Othello Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 11

Othello - Essay Example In addition, Iago is overly ambitious and power-hungry. He is willing to use deception, manipulation, and murder to gain what he thinks he deserves. He is a dangerously selfish man. As for Othello, he is a level-headed and virtuous person. Even when Iago says something about complaints against Othello, the latter does not respond aggressively. Othello is not malicious and aggressive, and instead, he thinks that his good record will prove his merits to all. Part B: Shakespeare described Othello as a "Moor."   Did he intend him to be Black?   Opinions differ, although he is usually assumed to be Black by critics and directors.   Interesting, he has only recently begun to be played routinely by Black actors; for centuries he was played by white men in blackface.   Ick--if you doubt me take a gander at Laurence Olivier doing it as recently as 1965:   http://shakespeare.berkeley.edu/index.php?option=com_g2bridge&view=gallery&Itemid=256&g2_view=core%3AShowItem&g2_itemId=15658&g2_imageViewsIndex=1 Comment.   Many of the characters comment about Othellos ethnic identity in all sorts of different ways over the course of the play.   Look at both the major and the minor characters.   What do they say?   What attitudes can you discern?   Answer: The major characters treat and say outright that Othello is a Moor. They have prejudice and discrimination against outsiders. They do not think that Othello deserves to be in a position of power and to have a white wife. As for the minor characters, not many believe in and respect Othello. He does not have many faithful followers, despite his goodness. Part C: Iago insidiously leads Othello from being a man completely in control of himself to one verging on insanity. How does he do that? Find the process in the language and structure of the play. Where and now is the process moved forward, stopped, stalled, redirected, and