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Amanita Diallo is a young African woman who was taken from her home in Bayo, Africa at a young age. Othello was a dark skinned make he was an articulate and competent general, who was respected by some. They suffered many trials for being a different skin color. Aminata and Othello where abundant in education which was very intelligent which was infrequent and suffered betrayal, yet their mindset contributed to different outcomes. Throughout the story of "The Book of Negroes" Aminata suffered most of her life trials and tribulations. After being sold to work in an indigo plantation Aminata is raised by Georgia, an older woman, who continues to help Aminata form her identity and rise against the plantation owner, Robinson Appleby for mistreating
In conclusion, Aminata is working for the Abolitionists in London, England, when she is older. She is able to dress herself now however she sees fit and this seems to represent the freedom that she has won. On the other hand, does she really possess freedom, since she is still being used and manipulated for a cause, this cause being the end of the slave trade routes in Britain, and not the end of the practice of slavery? In telling her story, Hill makes the reader understand how dehumanizing slavery was and that it started with nakedness.
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill is a story taken time in 1700s, during the period known as the Atlantic Slave Trade where mass number of Africans are transported to New World as slave. The story is told in the view of a African women named Aminata Diallo, of her experience in slavery from childhood to adulthood. Aminata was taken from Africa and sold in to slavery since her childhood, and lose her freedom and human right when she enters North America as slave. She suffered from slavery for most of her life, and witness many cruel events during her time as slave. Aminata is portrayed in the book as an independent and clever women, she has a strong sense of value toward family that was developed since her childhood, this characteristic continued to develop on Aminata after she is forced to become a slave and last until the final moment of her life. Aminata treasures her family and this value gives her both the pain and happiness during her life in slavery. Aminata encounter many people whom she cares as family in her life, and the interaction with these people provide Aminata with courage and joy, but the lose of these people also gives Aminata pain beyond imagine. This value of family or the bond between parent and children is one of the main theme in the novel The Book of Negroes, Aminata's love toward her family members give her the strength and courage that contributes in developing her strong characteristic and supported her in slavery and hardship.
These people are named Georgia and Mamed. Georgia is seen as a mother figure and guardian to Aminata. She teaches Aminata the so called rules that everyone must abide by in order to stay alive. One of the things she learns is that she must never call a white person white. Georgia says: “You call a white man white, he beat you black and blue.” (p.147). Georgia also teaches her two languages: Gullah and English. Gullah is the language of the slaves. Mamed and Aminata meet in a different manner though. He catches her praying which is forbidden and instead of punishing her, they become close friends. From Mamed, she learns how to read and understand the language of the slave owners. It is a serious offence if anyone were to find out but it is an asset for her to have in her difficult life. Both these characters play a crucial role in Aminata’s life and aid her in developing from a child to a young adult. These traits that are passed down to her help her live the best life possible under the most deplorable
Many actors throughout the centuries have performed William Shakespeare’s Othello, both on stage and in film. A few famous actors to have played Othello include Richard Burbage, Edmund Kean, Ira Aldridge, Orson Welles, James Earl Jones, and Laurence Fishburne (Arogundade). Othello was described as a Moor by Shakespeare, despite this, Othello was usually performed by white actors that would wear blackface makeup. Not only were women not allowed to perform in theatre, neither were African-Americans. However, one of the first African-Americans to perform on stage was Ira Aldridge. Ira Aldridge was the first African-American man to perform as Othello, presumably making Aldridge one of the most iconic actors to have portrayed Othello. Although there have been dozens of famous portrayals of Othello, Ira Aldridge was one of the most illustrious actors to have played Othello because of his early life, previous acting jobs, and the risks he took to play Othello, in spite of how critics reacted in his time.
Many older plays or movies are remade to appeal to a different age of people. These renditions often follow the same story line with only subtle differences to be more appealing. Many of Shakespeare’s plays have been made into movies to enhance the studying or understanding of his plays. An example of this would be Othello which has been created into a movie called “O”. Othello and “O” both follow the same story line. The similarities between them make "O" an excellent rendition of the play. Othello by William Shakespeare and “O” directed by Tim Nelson are very similar in many ways; however, they have distinct differences in their Protagonists. The heinous villain, Iago from Othello and the devious teenager, Hugo from “O” have many of the
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:
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.
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.
An aspect of reading Othello that cannot be overlooked is the issue of race in the play. Attitudes towards race in Elizabethan England were negative. If we look at representations of different races in theatre of the period, we find that there are many negative connotations through the language that arise. The Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice says “Mislike me not for my complexion.” (The Merchant of Venice.) This foreshadows some of the language of Othello. This however is quite soft language when we consider how Elizabethan theatre represented other races as being violent and bloodthirsty. In this we have, “In the night-time secretly would I steal to travellers’ chambers, and there cut their throats.” (The Jew of Malta.) This was said by the Turkish character in Marlowe’s, “The Jew of Malta.” Furthermore in, The Battle of Alcazar we have, “Dammed let him be, dammed and condemned to bear. All torments, tortures, plagues and pains of hell.” So as you can see through out Elizabethan theatre this villainous image of black men, and blackness in general was prevalent. In this period in London it wasn’t necessarily a common place for blacks but there were defiantly African Americans living in London. They appear in England in the late 16th century, and it was not entirely uncommon for people of wealth to have black musicians, servants, and even Queen Elizabeth had black musicians in her service. However, in 1596 she tried to have them all expelled. What historians have found is that there were hardly any really expelled, because people who had black servants in their household, refuse to give them up because there was no compensation. According to Imtiaz Habib, Shakespeare would have definitely ...
Shakespeare's Othello is not simply a play which embodies the conflict between insider and outsider. The paradigm of otherness presented in this play is more complicated than the conclusion, "Othello is different; therefore, he is bad." Othello's character is to be revered. He is a champion among warriors; an advisor among councilmen; a Moor among Venetians. Yes, Othello is a Moor, but within the initial configuration of the play, this fact is almost irrelevant. His difference is not constructed as “otherness.” Othello, by his nature, is not an “otherized” character. Besides being the dark-skinned Moor, Othello varies in no real way from the other characters in the play. Further, Othello and Iago can be seen as two sides of the same destructive coin. With Iago as a foil and subversive adversary, Othello is not faulted for the indiscretions he commits. It is the invention and projection of otherness by various characters in the play, especially Iago, which set the stage for the tragedy of dissimilarity which is to ensue.
Othello as a Black Man in a White Society Shakespeare's play,Othello, explores themes of love and passion, 'otherness', jealousy, revenge and order vs. Chaos, which all revolve mainly around the protagonist, Othello. Surrounded by Venetians within a white society, Othello begins to realise his 'otherness' thus his insecurities as an outside and a "Moor" increase. The deceptive Iago uses these dangerous blemishes in Othello's personality to manipulate the moral Othello, using his one fatal flaw, jealousy. During the 16th Century, the Elizabethan audiences' attentiveness and familiarity of the thin line between order and chaos would have added to the tragic story of Othello.
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.
Othello and Iago Comparison Othello and Iago are different in their characters as well as in their colours. It could be said also, however, that they are similar because of their fallibility. Iago is overcome with his desire for revenge to such an extent that he puts it into action. Othello's love and possessiveness of Desdemona take over him until he eventually would rather kill her than allow anyone else to have her. In this way, despite their contrasts, Iago and Othello both represent the extremity of the same thing - human emotion.
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.
You are the screenplay writer who is responsible for the new, contemporary film version of Othello, writing the script based on Shakespeare’s play. In an interview with the openly homosexual interviewer, Ellen DeGeneres, you discuss how this play’s elements such as the society’s stance on women, and the social context around it, will appeal to the audience. ‘The secrets of Desdemona’ director Tate Taylor talks about the film's controversial racist scenes and more In last week’s episode, Ellen’s guest, Tate Taylor, the director of the upcoming contemporary version of Shakespeare’s Othello, discussed the details of his new film, and how he approached the various scenes of the play this time around. Screenplay, director and executive producer, Tate Taylor, explained how he plans on making the new Othello film hugely unpredictable, “I wanted to be able to explore the point of view of a woman.