Racism in Othello by William Shakespeare Essay - 1235 Words

Have you ever thought about how much Othello’s race and the racism around him affected his life? Othello struggled a lot during the play because of his dark skin color. He was called several racist names like â€Å"the Moor,† â€Å"old black ram,† â€Å"Barbary horse,† and â€Å"thick lips† (Shakespeare 1.1.40; 1.1.88; 1.1.111; 1.1.66).The term â€Å"racism† has been around for several years; it started in the twentieth century (Bartels 433). By the way the Elizabethan era viewed black people was similar to how racism is today with all of the racial comments, and stereotypes. Being a black person in a mostly white ethnicity area at that time had to be challenging based on Othello’s experience. Othello was the black sheep crowded around a herd of white sheep, he†¦show more content†¦He could not believe that she would want to be with someone like Othello. Othello was a victim of racist comments in Act 1 of Othello. Brabantio, specifically, sees his daughter’s lust for Othello as odd and was amazed that she would â€Å"fall in love with what she fear’d to look on† (Shakespeare 1.1.98). He said that Othello must have used some type of magic to get Desdemona to fall in love with him (Shakespeare 1.2.62-81). At that time it had to be a miracle for a black person to be with a white person; it was unheard of. When he found Othello, he started calling him a â€Å"Moor† to his face and ordered his guards to get him. â€Å"The Moor† is a reference to his black skin color, features, and represents the people from North Africa (Bartels 434). Most of the characters, including Desdemona called Othello a â€Å"Moor†. It is obvious that mostly every character in Othello was racist. If the color of Othello’s skin was white, Othello and Desdemona would have lived happily ever after. Othello’s race, his marriage with Desdemona, and the murder of Desdemona are all important structural elements of Othello and are all interrelated (Little 306). These three elements are interrelated because if Othello’s race was white, their marriage would have lasted, and Desdemona would not have been murdered. â€Å"The meaning of Othello’s murdering Desdemona depends on their marriage and their marriage’s meaning isShow MoreRelatedRacism By William Shakespeare s Othello1277 Words   |  6 PagesRacism in Othello William Shakespeare wrote Othello during the wars between Venice and Turkey dating back to the sixteenth century. On November 1, 1604, Othello was performed for the first time by King’s men at the court of King James I. Race is one aspect that affects people’s lives. â€Å"Racism rejects mankind and a means of legalizing diversity† (Mutlu 135). With traces of racism, Shakespeare portrays the story of a general and his wife. 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