othello as an outsider essay

Although he is accepted into the Venetian society, his status is pretty complicated to say the lease as he is looked at as both an insider and outsider. Othello unintentionally puts himself into a position where he was standing out more than an outsider should, causing others to be jealous and despise him, as it lead him to his downfall. As tough as Othello is shown to be, he should also be to blame for his downfall due to his own sense of insecurity. His inability to be able to control

In Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello’s character is very out of place in Venice, however Othello is able to overcome his differences with his talent as a leader and speaker. Many of the other characters are racist towards Othello because he is an outsider. Othello’s character overcomes the prejudice of Venetian society because he possesses the qualities of a quintessential speaker and leader. From the beginning of the play, it is clear that Othello is faced with challenge of proving himself to his

of an outsider, whether as the focal source of tension that compels the plot forward or as a minor subplot that is craftily interwoven into the framework of the entire play. This is a concept that is reflected in Shakespeare’s Othello and The Merchant of Venice. However, the word ‘outsider’ must first be considered in relation to each of Shakespeare’s plays. For the purpose of this paper, an outsider is an individual that is not wholly accepted within a particular group; in the case of Othello and

century Venice, Othello, by William Shakespeare, explores the idea of an outsider from the very beginning of the play. Shakespeare uses Othello, a black army general, to explore the relationship of an outsider in high Venetian society using a variety of approaches. The reader sees characters consistently referring to Othello in derogatory and demeaning terms, as well as frequent implications that Othello is scarcely human. Further exploration of an outsider in society comes from Othello himself, as he

In Shakespeare’s play Othello, the titular character is considered an outsider who does not belong to Venetian society, which culminates in his downfall. Othello is a tragic hero because his noble, admirable qualities which cause him to make an error, leading to his destruction. Tragic hero’s are destined to be the causes of their own ruin. These fatal flaws can be attributed to him being an outsider as had he been white, Othello wouldn’t have been vulnerable for Iago to manipulate. It is Othello’s

In any story with a recurring dark theme there always must be an outsider from humanity who somehow stands out from the seemingly equal community. In the case of Shakespeare's Othello the outsider from humanity would be Iago for he truly stands out from the rest of society. Although Othello may be physically put out of the community, it seems that on an emotional and egotistical level Iago puts himself out of society further then Othello's blackness does. He is not merely manipulative, as other villains

Othello the Outsider       Shakespeare's tragic hero, Othello, was a man whose gifts far outnumbered his weaknesses. On the battlefield, he was accomplished; in his profession, he was highly ranked; and, in his life, he was blissfully married. Despite these great advantages, however, Othello's destiny was ruin. Everything he had so carefully made for himself would be destroyed by one flaw: his fear of remaining an outsider. He feared this fate, yet he harped on it continuously, tearing himself

This book presents an interesting study on how some of Shakespeare’s characters can be defined as ‘outsiders’ simply because they belong to other cultures and/or lands. The book also takes into account the fact of how these characters have been treated by Shakespeare. Can we say that Othello’s treatment in Othello is biased on the basis of his color and ethnicity? He is a respected moor in the beginning, but as the play proceeds further, he is treated as an inferior creature because of the difference

Shakespeare portrays Venice as incredibly advanced for its time. This is seen especially though its democratic justice system, as we are shown that in Act One everybody has a voice regardless of their colour or sex. The fact that Othello has obtained the high position of “general” within the army suggests that his chances have by no means been restricted by the colour of his skin. Also the fact that he is treated with the utmost respect from the Duke, the highest authority in Venice, shows that the

Similarly, Iago is made is made an outsider, and in turn the play’s self destructing villain, through the social hierarchy. Compared to both Othello and Cassio, Iago is of a lower class. Iago is given a condescending name throughout the book, similar to Othello’s. He is called “honest Iago” by higher ups. In the same manner as “noble Moor”, “honest Iago” implies that those who belong to a lower class are dishonest. He is first driven to jealousy because Othello recruits Cassio to the post of lieutenant