Impact of Race in Othello
One of the major issues in Shakespeare's Othello is the impact of the race of the main character, Othello. His skin color is non-white, usually portrayed as African although some productions portray him as an Arabian. Othello is referred to by his name only seventeen times in the play. He is referred to as "The Moor" fifty-eight times. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) states that a Moor is "Any individual of the swarthy races of Africa or Asia which have adopted the Mohammedan religion. In Spanish history the terms Moo, Saracens, and Arabs are synonymous." This indicates that Othello is constantly being degraded and set up as an evil person throughout the play. What this really means is that Othello is being judged by his skin color rather than the person under the skin. The view that whites and non-whites are equal is a relatively new concept in our society. In institutionalized racism, such as American slavery, those of a different color were often viewed as inferior. As Shakespeare wrote Othello, this idea was becoming quite prominent as England entered the African slave trade. One can look at the racial issues from the perspective of color, slavery, and society.
There are many references in the play to indicate that Othello was dark colored. The first image we, as a reader, are given of Othello is that of a black ram having sexual relations with Desdemona (1.1.89-90). Later on in the play, there are many other references to Othello's color and race. Desdemona's father, Brabantio, is appalled to learn that his daughter is having a relationship with a "sooty bosom" (2.3.27). Emilia refers to Othello as a black devil (5.2.132). Othello even calls himself black (3.3.265). Iago also...
... middle of paper ...
...hello is driven mad by the force of Iago's suggestions, indicating that he is merely a victim of another man's jealousy.
Works Cited
1 Norman Sanders, ed. Othello. Cambridge: New York, 1995: 12.
2 C. W. Slights. "Slaves and Subjects in Othello," Shakespeare Quarterly v48 Winter 1997: 382.
3 C. W. Slights. 380.
4 Norman Sanders, ed. 10.
5 J. Adelman. "Iago's Alter Ego: Race as Projection in Othello," Shakespeare Quarterly v48 Summer 1997: 130.
6 C. W. Slights. 388.
Works Consulted
Bradley, A. C.. Shakespearean Tragedy. New York: Penguin, 1991.
Di Yanni, Robert. “Character Revealed Through Dialogue.” Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Literature. N. p.: Random House, 1986.
Muir, Kenneth. Introduction. William Shakespeare: Othello. New York: Penguin Books, 1968.
But the ants that showed up at our experiment were total morons. You'd watch one, and it would sprint up to a Cocoa Krispie, and then stop suddenly, as if saying: "Yikes! Compared with me, this Cocoa Krispie is the size of a Buick!" then it would sprint off in a random direction. Sometimes it would sprint back; sometimes it would sprint to another Cocoa Krispie and act surprised again. but it never seemed to do anything. There were thousands of ants behaving this way, and every single time two of them met, they'd both stop and exchange "high-fives" with their antennas, along with, I assume, some kind of ant pleasantries ("Hi Bob! "No, I'm Bill!" "Sorry! You look just like Bob!"). This was repeated millions of times. I watched these ants for two days, and they accomplished nothing. It was exactly like highway construction. It wouldn't have surprised me if some ants started waving orange flags to direct other insects around the area.
This is at core a pitiful story which encompasses of ruthlessness and miseries endured by Ishmael Beah. All the trials in this story are chronologically prescribed and heart sobbing, in which a person who reads can in time weep while interpreting.
J. Adelman. "Iago's Alter Ego: Race as Projection in Othello," Shakespeare Quarterly v48 Summer 1997: 130.
—. SEC Charges KBR and Halliburton for FCPA Violations. 19 February 2009. Web. 7 February 2014. .
Orkin, Martin. “Othello and the “plain face” Of Racism.” 2nd ed. Vol. 38. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 166-88. Shakespeare Quarterly. Folger Shakespeare Library in Association with George Washington University, Summer 1987. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. .
How has your character changed in the book? What main events those lead to this change? How does the author show this change in writing?
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.
Neill, Michael. "Unproper Beds: Race, Adultery, and the Hideous in Othello." Critical Essays in Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony Gerard Barthelemy.
With clear references to Othello’s ‘thick lips’ and ‘old black ram’ being linked very closely to his portrayal and respect that he has in this play. The argument that has disputed the involvement of either all white or all black characters, but I believe that it is important to keep the cast the way Shakespeare wrote it because of the clear divide and isolation it makes it commendable and stimulating. It could be argued that Shakespeare was indeed creating racial difference or that he was allowing Othello’s personal flaws to instead create his isolated and jealous breakdown. Othello is presented as having inherent bravery and virtue, yet he is corrupted and ironically ‘blackened’ by Iago the white male character whose manipulative lies and deception eventually destroy him. Othello’s last obituary is resonant and controlled. It is seen that in fact this emotional explanation of his love life, last moments and his great deed was actually problematic for the audience to accept due to the speculation that these ideas were in fact false throughout this
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.
Shakespeare, William. "Othello". The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1997.
Adelman, Janet. “Iago's Alter Ego: Race as Projection in Othello.” Shakespeare Quarterly 48.2 (1997): 125-44. JSTOR. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Warnken, Henry L. “Iago as a Projection of Othello.” Shakespeare for Students: Critical Interpretations of Shakespeare’s Plays and Poetry. Detroit: Gale, 1992. Gale Power Search. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
...ecome frightened of her own fate. Overwhelmed with despair she ripped herself open and her blood spilled onto the Earth, filling the deep crevices with pools of Water, creating streams and lakes to nature the world. Ire, seeing what had become of his kind, surrendered much like the Creatures and promised the Women that if he be spared he’d live only to serve the needs of Humans. The Women then searched for Aer for days, all across Earth and the Universe. However, Aer was a trickster and evaporated into the Air, forever changing shapes so that the Humans could never fully catch them.
Adelman, Janet. “Iago's Alter Ego: Race as Projection in Othello.” Shakespeare Quarterly 48.2 (1997): 125-44. JSTOR. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.