Othello 6 Essay, Research Paper
The subject of racism is strongly depicted in William Shakespeare s Othello. It depicts the attitude of European society towards those that were different in coloring material, race and linguistic communication. In Europe, people of white skin color were the bulk and all other races were considered to be less of import and inferior.
There are several characters in this that play portray this outlook. These characters include Brabantio, Roderigo and Emilia. But by far, the face of racism in this drama is that of Iago, who makes his purposes crystal clear in his monologue where he states I hate the Moor, ( I, iii, 379 ) . Throughout the drama, Iago lays frontward a figure of grounds for his hate, which leads to the ruin of most of the characters.
It is most likely that the chief ground behind Iago s hatred of Othello is the coloring material of his tegument. Similar to many other people of his clip, Iago would hold had small or no racial tolerance for others, and thereby saw Othello as an castaway that had risen to success which is a factor lending to another of his grounds for hatred green-eyed monster. From the really first act of this drama, and so the really first scene, Iago hurls racial abuses at Othello, an illustration of which is & # 8230 ; really now, an old black random-access memory is tupping your white Ewe ( I, i, 89-90 ) & # 8211 ; A statement that has both racialist and vulgar intensions, every bit good as mentioning to Othello as a Barbary Equus caballus ( I, i, 112 ) & # 8211 ; Which is degrading him to the degree of a foul animate being.
As was mentioned before, green-eyed monster is besides one of the grounds behind Iago s hatred. His behavior and address indicates clearly that he is covetous of success ( Othello going a general, Cassio going his second-in-command ) every bit good as the felicity of Othello and Desdemona. An illustration of this is shouting out to Brabantio that & # 8230 ; your girl and the Moor are now doing the animal with two dorsums & # 8211 ; ( I, i, 118 ) Which has strong, coarse imagination. He is able to pull strings the full class of the drama through fraudulence and perfidy.
Cassio was chosen to be Othello s foremost lieutenant in favor of Iago, and this angered him profoundly. He hates Othello for overlooking him, but he besides hates Cassio for being chosen in front of him to the spo
T that he wanted. Iago is successful in destroying Cassio and doing him to lose his repute and thereby Othello s regard. Finally, despite the success of his enterprise, he still attempts to hold Cassio killed by successfully converting Othello that Cassio and Desdemona are holding an matter by stating that Cassio is covetous of him: Oxygen, beware, my Godhead, of green-eyed monster. It is the jealous monster that doth mock the meat it feeds on” ( III.iii.169-70 ) . Iago s ultimate aims are made clear. He wants Cassio and Othello to decease, and being the ruthless scoundrel he is, he will halt at nil to carry through his desires.
There is besides the indicant that Iago suspects that Othello may hold been involved with his married woman: And it is thought that twixt my sheets, He s done my office. ( I, iii, 380-81 ) , although this is likely to be a rationalization for his brutal Acts of the Apostless. Emilia and Othello are ne’er portrayed in that manner, even when entirely, and it is improbable that Iago is driven by a demand for retaliation.
Iago is able to act upon the manner every character in the drama thinks. He is repeatedly referred to as honest Iago. I believe that the other characters in the drama are excessively idealistic, and are comparable to Brutus from Julius Caesar. They place excessively much trust in honest Iago and finally pay the monetary value. The bulk of the characters are non realistic, particularly Cassio, who is unable to gain Iago s purpose while leting himself to be led along like a sheep. The inability of most of these characters to understand Iago s true motivations consequences in the apogee of the drama in a bloodletting, and even when they do gain what is traveling on, it is merely excessively late.
It is apparent from analyzing these grounds that the drive force behind Iago s hatred is hit racism every bit good as his combustion green-eyed monster. His behavior can be described as being sociopathic in modern footings. Following his assignment as first lieutenant after the incident affecting Cassio, it is ill-defined what he stood to derive when he attempted to kill both Othello and Cassio, other than cause people enduring and fulfill his kinky personal desires. He stands alongside Mark Antony and Shylock as one of the most oblique characters of all time created by William Shakespeare.
