Through all of the new technology and improved living conditions that have occurred over time, one thing that has not and will most likely never change in human nature. People have been feeling happy, sad, jealous, angry, and many more feelings for as long as there were humans. Another thing humans started feeling is racist towards people who are not like them. Shunning someone because they are different happens all across the world everyday. Racism has been happening for centuries, evidenced by the fact that Othello is repeatedly called derogatory terms like ‘Moor’ and even called the devil solely based on the fact that he’s black, Muslim, and from Africa, unlike his Venetian counterparts. An example of this racism was shown when Iago was telling Brabantio that Desdimona had run off and married Othello; he uttered phrases such as “an old black ram is topping your white ewe”, using derogatory terms to describe Othello having sex with his daughter. He then goes on to say “Arise, arise; Awake the snorting citizens with the bell, or else the devil will make a grandsire of you”. The amount of hatred contained in that phrase is overwhelming. He is telling him to stop Othello and Desdimona’s marriage or else the devil – Othello – will make Brabantio a grandfather by impregnating his daughter. That shows that Othello was immediately deemend as an unfit partner for Desdimona without even seeing how he treats her. All Iago cared about was getting the point across to Brabantio that Othello is an old, black man, who has no business being with Desdimona and that it should be stopped.
Archive for November, 2012
Quote:
“Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,
Is the immediate jewel of their souls:
Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing;
‘Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands:
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed.”
Speaker: Iago
Person Spoken to: Othello
What is going on when this passage is spoken?
Iago had just started sending Othello tiny signals that he might’ve seen something between Cassio and Desdimona. He’s pretending to be a good friend to Cassio and not want to tell on him, when in reality it’s just the opposite.
Comment:
It’s ironic how Iago says “Good name in man and woman… Is the immediate jewel of their souls.”, while at the same time he is purposely trying to wreck a man (Cassio) and a woman’s (Desdimona) good name.
12adams 