Click here to go to the NEW College Discussion Forum

Why is it so important that Othello is black?

I need three reasons to start my first paragraph and thesis statement.

Thanks

By Mrpancake_2000 (Mrpancake_2000) on Sunday, December 14, 2003 - 11:12 pm: Edit

my english teacher said that isn't really an issue at all in the story. after having read it, i don't believe race is an issue in the story

By Minnesoder (Minnesoder) on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 01:37 am: Edit

oh come on, the fact that he's Black is indeed very important. do you think there would have been the same fuss if he were some hired white warrior?

By Memememe (Memememe) on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 01:38 am: Edit

He's not necessarily black either. He's a Moor, which means Northern African, not necessarily black but from Morocco, Algeria, etc.

Race itself is not an issue. But it's crucial that he be an outsider. That is why he feels insecure about himself and whether Desdemona loves him. It's clear in the play that Othello has a major inferiority complex in some areas. Being an outsider, whether black or Northern African, is crucial to establishing that situation.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 03:54 am: Edit

Ah...Minnesoder, being Black did not bring the same baggage in Elizabethan England that it does in the contemporary USA, nor was Elizabethan England comparable to, say, the early Roman Empire.

Being a Moor is definitely more on point and Memememe has the point of being an outsider nailed.

By Mrpancake_2000 (Mrpancake_2000) on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 08:43 am: Edit

Yeah, the fact that he is an outsider is what's important. Desdemona could have had ANYONE, she is the "perfect" woman. That fact that she chose the outsider is a pretty big part of the play.

By Wunderkind__Not (Wunderkind__Not) on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 10:40 am: Edit

But she didn't "chose" him because he was black, but becuase he had fantastic and exotic journeys from being a military officer.

By Wunderkind__Not (Wunderkind__Not) on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 10:41 am: Edit

choose* lol

By Jamimom (Jamimom) on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 03:39 pm: Edit

What an interesting topic! I have not read "Othello" in a while so I cannot tell you since I do not remember what references were made to his color. Other than the "Moor" description, I can't really say.
However, I have gone to several Broadway plays in the last few years that have shown a most enlightened trend. Many of these plays are cast without a thought to color. In "Les Mis", an African American was cast as a mother to a fair blonde child. There was a black Belle in "A Christmas Carol". And it did not hurt the performances at all. They were so well done, the actresses were perfect. It mattered not at all. I remember in highschool and college many years ago this was debated several times. Why should part for a play be color coded? Now the answer is pretty obvious. Unless the play is specifically about color, it does not. And I am beginning to think even if it is, it may be performed by actors of a different color. The performances I saw showed me it does not make a difference.

By Valpal (Valpal) on Thursday, December 18, 2003 - 01:50 am: Edit

Here's a question: Why shouldn't a boy be cast as Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz"?