News, announcements, and commentary for the students and families of GAMP.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Othello @ Qunitessense
Define race. What does Othello teach us about race in the Elizabethan era when the play takes place? Use examples from the play to support your response. Is it any different from how race works today?
If i had to define RACE in my own words,today,I'd describe it as an idea that can be used to distinguish groups of people based on physical ethnic traits. However, if I were to define race during periods like the Elizabethan era I would define race as a way to distinguish cultural groups different from "our country's" typical person. Though now we mainly base race solely on ethnicity, stereotypes played a big role into the formation of the different racial groups we now today. If you were white you were automatically supreme over all others and could dictate people who were "less than"'s lives. I think that as race begins to be defined as an idea in the Elizabethan society people begin to require separation from other "races" and racism begins.
When categorizing different people, society can use race to group people together. Race is just a trait that describes which group of people a person belongs with. In the play Othello, race was a big part of the story. Othello, a black man, was insulted throughout the play for his skin color and for his marriage to Desdemona, a white woman. Some characters even thought that he must have used witchcraft or drugs to lure her, because she couldn’t have fallen in love with him on her own. Although Othello was a powerful general, he never seemed to fight back against their racism. I think a lot of non-black people in the Elizabethan era thought like the characters in this play. They were all comfortable with their superiority over black people, and they were okay with being racist towards them. Since then, I think that thinking has changed. It’s important now that people be politically correct in society. People have to be careful of what they say openly about people’s race; it’s not culturally accepted to be a racist, even towards people who are non-black.
To me, race is a way to catergorize people by skin tone and ethnicity. I think that race was and still is used to (try to) keep people in their place. and to stop them from progressing Back then, during the Elizabethan era race was used to depictate power among those different groups of individuals. The white people held the most power and the most influence. The Europeans were in control of the press. with this power the Europeans were able to control what their citizens read. Racism was often used during this time to glorify other races. For example in Before Othello the africans were portrayed as rude and that they didnt have a government or a religion. This accustation is false and misleading. Becuase of this black people were looked at negatively and it may have also tricked the uneducated Europeans into enslaving more africans. Today in more modern times racism is still here and is affecting many lives daily but I don't think it was as strong as it was back then. The white people, in a way, still how alot of power in todays society and black people are still looked down upon because of false rumors made up in the past,and somtimes the present. The world is a horrid and ridculous place.
Race is a system used to categorize humans into large and distinct populations or groups, by ancestry, history, language, culture, physical appearance, ethnicity, and social status. Race was a major part in Othello. In the play, Othello constantly faced racism from other characters, because of his sexual relationship with Desdemona, a white woman. Even though he faces racism from the other characters, he is a general who has risen from power and influence despite his race and status as a foreigner in Venice. How race was then and how race is now is not very different. Back then, people were judged by their physical appearance and ethnicity, although people now still do, I would say it isn't as bad as it was then but it still occurs, because white people are still considered "superior" and black people as "inferior" due to differences in skin color.
Race is a way to distinguish the difference between color and the groups of people. In Othello , he teaches us that the Europeans had the most power. Even though he was the the general of the Venetian army the Europeans did not have much respect for him. Him and Desdemona was in love. They didn't believe this was true because of the color of his skin. They thought that he used witch craft on her because why would she fall for a black man. They didn't like this looks of this , so Cassio tricked him, which ended up killing Desdemona and Othello. In the play Othello took pride in his color he didn't care what anyone had to say. He had his own power against them because he was different. I think race works differently today because their isn't as much hate towards each other. Everybody knows every is different, which makes them unique
Race is a classification system with no scientific basis that is used to categorize humans into groups based on physical appearance, culture, and ethnicity. Othello teaches us that race matters in the Elizabethan era.People don't like people who are different from them. In the beginning of the play Iago refers to Othello as 'the Moor' and 'barbarous', black 'Othello'. Iago and other characters make various references to Othello's race throughout the play. Iago despises Othello from the beginning of the play for no justifiable reason and plots his downfall. Othello is not barbaric or evil, but a good soldier and a trusting person. During the Elizabethan era, the character Othello would not have been played by a black person, but by a white person in black face. The fact that 'Othello' ends Othello killing Desdemona and then himself in tragedy sends a negative message about blacks in the Elizabethan era. Race today works differently. It isn't acceptable to openly show hate toward other races because that would be considered racist. Race does not matter today as much as it did in the Elizabethan era because modern society is so much more racially diverse which forces people to be more accepting of other races.
During the Elizabethan era, race was be beginning to evolve as an idea. Othello clearly demonstrates the rift, whether blatantly or in secret, between whites and blacks. Once race was established as an idea and was implemented in everyday life, the concept of one race(Europeans) being greater than another(Blacks)began to spread. Even though blacks and whites began to interact more and more as time progressed , the treatment they received wasn't always fair. Othello was secretly discriminated against by his crew mates and they made racial jokes and used slurs behind his back. Othello, as a play, also shows how how some people weren't affected by the idea of race and were determined to overcome people's judgments. All in all, Othello shows that race during the Elizabethan era began to create a rift between the cultural groups in Europe.
Race is a MAN MADE division of humankind, based on physical traits. Othello teaches us a lot the way race was viewed in the Elizabethan era, and its impact on society. This idea was expressed throughout the play. The part of the play that showed this the most in my opinion was in the very beginning when Lago and Roderigo were both talking about Othello. Overall they both believed that Othello was beneath them simply because of his race. I think this shows how many Europeans viewed themselves more superior than Africans. Race now a days is without a doubt different than race in the Elizabethan era. Many of the barriers that held Africans back from basic human rights have now been broken. Now a days Africans have the same rights as Europeans. In conclusion, I believe Othello did a good job of showing how race was defined during this era as well as showing how Africans were beginning to be accepted.
8 comments:
If i had to define RACE in my own words,today,I'd describe it as an idea that can be used to distinguish groups of people based on physical ethnic traits. However, if I were to define race during periods like the Elizabethan era I would define race as a way to distinguish cultural groups different from "our country's" typical person. Though now we mainly base race solely on ethnicity, stereotypes played a big role into the formation of the different racial groups we now today. If you were white you were automatically supreme over all others and could dictate people who were "less than"'s lives. I think that as race begins to be defined as an idea in the Elizabethan society people begin to require separation from other "races" and racism begins.
When categorizing different people, society can use race to group people together. Race is just a trait that describes which group of people a person belongs with. In the play Othello, race was a big part of the story. Othello, a black man, was insulted throughout the play for his skin color and for his marriage to Desdemona, a white woman. Some characters even thought that he must have used witchcraft or drugs to lure her, because she couldn’t have fallen in love with him on her own. Although Othello was a powerful general, he never seemed to fight back against their racism.
I think a lot of non-black people in the Elizabethan era thought like the characters in this play. They were all comfortable with their superiority over black people, and they were okay with being racist towards them. Since then, I think that thinking has changed. It’s important now that people be politically correct in society. People have to be careful of what they say openly about people’s race; it’s not culturally accepted to be a racist, even towards people who are non-black.
To me, race is a way to catergorize people by skin tone and ethnicity. I think that race was and still is used to (try to) keep people in their place. and to stop them from progressing Back then, during the Elizabethan era race was used to depictate power among those different groups of individuals. The white people held the most power and the most influence. The Europeans were in control of the press. with this power the Europeans were able to control what their citizens read. Racism was often used during this time to glorify other races. For example in Before Othello the africans were portrayed as rude and that they didnt have a government or a religion. This accustation is false and misleading. Becuase of this black people were looked at negatively and it may have also tricked the uneducated Europeans into enslaving more africans. Today in more modern times racism is still here and is affecting many lives daily but I don't think it was as strong as it was back then. The white people, in a way, still how alot of power in todays society and black people are still looked down upon because of false rumors made up in the past,and somtimes the present. The world is a horrid and ridculous place.
Race is a system used to categorize humans into large and distinct populations or groups, by ancestry, history, language, culture, physical appearance, ethnicity, and social status. Race was a major part in Othello. In the play, Othello constantly faced racism from other characters, because of his sexual relationship with Desdemona, a white woman. Even though he faces racism from the other characters, he is a general who has risen from power and influence despite his race and status as a foreigner in Venice.
How race was then and how race is now is not very different. Back then, people were judged by their physical appearance and ethnicity, although people now still do, I would say it isn't as bad as it was then but it still occurs, because white people are still considered "superior" and black people as "inferior" due to differences in skin color.
Race is a way to distinguish the difference between color and the groups of people. In Othello , he teaches us that the Europeans had the most power. Even though he was the the general of the Venetian army the Europeans did not have much respect for him. Him and Desdemona was in love. They didn't believe this was true because of the color of his skin. They thought that he used witch craft on her because why would she fall for a black man. They didn't like this looks of this , so Cassio tricked him, which ended up killing Desdemona and Othello. In the play Othello took pride in his color he didn't care what anyone had to say. He had his own power against them because he was different.
I think race works differently today because their isn't as much hate towards each other. Everybody knows every is different, which makes them unique
Race is a classification system with no scientific basis that is used to categorize humans into groups based on physical appearance, culture, and ethnicity.
Othello teaches us that race matters in the Elizabethan era.People don't like people who are different from them. In the beginning of the play Iago refers to Othello as 'the Moor' and 'barbarous', black 'Othello'. Iago and other characters make various references to Othello's race throughout the play. Iago despises Othello from the beginning of the play for no justifiable reason and plots his downfall. Othello is not barbaric or evil, but a good soldier and a trusting person. During the Elizabethan era, the character Othello would not have been played by a black person, but by a white person in black face. The fact that 'Othello' ends Othello killing Desdemona and then himself in tragedy sends a negative message about blacks in the Elizabethan era.
Race today works differently. It isn't acceptable to openly show hate toward other races because that would be considered racist. Race does not matter today as much as it did in the Elizabethan era because modern society is so much more racially diverse which forces people to be more accepting of other races.
During the Elizabethan era, race was be beginning to evolve as an idea. Othello clearly demonstrates the rift, whether blatantly or in secret, between whites and blacks. Once race was established as an idea and was implemented in everyday life, the concept of one race(Europeans) being greater than another(Blacks)began to spread. Even though blacks and whites began to interact more and more as time progressed , the treatment they received wasn't always fair. Othello was secretly discriminated against by his crew mates and they made racial jokes and used slurs behind his back. Othello, as a play, also shows how how some people weren't affected by the idea of race and were determined to overcome people's judgments. All in all, Othello shows that race during the Elizabethan era began to create a rift between the cultural groups in Europe.
Race is a MAN MADE division of humankind, based on physical traits. Othello teaches us a lot the way race was viewed in the Elizabethan era, and its impact on society. This idea was expressed throughout the play. The part of the play that showed this the most in my opinion was in the very beginning when Lago and Roderigo were both talking about Othello. Overall they both believed that Othello was beneath them simply because of his race. I think this shows how many Europeans viewed themselves more superior than Africans. Race now a days is without a doubt different than race in the Elizabethan era. Many of the barriers that held Africans back from basic human rights have now been broken. Now a days Africans have the same rights as Europeans. In conclusion, I believe Othello did a good job of showing how race was defined during this era as well as showing how Africans were beginning to be accepted.
Post a Comment