Othello and Racism Essay

Held a captive and cannot escape the grips of racism, Othello must battle with this matter from day one till his call of death. Just because his skin tone is unusual from Venice and its citizens, makes Othello an outcast . Although born a black moor, Othello has all the great characteristics a man should have. Being courageous, honorable, intelligent and all the aspects a woman would want in a husband. He grew up to be a venetian military general who has risen to high position of power is viewed in two means. One, since Othello belongs to the military realm he hence deserves the respect and authority any other general should receive. Second view is highly different and because the race role is a huge issue, it essentially eliminates the first way people would view Othello. But this doesn’t stop Desdemona from falling in love with him and making him her husband. The color of Othello’s skin doesn’t bother Desdemona one bit which isn’t the case for the rest of the characters seen throughout the play. Before Othello’s name is even mentioned in the play, racial slurs are being said and the audience is being introduced to how Othello will be treated. In Act I Scene I, Rodrigo and Iago talk about â€Å"the moor†, â€Å"the thick-lips† and â€Å"the old black ram† . Small comments like these slowly bring out the characteristics that multiple characters share in this play. Iago and Rodrigo aren’t the only ones who have a problem with Othello; Desdemona’s father ,Brabantio, is in the same boat with Iago and Rodrigo. Brabantio is a self-important the Venetian Senator whose main priorities are his job and his daughter. If one of these main concerns aren’t necessarily going his way, then there could be a problem. Othello encounters this the hard way unfortunately. Brabantio hears news about how his daughter has gotten married but not to any regular guy, to a moor.