Othello's Dichotomy 'An Outsider In America'

Brabantio shows his racist ways clearly here; he feels that his daughter could never love Othello unless she had been somehow tricked! When one looks deeper into this mindset we understand how loving Othello, the Moor, could be seen as such an issue to her father. Then and even today color is associated with, “sin, damnation, and eventually, sexual promiscuity” (Hall, 182). White on the other hand is associated with, “purity, virginity, and virtue” (Hall, 183). For Desdemona to love Othello she must give up her innocence. For a “pure” and “virtuous” woman to love a man such as Othello she must be a “sinner” and a “whore.” This “realization” of his daughter’s lack of purity causes Brabantio to die due to pure grief as Gratiano explains to us:

“My name, that was as fresh As Dian's visage, is now begrimed and black As mine own face. (3.3.385)” When Othello says these lines it is evident that he starts to internalize a lot of racist comments made by his white counterparts which makes this a pivotal part of the play. At this point Othello suspects that Desdemona is unfaithful with Cassio and insinuates that his reputation is tarnished and “begrimed” because of Desdemona’s uncertain cheating. It was very common during the Elizabethan time period that wives were a big part of a husband’s reputation because wives were a representation of husbands. When Othello refers to his name as being ‘fresh as Diane’s visage’ he compares the freshness of a white fame with no blemishes to his name. When Othello fears that his wife has cheated on him he compares his name to ‘begrimed of black’, blaming his wife for tarnishing his reputation. By comparing the blackness of his own skin with something unclean and grimy, Othello internalizes the racist comments Venetian characters (like Brabantio) have been saying all along.

Discuss three stereotypes you encounter in your own life and the effect those stereotypes can have on others. This can be a stereotype you realize you have been guilty of holding or someone else's. Explain (a) what the stereotype is and (b) what sort of argument, no matter how flawed, might be used to support it, and (c) identify any mistakes you find in that argument.

In William Shakespeare’s classic Othello, it has remained relevant for the years since it was written. Not only because of the universal themes seen throughout, but due to its enduring value which has been seen in the exploration of issues that we as a society still face today. Othello as a character is portrayed as an outsider compared to the Venetian upper class society due to his different ethnicity, this classically reflects the views from Shakespeare’s time and still today reflects from issues seen recently. The recurring instances of social injustice and racial bias both in the text and in society today show that we as society still have not grown and continue to be bias to people due to things they cannot change. The nature of villainy shown through the antagonist, Iago, as he explores the need of power and how power or the want of

“Othello” is a tragic play of jealousy, racism and struggle for power. Right from the beginning, Shakespeare has created vigorous dialogue and conflicting situations. There is a direct contrast between black and white in this play, with black meaning something negative and evil and white meaning pure and fairness. The clash between these two colours leads to severe hatred and enmity between a few people.

      Shakespeare's tragic hero, Othello, was a man whose gifts far outnumbered his weaknesses. On the battlefield, he was accomplished; in his profession, he was highly ranked; and, in his life, he was blissfully married. Despite these great advantages, however, Othello's destiny was ruin. Everything he had so carefully made for himself would be destroyed by one flaw: his fear of remaining an outsider. He feared this fate, yet he harped on it continuously, tearing himself between his identity as a foreigner and his desire to live as a normal citizen. Even so far back as his first public speech, perturbations caused by this internal unrest surfaced, and it was unrest that would ultimately lead to his horrible and

These two examples of stereotypes elaborate on

A lot of things change over time but not always what we want to change. A 400 year old burden has followed us into 2018 Racism has many different forms, many of which we see in Othello. All cultures and races have become victims to racism in 2018. Racism can be used in forms of nicknames, assumptions because of different origin and this one specifically is used early against Othello who happens to be the only black man in any sort of power in Venice.

New York City is the biggest, most international, multi-racial and cultural difference city in the world. It is common for the New Yorkers to interact with people visiting from all over the world. The racial differences seem not to “matter” to anyone in New York. The book Othello show similarities to racial interactions with the ones from New York City. However, looking closer at the play, “Othello”, seem to show us many interesting aspects of cultural differences. It seems that not only, racial and cultural differences were unconventional, but also “unnatural”.

He is starting to doubt that he has the ability to compete for Desdemona’s love with other Venetians as they are better than him. He is regarding his blackness as a weakness suggesting that Othello feels inferiority to Venetians, and is an outsider to this society. Iago further manipulates Othello, until Othello questions Desdemona's loyalty towards him causing him to exclaim, “Her name, that was as fresh as Dian’s visage, is now begrimed and black as mine own face”(442-443 3-3).” He is using his blackness to describe Desdemona’s behavior by associating it with infidelity. Othello is regarding his blackness as tainted innocence and

Yet, Brabantio degrades Othello because thinks that Desdemona is ruining the nature of the patriarchal society in which she lived. He is unable to imagine his daughter willfully deceiving him as she is described as pure and fair: “...That some mixtures powerful o’er the blood, or with some dram conjured to this effect, He wrought upon her”(1.3.122-124). Brabantio falls back onto prejudice assumptions as weapons to use against Othello. He accuses Othello of using blackmagic on Desdemona, in order for Desdemona to fall in love with her. Othello’s skin color is such a dreadful circumstance that the love and the fact of being black cannot congregate.

Therefore, even before Othello is physically presented to the audience, the Elizabethan audience would already have an image of Othello being wild and “moorish” since they would have the similar notion as Iago and Rodrigo towards black men. Therefore, Shakespeare establishes the racist concepts from the very beginning of the play to set the base for the tragic downfall of Othello. Racist language is not only limited to the beginning of the play; it is constant throughut the play. Iago uses racist words when he wakes up Brabantio to inform him about Desdemona’s marriage. Iago says an “old black ram” is “tupping” Brabnatio’s “white ewe” which is highly racist and reveals the Elizabethan society’s prejudice against black men. The Elizabethan era believed that black men have animal-like and sexual nature and Iago uses this notion to make Brabantio fear about the mixed marriage and persuade him to stand against Othello. Also, Iago makes use of the racist Elizabethan notion that the colour black meant evilness by calling Othello as “the devil”. This is ironical because in the play, Iago is the one who is playing the role of “the devil” whereas Othello just the biggest victim who is manipulated by Iago. The irony adds on as Iago, white man, is the most evil one in the play where normally according to Elizabethan racist notion, black men are the one who should be the

Othello’s race does not prominently impact his demise, although Shakespeare touches upon the issue of race, the reason for Othello’s demise lies somewhere else. However, the allegations of race directly lead to its tragic ending. Feelings of inadequacy and distrust without question aid in the tragedy. The fact that Othello’s skin color is important alters the interpretation of the tragedy within the play. The racism represented in Othello is not just about an instance of prejudices and prejudgments made by a crowd of people against another, but in fact has much more subtle and devastating consequences, specifically, that it is proliferated not only by the discriminatory section of society, but also by the target of this discrimination.

Othello is a play that was written by William Shakespeare between the years of 1599-1608. The play is a tragedy set in Venice, involving a woman named Desdemona who falls in love with a Moor named Othello, who is head of the army. However, they encounter problems due to racial tension in the Elizabethan era. Throughout the play there is a clear separation of the social groups ‘Moors’ and white Europeans. The play demonstrates the separation of social groups through the characters’ dialogue, presenting ‘Moors’ as a societal outcast.

Along with critics making references to Othello’s race, many characters in the play do as well. The characters that are most racist refer to Othello by his real name less than the people who are least racist. “Othello’s blackness is not only a mark of his physical alienation but a symbol, to which every character in the play himself included must respond” (Berry, 1990). Othello does not refer to himself as African but rather as an exotic Venetian. Other characters do not see Othello as that. Many characters call Othello numerous names other than his real one. “For Iago Othello is an old black ram, the devil, and a barbary horse” (Berry, 1990). Many see Othello’s blackness as a symbol of ugliness, bestiality, treachery, and demonic. None of those words describe how Othello really is. Those words are the stereotypical definition of what a black man is. This stereotypical definition puts Othello is a predicament and makes his acceptance in the Venetian society difficult. “Once such critics conclude that Othello is not a stereotype, he tends to lose his individuality as a Moor and to become a representative of humanity” (Berry, 1990). The stereotypical image of a black man plays an important role in the play’s ending.