Paper #2 (Option 2*)
Disloyalty, Discrimination, and Departure
Have you ever felt discriminated against due to your race? In Othello by William Shakespeare the theme of race is evident through out the play and is a very critical aspect towards the plot. Since Othello has a strong sense of self he is able to counter-balance the overt racism he is faced with in the beginning because he is respected and has high stature as a war general. Him and his wife lived happily without worrying what others thought of their bi-racial marriage. But, when Othello hears rumors of his wife’s possible infidelity he is soon over-whelmed with feelings of self-consciousness. These substandard feelings due to his race alter Othello’s usual self into a resentful, rage-filled, monster.
People who have once respected Othello soon display racial attitudes towards him for one reason or another. Othello is first presented with racial judgment from his wife’s father Brabantio who accuses Othello of using sorcery to cast a spell on Desdemona to make her fall in love with him. Brabantio gets this idea from Iago and Roderigo who tells him that they are sleeping together “sir, you’re robbed. For shame, put on your gown! ... an old black ram Is tupping your white ewe” (I.i.88-91). Also, Iago easily gets Roderigo to take his side against Othello because Roderigo thinks Iago is going to help him win over his love Desdemona. Roderigo displays racism towards Othello because he is jealous that a man of color was
In Othello every character has their own personalities that makes them the person they are. In Othello there are characters that show true grit, a fixed mindset, and a growth mindset. Each characters are different which makes the book even more interesting. True grit means to endure and push through to do something better no matter what it takes. An example of grit is studying for a long period of time for a test and enduring the amount of work that must be completed. The definition of mindset is the established set of attitude held by someone. There are two other types of mindset as well. There is growth mindset and fixed mindset. Growth mindset is when the person isn 't
Othello by William Shakespeare raises the issue of how rampant beliefs and attitudes in a society can cause a person to question their sense of self. In a society where racial equality is near non-existent, Othello, a black skinned foreigner in the Venetian society, is constantly reminded of his status as an outsider. Othello, however, is not depicted in a stereotypical manner and despite occupying a highly respected position he is often confronted with blatant racism throughout the play. The prevailing attitudes and beliefs of Venetian society towards Othello are exploited by Iago in order to manipulate Othello’s self confidence and emotional state.
Shakespeare is known for his use of recurring themes throughout his work, including love, death and betrayal. These themes are present in his work of Othello. However, the most fundamental issue is jealousy. The lives of the characthers in Othello are ruined by jealousy from the beginning to the end of the play. The telling of the story is carried out by passion, jealousy, and death. Shakespeare’s Othello reveals devastating tragic inevitability, stunning psychological depth, and compelling poetic depth; the fragility and mysterious power of love, as well as demons of doubt, and how suspicion can be triggered by manipulative villain (Barthelemy 12).
The tragedy Othello is filled with a complex web of separate conflicts that are connected with each other. The external conflicts are very obvious, such as Iago trying to replace Cassio as lieutenant and Othello's belief in Desdemona's affair. In addition to these conflicts, however, many characters in the play also face their own internal conflicts in which they have to make a choice between two opposing forces. An excellent example of this internal conflict can be found in analyzing Roderigo. Roderigo's love for Desdemona creates conflict because he faces the choice of going back to Venice since he has no money left, or staying in Cyprus because he wants to pursue Desdemona. In more general terms, Roderigo deals with the conflict of
Miles and Brown assert that “racism deflects mankind and interpersonal connections” (Mutlu, K., 2013). In Othello’s case, inflicted racism from society and peers caused Othello to isolate himself which made him vulnerable to manipulation. Due to the racial backlash, Othello could not properly ask for his wife’s hand in marriage. Instead, the news was broken to his father-in-law in a manner that disparaged Othello’s character, “Your heart is burst; you have lost half your soul. Even now, now, very now, and old black ram is tupping your white ewe”
In William Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago’s character is possibly the most heinous villain. Oxford’s Dictionary defines villain as an, “a wicked person; chief wicked character in a play or a story” (Oxford 740). Iago plays the ancient of Othello, who is the general of the Venetian forces. As an ancient, Iago is to be a loyal servant to Othello. However, Iago has grown bitter and contemptuous and uses his supposed loyalty as a wedge to cause Othello’s demise. He’s fascinating for his most terrible characteristic; his utter lack of convincing motivation for his actions. He is also a person who is capable of a cool hypocrisy, unreasonable hatred, and many evil acts, which he is able to plot them very easily. According to Stopford A. Brooke, “it is a monstrous mind that had arrived by chance in the body of a non-commissioned officer” (Brooke 444).
From the beginning of Othello, there is a coordination of racism. Othello is shown a representative of prejudice racism. Othello is a Moor, but dedicates his life to serve the society as a solider. The people referred to him as an “other”, “old black ram”, and “thick-lips”. Before the names, bad decisions are made by the people who are considered to be Othello’s servers. The first voicing of racism begins with Iago. Iago voices his thoughts with the following verses: “Now, sir, be judge yourself/Whether I in any term am affined/ to love a Moor” (I.I.37-40.1292). When marriage is brought upon, the prejudice of Othello’s race “puts a wall in front of the eyes of others” (Mutlu 135). Discrimination and prejudice racism should not display itself as mistreating the one that is different. Iago cannot bear Othello being black and having a higher rank than he does. The marriage of Othello and Desdemona sparks the start of racism. It adds extra hate onto the already hatred feeling Iago has towards Othello.
In “Othello,” William Shakespeare creates a devious character, Iago. He is a very educated young man, who lacks ethics enabling his character to deceive those around him, disguising his true colors. With audience perception, and opposing character perceptions, Iago portrays a brilliant, manipulative villain who is concealed with false sympathy, integrity and empathy.
Shakespeare’s Othello peels back the layers of society’s underlying feelings regarding people who lie outside of the perceived standard norm. It digs into the heart of society and reveals the damage that is placed upon individuals who are considered outsiders, even if they manage to achieve success. In this particular play, the audience is able to see how the subtleties of racial bias slowly destroy a person’s psyche. Throughout the play, the audience examines Othello cast in both negative and positive positions. Othello is both a great general of the Venetian army as well as, just “the moor” who used “magic” to trick his wife, Desdemona, into a marriage. Through harmful racial language Othello is constantly reminded of his outsider status. The destruction of his character through blatant and subtle criticisms cause Othello to doubt his self-worth and ultimately leads to his self-destruction.
Mind control can be used to manipulate a person’s behavior through a psychological process, such as a process known as Classical Conditioning. Mind manipulation has been presented by villains throughout movies, novels, and even plays. The play Othello, written around 1603 by William Shakespeare, with the villain character Iago, is characterized as a jealous, hubris, sinister, crafty, and manipulative being. William Shakespeare has managed to write a tragic play where he used Iago’s malicious words to provide early Classical Conditioning, to cloud Othello’s mind of critical thoughts, turning him into a jealous zombie; this shows that Iago would go to any means necessary, whether it was murder or manipulation, to achieve his goal.
“Othello” is a play written by William Shakespeare in 1603. In this play, Shakespeare features three major characters: Othello, Iago, and Desdemona. Othello, a black man, and Desdemona, a white venetian secretly eloped in the play. Iago shows racism and prejudice towards their relationship because of their skin colors. In the play, Iago says: “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise! Awake the snorting citizens with the bell, or else the devil will make a grandsire of you. Arise, I say” (Shakespeare 1.1.97-101). Iago was against mixed race couples and therefore held a grudge against Othello and Desdemona. Modern readers today can relate to this experience in “Othello” because racism is seen almost
Shakespeare establishes an outsider in several of his plays and whether certain groups are considered to be “insiders” or “outsiders”. He displays this theme by Othello being a general of color living in Venice who must balance being a Moor and a Venetian. Othello demonstrates many times in the play his struggle to balance each of these roles. He is put into situations that call out characteristics from both personas, which affect the way he communicates with various characters throughout the play. The Venetian stereotype of a cruel and ignorant black man and the educated and broad-minded Christian military leader shine through in his interactions and conversations with other people. Othello’s struggles send him into madness which
The role of racism is evident throughout Othello, however, in this drama it is clear that other issues collide with the aspect of racism. The position of love, lust, and hate plays an enormous component in Othello. Right off the bat the reader’s discover that Othello and Desdemona are secretly married. Iago characterizes this love as “unnatural” because no white woman could ever love a black man unless witchcraft was involved. Also, Brabantio praises Othello for being a heroic general, but despises the idea of his daughter, Desdemona, marrying a black man. In this drama, the contrast of appearance and reality is an evident intersection with racism. Within the drama’s entirety, Iago is the most racist against Othello. Behind his back Iago labeled
Throughout the years, women have been seen as inferior and weaker than men, while men are seen as superior and stronger than women. However, the word "strong" doesn 't measure their physical strength, but by their strength to ignore societies standards. Othello by William Shakespeare takes place during the late 16th century a time in which women didn’t have a voice and were expected to be obedient and chaste. Although this was the case for many women, Emilia is a strong character because she stood up for what she believed in breaking the norm.
Othello is, in the opinion of many, one of Shakespeare’s most prolific plays. It broke the mold by assigning the lead protagonist role to a black man, and the central love story is of that between this older black man and a young white woman. Othello has perhaps the most wicked- and likable- villain in all of Shakespeare’s work. It has love- both fulfilled and unrequited, family conflict, rebelling daughters, paranoia, manipulation, war, revelry, betrayal, and homicide. Iago, the villain, has a gift for twisting events to appear the way he wishes them to. He is clever and scheming, often comedic, and serves himself above all others. He knows no loyalties, even to his spouse, that supersede those to his own interests. What makes him so likable is that he so wholly embraces this aspect of himself. What makes Iago so heinous is that his motivations for his scheming are never really clear. One theory is that he believes his wife to have been unfaithful to him with Othello. Another common interpretation many come to when looking at his dialogue, especially about Othello, one would think that perhaps he just had a particularly bad case of racism.As Iago is typically played by a white actor, this is a feasible argument. But with the recent casting of a black actor in the role in the 2016 production from the Royal Shakespeare Company in the UK, there is a need to reevaluate the