Wednesday, February 6, 2013

The Role of Race in Othello

In Othello, race seems to be a touchy topic. There are many instances where Othello is treated poorly by many people due to his race. From the beginning, he is referred to as a "Barbary horse" by Roderigo. This implies that Othello is less than human, with Roderigo going as far as to call the children Roderigo will have as horses. Throughout the story, Othello is often referred to as "The Moore" rather than as his name. This shows that they see him as the odd man out simply due to his race. I wonder if Iago's hate towards Othello isn't at least partially due to racism. Even Othello's wife seems to have some odd views, saying "I think the sun where he was born drew all such humors out of him" (III. iii. 21-22). She seems to think because he grew up in Africa he has received his personality. I find it interesting that Othello is the great general in this story while every one else seems to hate him. He is the greatest of them all, yet is treated as the least.
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1 comment:

  1. UnknownMarch 2, 2013 at 6:40 AM

    Very true. And it is the least that destroys the greatest.

    I think this is a social commentary about the consequences of racial discrimination, but there are different arguments, so I guess it's a matter of personal interpretation.

    Iago's manipulations drive the action in the play, but I don't think he'd be so obsessed with destroying Othello if Othello had been white. I think much of Iago's jealousy stems from his false (but culturally accepted/taught) sense of his own racial superiority. He wouldn't be nearly as indignant at Othello being given the position he wanted if Othello had been white. It's such an interesting topic.

    I wrote a post about it, too, if you'd like to check it out - it's small at present, but I'll be adding information at a later date:

    http://www.LearningandWriting.com/1/post/2013/03/race-in-othello.html

    :)

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