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Racism And Manipulation Of William Shakespeare 's Othello

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Racism and Manipulation In William Shakespeare’s Othello Racism has been an inevitable aspect of human society throughout the centuries, from Elizabethan England to “ Separate but equal," here in The United States not too long ago. Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello, portrays a young, and recently married Moor named Othello. His own demise is initiated by various deceits, such as his lofty new position as the Venetian Republic’s army general. During the time Shakespeare lived there was an overall idea of racial superiority among the English against those of color. This prejudice, distrust, and racist ideology set forth by the English onto minorities is apparent throughout the entirety of the play. This then gives a detailed insight into the cultural aspects of racism and manipulation toward those of different and inherently unequal origins, and skin color. By extension, “Racism exists when one ethnic group or historical collectivity dominates, excludes, or seeks to eliminate another on the basis of differences that it believes are hereditary and unalterable. An ideological basis for explicit racism came to a unique fruition in the West during the modern period” (Fredrickson 1). The core of this explicit racism derives from , “the period of the Renaissance and Reformation [which] was also the time when Europeans were coming into increasing contact with people of darker pigmentation in Africa, Asia, and the Americas and were making judgments about them” (Fredrickson 1).The

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