Race in Othello Essay Example

Race in Othello Essay William Shakespeare’s Othello explores the issue of race in his portrayal of the protagonist as a Moor which represents his tending marginal role in a Venetian society. In the play, characters are judged again and again based on appearances and outward characteristics. The protagonists different ethnic background provides a platform for probing ideas of racial conflict. This is exposed initially through the title of this play, â€Å"Othello, the Moor of Venice†, where the juxtaposition of â€Å"Moor† and â€Å"Venice† imbued within, reveals Othello’s loss of identity and the outsider nature in Venetian society. The dramatic opening of Act 1 Scene1 captures the audience’s attention and gives us a first impression of Othello as an obnoxious â€Å"Moor† and hateful â€Å"black creature. † This mocking tone is heightened through Roderigo’s description of Othello as â€Å"thick-lips owe† and reduces him to mere racial stereotype by referring him as his physical feature. The discriminatory language is amplified further when Iago later portrays Othello and Desdemonas relationships as an old black ram†¦tupping your white ewe and making the beast with two backs. The use of animal imagery of â€Å"ram† and â€Å"ewe† disparaged Othello to a simple beast and is stereotyped as sexually overactive as well as bestial force, to foil white people’s nobleness. The antithesis of â€Å"black† and â€Å"white† instilled within emphasizes the racial discrimination and gap between different ethnic groups at the Elizabethan time, when white people don’t admit black (African) people as part of their Christian society. We will write a custom essay sample on Race in Othello specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Race in Othello specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Race in Othello specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This antithesis of contrasting colour is widely used throughout the entire play to create character’s hatred toward the Moor, and it is also frequently placed next to biblical justification such as â€Å"black devil† and white â€Å"noble angel†, as people in the Elizabethan period like to cite examples from Christian theology to support the view that whiteness was the sign of purity while blackness indicated sinister or evil, which highlights Othello as an outsider even though he is a hero to the country and has joined Christianity. The idea of marginalization and isolation has been brought to a higher extent when it comes to the marriage between Othello and Desdemona. This is evident as Brabantio shouted out â€Å"O treason of the blood! † when he acknowledged her daughter’s affair with the black man, he considers her interracial marriage as a betrayal to her white and thus honourable descent, which indirectly put Othello down to a wicked foreigner. Brabantio’s fear of miscegenation together with their likely child as a racial contamination strongly vilified Othello’s ethnic identity and expressed his racist point of view. He cannot believe that his daughter could be happy with this outsider, and he thinks that the only way Othello could have wooed Desdemona is with charms, as Elizabethan people â€Å"naturally† think black-skinned foreigners of evil enchanters. He accuses Othello, calling out, O thou foul thief, where hast thou stowed my daughter? and claims that now Desdemona is abused, stoln†¦and corrupted By spells and medicines, which pungently conveys his distrust and repulsion toward black people, the audience can realize how deeply racist stereotypes and prejudice of Africans and others of different ethnic identity are perpetuated into Elizabethans minds. Therefore, William Shakespeare’s Othello explores the issue of race in his play and how this makes his protagonist more susceptible to marginalization in a Venetian state. Gender In William Shakespeare’s Othello, both gender conflict and feminist views are developed by the portrayal of Desdemona’s distinct characteristics and dialogues, which not only reveal but also challenges women’s expected submissive and docile nature in Elizabethan society. As the heroine of this play, Desdemona is presented as a paradoxical character, who is both an ideal, compliant woman of the Elizabethan time, and a woman of authority and assertiveness. Elizabethan women are told to be obedient and tender and they ought to serve upon their fathers’ or husbands’ satisfaction unconditionally being ‘objects’ to their men. This is clear when Iago constantly tells Brabantio â€Å"you’re robbed†/ â€Å"your daughter† which reveals the patriarchal society that was the Elizabethan age. The language shows women’s statuses as mere estates of men. This is heightened by negative dictions such as â€Å"thief†, â€Å"stolen [from me]† which indicates that Desdemona is Brabantio’s property and her marriage is a process of illegal theft made by Othello. The submissive tone is amplified further when Shakespeare uses animal imagery to describe Desdemona as â€Å"your white ewe†, which presents her as a kind of tender and tame animal who will obey anything to please her husband. The passive nature is not only conveyed through males’ opinions and descriptions upon females but also how females express themselves. This is evident when Desdemona carefully chooses her words to â€Å"argue† against her father about her marriage. â€Å"I do perceive here a divided duty: To you I am bound for†¦ You are lord of all my duty†¦ my mother referring you before her father†¦Ã¢â‚¬  her articulated words concern a woman’s conflicting â€Å"duties† towards her father and her fiance as she has to show loyalty to Othello whilst â€Å"respect† to Brabantio; it also exposes the loss of her own identity as she is owing allegiance to either her father or her husband, and is especially voluntarily passi ve in her marriage which is accentuated by her claiming that â€Å"the Moor my lord†, Desdemona is thus an ideal woman in Elizabethan society. At the same time, however, she is able to challenge women’s humble status. This is shown as she constantly speaks up for herself in front of others and her father Brabantio: â€Å"So much I challenge that I may profess Due to the Moor my lord. † She confronted; and she claims that she â€Å"saw Othello’s visage in his mind And to his honours and his valiant parts Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate. † Her words establish her courage and strength of conviction and oppose the patriarchal society and the override absolute women’s obedience. Desdemona’s independence is emphasized by the image of â€Å"greedy ear† said by Othello which shows how curious and keen she is, compared to the traditional Elizabethan woman she is made to be. Othello’s brave sagas had created her a brand new outside-world which broke her sheltered, routine existence and role, he brings her to life, and this â€Å"life† certainly broke the stereotyped one before. Therefore, as a contradictory female character in this play, Desdemona appears both as an autonomous and wise daughter to Brabantio as well as a passive stereotypical meek wife to Othello. Power Shakespeare’s Othello uses Iago to establish the idea of Machiavellian power and the notion that a leader is only as good as his followers, relying heavily on the loyalty of others. As the antagonist in this play, Iago’s dramatic soliloquies and asides, in contrast to his speeches in the presence of other characters, reveals clearly his deceitfulness and self-disguise. His manipulative nature is shown at the beginning of the play through his convincible language toward Roderigo such as â€Å"Despise me if I do not† where he direct tone and the construction exposes his ability to operate words which thus controls others’ thoughts. This is heightened by the following mocking tone â€Å"And what was he? † Iago skilfully manoeuvres his language to make him trusted as well as to dominate those around him. His true deceptive intentions are conveyed patently when he states that â€Å"I follow him (Othello) to serve my turn upon him. We cannot all be masters, nor all masters Cannot be truly followed. Iago’s malevolent language displays the â€Å"vallian† beneath his masquerade who uses others as agents, the well-balanced sentence illustrates his carefully constructed plan, also his Machiavellian beliefs – the end justifies the means, no matter how disloyal to his master he needs to be – he declares that he will be â€Å"trimmed in forms and visages of duty† and will â€Å"keep†¦ hearts attending on† himself, he will gain himself profits at last which makes it worth being deceiving. The Machiavellian nature is amplified by his simple conclusion at the end of the speech â€Å"I am not what I am† in which the powerful and direct language expresses not only his attitude to Othello, but also his positions in the world, he will do all the despicable disguises to create a picture of an dutiful and trustworthy person for everyone who surrounds him, and his persona allows him to cunningly manipulate and to contribute to the downfall of them. And the dramatic irony thus occurred as people, especially Othello, do believe him, when he introduces Iago to the Duke of Venice as â€Å"A man he is of honesty and trust†, Shakespeare cleverly points out that Iago is an astute observer of character for he knows people’s nature will and can thus use their weaknesses, foibles and strengths of the victims to his advantage, which for example, Othello’ gullibility that is further explained by Iago’s derisive words â€Å"The moor is of a free and open nature, That thinks men honest that but seem to be so, And will as tenderly be led by the nose. . Furthermore, he breaks the bonds of friendship between him and Rederigo as Iago uses him as a scapegoat who infuriates Brabantio, and uses both Roderigo and Brabantio to against Othello, cleverly without even show himself on the stage as he states â€Å"though I do hate him as I do hell’s pains, Yet, for necessity of present life, I must show out a flag and sign of love, which is indeed but sign†, only through manipulations of them, like an intelligent puppeteer who controls his puppets every moves according to his will yet hides himself and the truth in the shadow. Iago’s ability to authorise others moreover exemplified him as a political realist and a Machiavellian villain, a man who knows â€Å"the power and corrigible authority of this lies in our wills† and how to destroy others without getting himself involved in the conflict. Therefore, Shakespeare’s Othello uses Iago to establish the idea of Machiavellian power and the motion that a leader relies heavily on the loyaly of others.

Free Essays on Transendalism

Thoreau and Emerson Transcendentalism is used frequently as main topics in the stories â€Å"Nature† and Walden. These two themes are heavily concentrated on though these two stories are similar on the aspects of themes, though they differ on thethoughts of civilization and governments. These two stories also differ in the realms of creativity in the story. Walden was a story written by Thoreau, which is fairly similar to the contrasting book â€Å"Nature†. Emerson who uses his thoughts on transcendentalism to play a key role in the story writes â€Å"Nature†. Emerson uses the themes of Nature and God to represent and reflect nature as transcendentalism. Thoreau stresses the relationship with God and Nature at the same time. The two themes are used at once to direct the story in the path that the Thoreau wants it to lead. This is easily shown in the statement, â€Å" In the woods we return to reason and faith.† Both themes are quite similar though it is said that Emerson is more creative and imaginative in his way of depicting the short story as it progresses. The six characteristics of Transcendentalism stand out in each one of these stories. Both of these stories concentrate on writing about nature more than anything else. Emerson thought that God was a personal matter and that the relationship between man and god can only be embraced and made through man himself. The similarities are so stressed in these articles it is difficult to see them as contrasting on the elements of themes. Though the story written by Emerson seems to... Free Essays on Transendalism Free Essays on Transendalism Thoreau and Emerson Transcendentalism is used frequently as main topics in the stories â€Å"Nature† and Walden. These two themes are heavily concentrated on though these two stories are similar on the aspects of themes, though they differ on thethoughts of civilization and governments. These two stories also differ in the realms of creativity in the story. Walden was a story written by Thoreau, which is fairly similar to the contrasting book â€Å"Nature†. Emerson who uses his thoughts on transcendentalism to play a key role in the story writes â€Å"Nature†. Emerson uses the themes of Nature and God to represent and reflect nature as transcendentalism. Thoreau stresses the relationship with God and Nature at the same time. The two themes are used at once to direct the story in the path that the Thoreau wants it to lead. This is easily shown in the statement, â€Å" In the woods we return to reason and faith.† Both themes are quite similar though it is said that Emerson is more creative and imaginative in his way of depicting the short story as it progresses. The six characteristics of Transcendentalism stand out in each one of these stories. Both of these stories concentrate on writing about nature more than anything else. Emerson thought that God was a personal matter and that the relationship between man and god can only be embraced and made through man himself. The similarities are so stressed in these articles it is difficult to see them as contrasting on the elements of themes. Though the story written by Emerson seems to...

Platform †Its About Making Friends

Platform – Its About Making Friends Who you know and how far you can reach. Thats pretty much the definition of platform. But so many people are writing that the competition is fierce. And theres so much competition for entertainment that books arent everyones first choice. Which means putting a book on Amazon will not sell it. Someone told me their book was in Barnes Noble, and they were excited. I asked if they were in the stores, and they said, no, not that they knew of. But they were online at the website. Sorry, but everyone is there. Jane Friedman, publishing guru and previous editor of Writers Digest and Virginia Quarterly, states that your platform is measured in three ways: Ability to reach new readers Ability to engage existing readers Ability to mobilize super fans At a recent conference, I changed this to read: Ability to reach new friends Ability to engage existing friends Ability to mobilize super best friends When you stop and consider that you are asking people to invest money and loads of time reading your work, it gives you pause. How do you convince these strangers to buy your stuff? But if you consider them friends, the effort has a softer feel to it. But still, how do you find these friends? Create a newsletter that sounds like a letter to a friend. Be constantly available online to anyone interested in you or your work. Establish yourself on at least two social media sites and share yourself. Do not alienate folks. Be genuine. People know about me. I share myself with them. And slowly but surely, people are finding my books. . . because we became friends.

HSBC Social Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HSBC Social Responsibility - Essay Example Their coperate and social reponsibilites are degined in the areas of housing, community, Education, including the environment. HSBC invest in many educational programmes, they provide financial and economic welfare and scholarships to the students and also support the organizations that educate youth age 3-19. They also provide online guidelines to people who need financial assistance. Through their website "www.yourmoneycounts.com", they give financial and credit education in English and Spanish. The site is designed to help people in understanding more about saving and investing money on usefull measures. They also provide Financial Education Grant programme. HSBC has supported 36 organizations and granted over 3million dallars in order to develop financial literacy programs in the communities. They say they are committed to provide access to education. In order to find motivated and deserving students who can receive scholarships, they have formed partnerships with many organizations. Organizations like The United Negro College Fund, TheHispanic Scholarship Fund(HSF), University of Maryland University College (UMUC), and the Bennett College for Women. HSBC is also in patnership with Junior Achievement, the world's largest non-profit youth economic organization. ... Owning a home doesnot only meand providing a shelter and building persnil wealth but it also creates a scence of pride, resposibility, gives self satisfaction and a feelings of accomplishment which strengthens community. It provides a wide veriety of programs to promote home ownership. They support IDAs (industrial develepment accounts) with grants so that they could help people to save for down payment. They also contribute to those groups that educate and train people on the importance of financial aspects of homeownership. One programme coming up with solutions of neighbourhood housing problems is HOPI (Homeownership Preservation Initiative) and also with the city of Chicago, the institution known as Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago and many other institutions. Such groups help in providing better shelter in affordable housing to the families in the neighbourhood of Chicago. It also helps in reducing foreclosures. The work day and night to provide people with loans, loans that are right for them and ensure that they follow and understand each rule and condition made by the firm and pay accordingly. But if the problems arise in repayment they also help people by offering programmes like the Foreclosure Avoidance Program, and the Consumer Rescue Fund. Green electricity in Australia, Brazil, the UK, and the US is also another example of its projects. HSBC group is trying to buy green electricity, which can be generated without the use of fossil fuels. Offsetting some remaining carbon dioxide emissions by the help of carbon allowances or credits. The Bank Working Ground that comes under the banner of the Climate Group is having its founder member as HSBC. In order to speed up the process of

The Trial Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Trial - Research Paper Example Population distribution In the 20th century both the number and distribution of Bornean orangutan has reduced tremendously to over 50% because of human activities that include unsustainable illegal logging, clearance of forests to provide land for agricultural purposes, hunting and mining. Large percentage of orangutans are currently found in Kalimantan because of the area has extensive forests still in existence. (Munn,63-65) Impact of humans activities on ecosystem Loss and degradation of orangutan Habitat The loss of habitat is the main threat to the survival of orangutan. For example, in Kalimantan, a large area of the forest has been cleared to create land for mega rice projects that have tremendously destroyed orangutan habitat. The situation is further worsened by the fact that even habitat in protected areas are vanishing at a high rate because of unclear delineation of the boundaries making it difficult to patrol. (Munn,59-62) Collateral damage a) Spread of fire b)hunting an d c) human-animal conflict. Hunting In south East Asia orangutans are hunted for meat and surplus hunt sold on pet market especially in most interior areas of Borneo. These because they can not run faster like other animals and therefore they are easily targeted by hunters even form a distance. This has resulted in the decline of the number of orangutan. This has been the main cause of low density of orangutans in the low hill forests especially areas around pawan river in the western Kalimantan) and katingan and basito river (central Kalimantan). The scale of hunting is increased because of forest fires which drive them away out of the forests where they are easily captured either for meat or sale in the pet markets. Furthermore, hunting is aggravated by destruction of forests either for timber or to create land for agricultural purposes. The forest is a source for food for orangutan and their destruction forces orangutan to venture out of the forests into the surrounding agricultu ral land destroying food crops and also acting as pests. Local people respond intolerantly to these apes by either shooting or poisoning them and taking the young orangutan which are either sold or slaughtered for meat.(Knott, 429-57) Conflict with human Orangutans are also killed when they move into farming land to destroy food crops. This happens when climatic conditions are adverse and the food available in the forest is less and hardly accessible. In addition, when the habitat of orangutan is destroyed either by fire or clearance of the forest where they dwell, they are forced to move to open field to look for food in agricultural farms where they are killed as to they are also regarded as pests The orangutans’ loss can also be attributed to Climate change. A great drought that preceded El Nino in 1998 had a negative impact on the survival of orangutan has it led to the great fire that destroyed a large portion of the forest cover in Sothern Asia. In the process, thousand s of orangutan was killed and it’s approximated that, over30% of orangutan in Borneo were destroyed by great forest fires in the last decade. Economic and political stability also played great role in the reduction of orangutan in south East Asia. Financial crisis and violent demonstration that led to the resignation of Suharto culminated into mass anarchy and political instability that increased both logging and poaching. In addition,

Hunting should be legal Essay Example for Free

Hunting should be legal Essay The subject of keeping hunting legal is a controversial topic. I believe that hunting should be legal. If not, many animals would die because of overpopulation. A substantial amount of our food comes from hunting animals. Many years ago, some people used hunting to survive because they couldnt buy a lot of their food. Another question is that isnt fishing the same thing as hunting so should they stop fishing if they stop hunting? Some people feel disheartened over it. Also people entreat their Congressmen to keep hunting legal; still others are uncertain whether it should be legal or not. Ultimately, I think that it should be legal if not there would be a dominate amount of animals. Here are seven reasons why hunting should to be legal in every state. There is overpopulation with many animals. One season without hunting could be fickle to the population of animals. Many of these animals will die in winter by illnesses, starvation, etc. if they are not killed during the hunting season. If hunting were illegal, the animal population would grow larger and out of control. The population of animals would grow, but the amount of food would decrease. The animals would slowly die of a grim, inhumane death of starvation. It is a proven fact that a link exists between hunting and flu cases. The more hunting that occurs in a certain area, the fewer flu cases there are in that area. Scientists are not quite sure why this trend happens, but they cannot deny the findings. One reason might be ticks might carry the flu virus. If there are fewer animals for the ticks to infest, there are fewer ticks to carry the virus. The overpopulation of animals like bears and mountain lions has resulted in attacks against people. If the population of predator animals is controlled, then the more food there will be for these animals, and they wont attack people when searching for food. Farm animals and rural pets are killed by wild animals because there is not enough food to go around. As stated in reason three, the animals will have more food, if there are a smaller number of them. Commercial farms have lost crops because of wild animals. So actuality, to stop hunting would only hurt the economy. As the herd of grazing animals gets larger, the animals seek food where they can find it. They will eat the farmers crops for food. Sometimes, they eradicate acres of crops. There are many cases where animals have actually broken into peoples homes and caused a considerable amount of damage while looking for food. Since the animals cant find food in their own habitat, they move into developed areas searching for food. Many auto accidents are cause by wild animals. Drivers either hit the animal or swerve to miss them and get injured or even killed. Pennsylvania leads the list of the highest number of auto accidents involving deer. State Farm estimates that 1. 5 million vehicles collide with deer every year, resulting in 150 motorists deaths and $1. 1 billion in vehicle damages. From www. unsolvedmysteries. com/usm401731. html www. medicalecology. org/diseases/lyme/lyme_disease. html http://money. cnn. com/2005/11/04/news/newsmakers/deer/.

Women in Homers Odyssey Essay -- Odyssey Homer Essays Papers

     Ã‚  Ã‚   As Agamemnon tells Odysseus, â€Å"Let it be a warning even to you. Indulge a woman never, and never tell her all you know. Some things a man may tell, some he should cover up.† (P.199, Book XI) This is not a revelation for the wayward King. Odysseus treats all women he encounters with the same caution alluded to by Agamemnon when the shade tells him how his treacherous wife Clytemnestra acted in a way that defiled all women kind. Agamemnon is giving words to the concept of women that existed in Greek times, and still exists today although it is hopefully not expressed as much. Even before Odysseus speaks to his dead friend, he reveals the same attitude in the encounters that he has with women along his journey home. Each and every major female character Odysseus comes into contact with uses deception if not to Odysseus directly then to the outside world. In turn, the wandering King deals in deception with them as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first woman that we see in direct contact with Odysseus is Kalypso. This Goddess is no stranger to deceit. She has been hiding from the Gods for 7 years something that is unnatural. She has been hiding her affair with the mortal Odysseus, who has been held captive on her island for that time. She is not innocent in her ... ...sentations and Interpreting the Odyssey," by Seth Schein, pp. 17-27. Helene Foley, "Penelope as Moral Agent," in Beth Cohen, ed., The Distaff Side (Oxford 1995), pp. 93-115. "The Odyssey, History, and Women," by A. J. Graham, pp. 3-16, and Jennifer Neils, "Les Femmes Fatales: Skylla and the Sirens in Greek Art," pp. 175-84. Lillian Doherty, Siren Songs: Gender, Audiences, and Narrators in the Odyssey (Ann Arbor 1995), esp. chapter 1. Marilyn Arthur Katz, Penelope's Renown: Meaning and Indeterminacy in the Odyssey (Princeton 1991). Nancy Felson-Rubin, Regarding Penelope: From Courtship to Poetics (Princeton 1994).