Iago's Prejudice In Othello

William Shakespeare is commonly known for his tragic and deceiving plays. From Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth, to Hamlet characteristics like treachery, jealousy, and manipulation are inscribed throughout his work. Wolves have the “conversation of death” before they attack their prey; while Iago stealthily used Othello’s character flaws and jealousy, convincing him that his wife committed adultery acts, in his play Othello. In the play Iago uses other people’s low self esteem against them.

Name : Salma Last name : Obeid ID: 151067 Course: A230A Shakespearian’s ambiguity Tragedies are written plays in which the protagonist dies at the end. The protagonist is recognized as being the hero of the tragic play; however, some tragedies, at some point, shed the light on another character creating confusion in the mind of the readers about the state of the true hero. Shakespeare’s

FINAL PAPER: Race is currently a hot topic in contemporary society. How minority populations are represented in the media, literature, and other modes of communication is constantly criticized. Although, societies are slowly eliminating and punishing racial prejudices, they still exist. Stereotypical portrayals of non-white characters have existed in western civilization for thousands of years. Literature produced in a predominantly white European context has historically been plagued with politically incorrect renderings of minorities.

“Iago belongs to a select group of villains in Shakespeare who, while plausibly motivated in human terms, also take delight in evil for its own sake” (Bevington, 2014, p 607). Understanding his sense of self might reveal another tragedy regarding how egos across the human condition demonstrate unique frailness. “Critics often debate Iago's motives. What drives him to act as he does? Some people believe Iago is simply, but purely, evil, doing immoral things merely to be bad” (Hacht, 2007, p, 657).

In Othello, many people turn to race when they are frustrated or angry thus making the play racist. Throughout the play many show great respect for Othello, but as soon as the war ends internal conflicts arise, giving the characters more time to notice race and aggravate one another. This switch from war to peace is crucial in the play because if the war had continued race would not have been an issue. The war discontinuing allowed hatred and discovery of each character sparking the time to think and plot events. Iago 's hatred comes from Othello chosing Cassio as the lieutenant when he had no experience in war through Igao’s perspective.

In every book, movie, or TV show, the so called “heroes” are typically the people who are the villains. “Heroes” tend to think that a villain is just a crazed lunatic trying to destroy the world, but that isn’t always the case. Every villainous act had some sort of motive that drives the villain to carry out these deeds. Iago is an ideal paragon of this ordeal. Even though Iago does commit some treacherous deeds, he must of had some sort of motive for doing so.

Throughout time the world has been through many problems relating to race, gender or class. Women weren’t treated as people. They didn’t have freedom and they weren’t allowed to do work that wasn’t part of their roles as women. As for class the world saw and heard of the tragic story of the mass genocide that Hitler created. A part of that was hate towards a certain religion but it was also related to power.

It Says I Say And So “Zounds, sir, you're robbed. For shame, put on your gown!

One form of power is discrimination power, Iago expresses this to Othello, announcing that he is a worthless animal “an old black ram” (1:1), racial slues are used as Iago’s emotions towards Othello are jealousy, envy and the desire for his power this is to show the hatred Iago has for Othello. As we know Iago is an impolite and manipulative character throughout the play he admits that he is dishonest “I will wear my heart upon his sleeve” (1:1). This is a metaphor as Iago will never be his true self and show his true emotions. Political power is used a lot in Othello in many different contexts. After a drunk night out with Roderigo, Cassio finds himself regretting his last night decisions “Oh, I have lost my reputation!”

Words are not always interpreted by the audience as the speaker had intended. Certain words could have multiple connotations that could change the context of the word from being a praise or a nickname to a slur or an insult. In literature, there are many examples, some controversial, of words not being taken how they are meant or just the use of such words in general. In novels such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Othello, words such as the “Nigger” and “Moor” are used in such fashion to either discriminate, praise, or a blend of the two to make certain characters of color stand out amongst the other characters. The use of words that could bring up a negative connotation such as “Moor” in Othello and “Nigger” in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, should be used in educational facilities to teach students of the past so that the nation and its citizens can move past