Introduction
In the play by Shakespeare, the main protagonist was Othello, a dark-colored male. Othello was a noble man by name and just so that he would view himself as one of the heroes. However, the reality was that dark-colored people were discriminated against or marginalized. There was extreme racism shown in the play. Throughout the play, racism is shown among the different characters present. While Othello’s identity was based on him being queer, the main identity resulted from the way he was looked at by the white characters in the play. The prejudice that is shown throughout the play is more than the queer theory that is analyzed in the play. The identity of Othello was developed by the white man gaze that wanted him to survive on his own.
The background of Othello showed that he was an African that was born into royalty and privilege. In one instance, he stated that “I fetch my life and being from men of royal siege” (3.3.21-22). While he had a luxurious life in his native homeland, Othello left to live among the whites in Europe. He wanted to be free from the responsibilities that were bestowed upon him as a son of royalty. At Venice, he had only the duty of serving his interests, his people, and his wife Desdemona. He had complete freedom despite the discrimination and hatred that he faced from people such as Iago. Meeting Desdemona eliminated the freedom that Othello enjoyed in Venice and the color of his skin affected his relationship with Desdemona..
Discrimination
In the Shakespeare’s play, Othello incurred hatred and discrimination as a result of many reasons. He came from a land that was mysterious and exotic. Apart from this, he had great accomplishments in the army and had experienced many adventures that shaped his life. Despite such achievements, his outside status as a dark-skinned man played a major role in describing his identity. He was a black man who lived in Venice, a place majorly occupied by the whites. The dark-skinned nature of Othello led to white people such as Iago hate, fear, and despise Othello. To express how they felt towards Othello, they used racial slurs. However, Othello is not bothered by their views and seemed to go on with his life as usual. It was only later on that Othello realized that his dark-skin color led him being portrayed as barbaric. He ends up killing his wife and turning into a racist just like Desdemona.
While the achievements of Othello had contributed to the respect that he had earned in among the members of the society, there were still people who were jealous of such achievements. Roderigo and Iago were some of the whites that hated Othello and his achievements. One of the reasons why Iago hated Othello was his decision to appoint Cassio as a lieutenant. Iago felt that he was more experienced, and therefore, should have been given the job. To revenge on Othello, Iago manipulated Roderigo. He was aware of the fact that Roderigo was obsessed with Othello’s wife. The manipulation led to Othello using racial slurs towards Desdemona. He said that “what a full fortune does the thick lips owe” (1.1.65-66). Roderigo and Iago attempted to end the marriage between Othello and Desdemona. They told Desdemona’s father Brabantio, that Othello had kidnapped his daughter. The subject of race is constantly brought by the two and it angered Brabantio. For example, Iago told him that “an old black ram is tapping your white ewe” (1.1.87-88). They portrayal showed that Othello’s children would be a ridicule to their society due to their color.
