it started in the twentieth century (Bartels 433). By the way the Elizabethan era viewed black people was similar to how racism is today with all of the racial comments, and stereotypes. Being a black person in a mostly white ethnicity area at that time had to be challenging based on Othello’s experience. Othello was the black sheep crowded around a herd of white sheep, he was an outcast. Racist comments were made by many of the characters like Iago, Brabantio, Roderigo, and Emilia. If there was an award for most used racial comment towards Othello, Iago would win. Racism in Othello had a tremendous impact on Othello. He was judged by the color of his skin and not his personality. Othello’s race and the racism around him affected his life by ruining his marriage with Desdemona, alienating him from everybody in Venice, and by making him an easy target to be manipulated by Iago.
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.
Racism is just one of the many problems that we have here in the United States today. Racism isn’t as bad as it used to be but it’s still here. In Othello, written by the one and only William Shakespeare, racism is the main theme and focus. England became involved in the slave trade during the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Slights 377). Racism started in the twentieth century after this was written but the way the Elizabethan era viewed black people was similar to how racism is today (Bartels 433). Othello struggled a lot during the play because of his dark skin color. He was called several racist names like “the Moor,” “Old black ram,” “Barbary horse,” and “Thick lips.”
In the 19th century, many scientists supported the belief that the human race could be categorized into different ethnic groups. Racism is generally defined as discrimination, prejudice, or antagonism directed against an individual(s) of a different race or ethnicity based on a certain belief (Brooks). Every society/generation has essentially experienced or been affected by this issue; it has been one of the most malicious aspects of the human race since the beginning of history. This subject continues to be a topic of great debate in modern society, and is one of the most significant themes that play a huge role in worldwide literature. In Othello, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare in the 17th century, racism is certainly displayed
Emilia says that she is “bound to speak” even though Iago has ordered her to stay silent in the face in injustice (V, ii, 220). Enraged by her husband’s villainous acts and the death of her mistress, she tells Othello that she “did give [the handkerchief]” to Iago, dismantling Othello’s rationale for killing Desdemona (V, ii, 269). She dies almost immediately after speaking up, stabbed by her husband, Iago. This shows the audience yet again that going against the orders of a man is dangerous.
This essay will explain what extent racism contributed to Othello’s downfall. Act 3 scene 3 is important because this is the scene where the character of Othello changes.... ... middle of paper ... ... the audience to think that Iago is more to blame than Othello as he is.
This essay will cover the intersection of racism in Othello, with why Othello did not investigate Iago’s accusations against Desdemona, and believed Iago at face value. The three reasons supporting this are; Society already discriminates against Othello, because of his race he was paranoid about Desdemona being influenced by her father’s beliefs, and he was worried about his appearance in the military and society.. These all contributed to Othello immediately believing Iago, and not asking for Desdemona's side of the story. The first point is-
Vanita, Ruth. "'Proper' men and 'fallen' women: the unprotectedness of wives in 'Othello.'" Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 Spring 1994: 341-356. InfoTrac EF Expanded Academic ASAP 1993-April 1996. CD-ROM. Information Access. April 1996.
Firstly, Othello’s race and the racism around him ruined his marriage with Desdemona. Othello and Desdemona was a good couple, but you know what they say, all good things must come to an end. Almost everybody had a problem with their relationship. In that time, interracial relationships and marriage wasn’t allowed. While Brabantio was sleeping, Iago and Roderigo woke him up out of his sleep saying that Othello was having sex with his daughter Desdemona at that very moment. Brabantio didn’t believe them at first, but when he found out that they were telling the truth and his white daughter was with “the Moor” Othello, he didn’t take it lightly. He couldn’t believe that she would want to be with someone like Othello. He said that Othello must’ve used some type of magic to get Desdemona to fall in love with him. At that time it had to be a miracle for a black person to be with a white person, it was unheard of. Then he started calling Othello a Moor to his face and orders his guards to get him.
Shakespeare's tragic play, Othello, is an amalgam of diverse antecedents, including the generic influences of the ancient Greek and Roman tragedies, Italian fiction, as well as Renaissance history such as the progression of Christian humanism. Additionally, although Shakespeare incorporates some elements of the medieval morality play into Othello, the fact that his play is a tragedy shows how he modifies it from the typical ending found in a morality play. Furthermore, not only does Shakespeare include the stereotypical Englishman's view of the black race during the Elizabethan era, he also modifies it to convey the importance of looking beyond the skin color, showing the progression of a racially prejudice society to one in which people are treated judicially based upon their character.