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.
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
The use of the word 'black' to signify both the Moor and an inherent evil informs readers of racial perceptions of not only the audience which consists of the characters around Othello, but also the greater audience of Elizabethan England. The portrayal of the Moor in Othello, oftentimes contradictory, reveals the dominant racial attitudes of the time period, and has continued to provide insight into shifting social conflicts throughout the centuries during which it has been performed. The question of Othello's true race has never been decided- evidence exists to suggest that the Venetian general was both an African and an Arab- but it is ultimately his status as a foreigner or outsider which truly instigates the racial repercussions of the play. This absolute otherness is implicit in the subtitle of the play itself (The Moor of Venice), which defines the character not in terms of his social role but solely in terms of race. Interestingly, despite his background Othello is initially considered honorable; it is only when race is connected with interracial sexual and marital unions that it becomes a heated emotional issue for the Venetians, and for
Dubois's philosophy not only shows nihilism in the black race during this era but it also shows the same lack of progression in the black community in 2011. It reminds us of the lack of harmonious solidarity as well as the lack of intellect, high morals and spiritual insight affecting the Black masses today. His piece brings up an array of valid points on why the black community is its own worst enemy when it comes to building a new infrastructure of educational, historical and financial knowledge of self like the Jewish, Asian and Indian cultures. Dubois says “It is the problem of developing the best of this race that they may guide the mass away from the contamination and death of the worst, in their own and other races. Now the training of men is a difficult and intricate task.”(Dubois 1) I personally think that the contamination of most blacks today is from out dated teachings, some churches, politicians and most importantly, the entertainment business.
Furthermore the tone creates an authentic voice which helps illustrate to the audience the African Americans anger and frustration towards the concept and from being racially prejudiced against in general. Likewise to the Aboriginals, regardless of their personal characteristic and personality, the African American would be labelled as an uneducated, unhygienic and less important to the whites due to ethnocentrism. This explicitly shows the effects of a social hierarchy, since the African Americans are at the bottom of the hierarchy, they’re treated as a race of no importance and value, which further highlights the racial prejudice that the African Americans suffer from. Alan Parker has utilized his text, Mississippi
Division is still among African Americans as an ethnic group. It’s perceived the lighter you are the better you are, or better looking. People with dark skin are trying to change the skin color because they believe it’s something wrong with it. Willie Lynch writes in his letter “You must use the DARK skin slaves vs. the LIGHT skin slaves and the LIGHT skin slaves vs. the DARK skin slaves.” During slavery if you were of a lighter color then you were a house slave and if you were dark then you worked outside. That started the separation of “color”.
The parts of a blackface minstrel show was to present the black character as being stupid, as being laughable, as being a silly person. What was worse about this is that people loved it. It’s as if that is what people had though about blacks all along that makes it really racist. So when you have Rice’s characterization of blacks it almost reaffirms what typical America had been thinking all along. Then you have the Virginia Minstrels that developed other characters that were way more obnoxious than the character Rice had portrayed.
* Richard Wright’s message in Black Boy is that only through perseverance and resiliency can the downtrodden triumph in times of adversity. * Black Boy shows how Richard lived in an unjust society. * Richard Wright demonstrates through Black Boy how racial injustice permeated Southern society in the first half of the 20th century. * Black Boy demonstrates that racism is evil. * Richard Wright’s experiences with racism in Black Boy demonstrate the depths of hatred and misunderstanding fostered by an imbalance of
In Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Hughes Not Without Laughter, and passages in Souls Looking Back, the struggles of African Americans are realistically portrayed in characters that go through traumatizing events while growing up in a place where blacks are seen as inferior to whites. These texts illustrate some of the major points in Peter’s essay: Constant exposure to racism leads to extreme environmental stress, blacks require more education than whites to be deemed successful, and whites can negatively influence individuals and make them want to change the way they live so they are not “associated” with the black population. In Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, there are many ways black lives are marginalized just because of the color of their skin. In Langston Hughes’s Not Without Laughter, the main character witnesses first hand how whites views of blacks are personal but society makes those views “normal”. The Souls Looking Back narrative explains how race is a social identity, and how blacks are inferior just because of color.
However, he is full of irony as he is completely deceived by the intents of Macbeth. One may view Duncan as an incompetent monarch in this respect though; Duncan represents moral order within the play. Duncan has proved himself to be kind, generous, and respectful of those who protect him and his country. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth fights with bravery against the invaders and as a result, is rewarded with the title “Thane of Cawdor” (1.2, 65) by King Duncan. King’s generous and undoubting nature makes him a popular and loved amongst the citizens.