The Importance of Race in Othello

Being the only different person in the room is hard; constantly being judged, and never actually fitting in; it can drive even the most normal person insane. The Tragedy of Othello by William Shakespeare is a play about a general who is different: the only one who’s black. No one else in Venice is from Africa, and with such a high position in the Venetian military, Othello’s race is almost non-existent, he appears to actually fit in along with the rest of the fair-skinned people. In this play, Shakespeare develops the motif of racism as a seed that grows, and eventually creates a sociopath full of hatred. Overall, racism is a viral disease that encircle us, and subconsciously controls our actions.

The people in Venice replace the awareness of Othello’s race with the great respect that they have for him, which shows how Othello’s capabilities far surpass any racist stereotypes. Even Othello’s false ensign, Iago, says that he cannot appear to hate Othello, because it would do nothing to get rid of him. Afterwards, the duke also says that his “opinion…throws a more safer voice on [Othello]”(i.iii.223) than others at Cyprus. Othello is not a vile black-devil in his professional setting. Instead, he is the lord to Iago, the able-bodied general, and the duke even states that Othello, “is far more fair than black” (I.iii.286). The duke is still aware of Othello’s color, black, but both Iago and the duke take into account the physical strength and virtue of Othello that makes both of those titles void, at least in being able to harm Othello’s position as general.

Othello is not judged for his race in his professional life, and Othello eventually opens up to Desdemona who doesn’t see him as a general, nor does he feel like one ar...

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...ed with Desdemona’s white skin, “Yet I’ll not shed her blood,/ Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow/ And smooth as monumental alabaster” (81). Othello does not want to harm or stain Desdemona’s skin, instead he wants to preserve it as it is, white.

Overall, Shakespeare use of race causes paranoia in Othello, which eventually led to the murder of Desdemona. Race still impacts today’s society, and is still as much of problem now as it was then. Thousands of gangs, which divide themselves by race, kill each other mercilessly. Or even more subtle, a hispanic or latino being alienated in a higher level college. Being different has killed thousands of people, even caused genocide. During WW2 millions of jews were killed by anti-semitic nazi’s.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William, and Jane Coles. Othello. Cambridge, England: Cambridge UP, 1992. Print.