Prejudice And Racism Exposed In Shakespeare's Othello
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Even though Othello was written over hundreds of years ago, I feel that it still conveys many truths about humanity and is still relevant to us today in the 20th century. There are many themes active in the book but a major theme I have found throughout acts we have read thus far is Racism.
Race is a theme that is relevant in each act of the play we have read so far. In the play, Othello is always discriminated against by other characters in the play and is frequently called a "Moor" (Black) and the people of Venice dislike moors because of their dark skin and also because they are considered as outsiders. During act I, Iago becomes jealous when Cassio is chosen to be the lieutenant and as revenge for what Othello has done, Iago decides to use Othello’s marriage. Iago wakes Brabantio up from his bed, and shocks Brabantio by saying, "sir, you're robbed.....Even now, very now, an old black ram Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise!" (I, i, (94-98). This showed Iago's racism towards Othello and how he was furious because Othello had given the position of Lieutenant to Cassio and that had sparked a flame of jealousy and anger in his heart against Othello. The words that Iago says shows us that other races in Venice are…show more content… Brabantio mostly shows this racist attitude when he goes up to Othello during his marriage with Desdemona and demands Othello to tell him where his daughter is, "O, thou foul thief, where hast thou stowed my daughter? Damned as thou art, thou hast enchanted her!"(I, II, (80-83). When Brabantio discovered that Desdemona wasn’t forced and got married happily Othello. In other words, Brabantio believed that Othello had used some sort of magic on his daughter. I think that this is racist because Brabantio is saying that is not possible for his daughter to fall in love with a moor, even an honest and respectable soldier such as