Shakespeare reflects this as Othello's and Desdemona's marriage, black man and white woman, is seen as “against all rules of nature” although it simply is just a change in tradition. As a result, we see the African Othello's subtle segregation from the Venetian Society, referred to as “thick-lips”, “old black ram” and “Barbary horse” as he is seen as a threat not only socially, but physically. However, as the play progresses, we see that Othello is instead, “Valiant”, and “worthy”, not at all like Iago's crude
In The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, Shylock inhabits an anti-Semitic society in which he is treated as an inferior and without any esteem. In a response to these social dynamics, Shylock attempts to make an unmerciful statement to the Venetian community. During the trial, when pleaded multiple times by the Antonio and his men, he doesn’t take mercy on Antonio and demands for his bond to be followed and for Antonio to sacrifice a pound of his flesh. Declaring justice as a reason to the jury and to the judge, Shylock prepares to take revenge on Antonio by killing him. Shylock’s actions reveal a lot about his ethical beliefs: that he would go as far as to kill a man in order to get revenge.
Brabantio, the father of Desdemona, cannot stand Othello and is absolutely enraged when he finds out that his daughter has been seeing Othello behind his back. Unlike the other characters who refer to Othello in a racist way only behind his back, Brabantio makes these comments to Othello’s face. Brabantio constantly calls him a “moor” which is a racist way of saying that he is a black-skinned Arab from North Africa. He may use these comments, such as “sooty bosom” (1.2.89), to Othello’s face because he is the Senator of Venice and is higher in rank than Othello, feeling that he needs to make sure Othello knows who is in charge. I believe, however, that while Brabantio definitely dislikes Othello, many of the racist ideas are directly placed into his head by Iago, as many of the ideas in the play are.
This shows how unfair the targeting of Othello to be sabotaged was. These facts about the play tell us that Othello was targeted unjustly. The way Shakespeare writes Othello as being a noble and loyal man to those people of greater status in Venice such as the Senator, Brabantio, but is played by the strings of Iago, a standard class Venetian citizen. This shows how out of control Othello was of the whole situation that unfolds with Iago. Iago begins to tell Othello things that make Othello finally become doubtful of his wife’s faithfulness.
That’s what let me know I had some prejudice buried inside me” (Kidd 78). Even Lily realizes she is racist and is genuinely surprised by this. She struggles with, and in the end, finally overcomes, her racist self. Furthermore, Lily realizes she is racist when she is surprised that Zach is handsome and that she could be attracted to blacks. She also is surprised Zach wants to be a lawyer when he grows up rather than an athlete like Lily thinks.
How do Webster and Shakespeare use The Duchess of Malfi and Othello as a forum to explore a typical corrupt patriarchal society? The obsessive male desire to dominate, control and punish women that exists in a corrupt patriarchal society is evidenced in the rigid social hierarchies and moral weakness of the male character, ultimately leading to the deaths of the virtuous and integral female characters. Both playwrights reveal that a patriarchal society although seemingly predicated on the oppression of women, has rules, boundaries and constraints that divide the people into their class, standard of living and level of resentment. In Shakespeare’s Othello there is evidence of strict social barriers and restraints that are shown in Iago’s character in Act 1, Scene 1. He finds himself restricted by the social hierarchy of a 16th century society in which birth and pedigree equate to status and he resents it.
Many of them dislike him through jealousy; only a handful detests him fearing that he will be a tyrant. To assess Caesar’s personality in a correct perspective, it is necessary to keep this background in mind. In the unfolding events of the tragedy, we can see the various elements of Caesar’s character, ranging from his love to his wife and friends to his boastful vanity and arrogance which ultimately pave the way for his own end. Caesar disliked Contemplation of the sequence of events, as unfolding in the play, may be a decent approach for this evaluation. In the opening scene, workers come out on the streets, without going for work, to see Caesar returning to Rome in triumph over Pompey.
Her actions ultimately lead to the murder of her first husband Camillo, her sexual presence and beauty creating jealousy and envy in the men that meet her. Vittoria is not an innocent character, but she is a product of women’s social limitations in the patriarchal society Webster has chosen to set the play in. Vittoria is undoubtedly the central character of the novel, the events throughout are as a result of her liaison with Brachiano, sparking a journey of murder and treachery. The title of the book ‘The White Devil’ describes Vittoria well, and helps display that she is not an innocent character. Being compared to the devil in a novel set in a heavily catholic country shows that she is evil, and the subtitle ‘The Tragedy of Paulo Giordano Ursini, Duke of Brachiano, With the Life and Death of Vittoria Corombona the famous Venetian Curtizan’ supports this.
Shakespeare presents these through the complexity of the characters and the language and plot antitheses. Black and white is a binary opposition that Shakespeare develops throughout the play. The most obvious evidence of this is in the characters. Othello is characterized as a black man and it is this aspect of his persona that evokes the sense that Othello is an outsider. Desdemona is a privileged, white lady and it is this colouring that symbolises her innocence and angelic nature.
The poem "On the Subway" by Sharon Olds, describes the intesity of racial confrontation, gender contrasts, and financial differences by the use of poetic devicies, imagery, juxtaposition, and tone. Olds uses imagery in her poem to decribe the racial confrontation. An example of this devicie is in line 3-5 of the poem, "his feet are huge, in black sneakers laced with white in a complex pattern like a set of intentional scars." The scars portray to the discrimination against the black man by white society. Olds imagery denotes that whites purposely harm blacks, such as whites are powerful; blacks are subservient.