Corruption Quotes In Othello

Commonly, honor is defined as, “high respect; great esteem,” but William Shakespeare uses his tragedy, “Othello”, to represent a separate definition: “the adherence to what is right or to a conventional standard of conduct.” In “Othello", this definition of honor is used frequently throughout the play, emerging from the motifs of Purity v.s. Corruption. Shakespeare uses those motifs to portray aspects of the themes of racism and women as property. These depictions allow us to view Othello’s connection to his race to his self worth, while showing the sexist and racist ideals he carries. These connotations allow us to see the motif of Purity vs. Corruption represents both the plays' underlying racial biases as well as how women are regarded

Corruption to present the theme of Women as property, while showing how the men of the play place worth and value to women. This first vision of Women as property is prevalent in the beginning of the play, when Desdemona and Othello’s relationship was revealed to Brabantio. He was devastated and shocked, because he viewed her as a “jewel”(1.3.196), “A maiden never bold,/ Of spirit”(1.3.95-96). He did not believe she would have the recklessness and nerve to talk, let alone marry, a man like Othello. He stood so firm in this belief, accepting the false explanation that Othello magically forced Desdemona to fall in love with him. By having Brabantio describe Desdemona in comparison to an abject, Shakespeare sets the story up for a theme as women as property. She is further described as being ‘stolen/robbed’ from Brabantio. Using this description, Shakespeare expresses how the men of the play view Desdemona as a trophy, because she is a perfect wife, and has all the qualities that a wife should possess. This vision of Desdemona continues until her honor is at risk, and suddenly all of her positive qualities are. After Iago convinces Othello of a false affair between Desdemona and Cassio, all of Othello's previous love for Desdemona dissipates. He begins to view her as a ‘whore’(4.2.21) and a ‘strumpet’(4.2.91), both words representing Othello’s ownership over Desdemona. Shakespeare further reveals Othello’s true vision of

Honor drives Othello in all aspects of his life, from his work, to his married life. For Othello, this feeling of honor was deeply connected to his reputation, to what other people think of him. This is affected, though, by his race, because many did not believe him worthy of his status and position because of his race. Without a steady reputation, Othello believes he must do anything and everything to protect his honor. This importance of honor is heavily apparent when the honor of his wife is at risk. After Iago manipulates Othello into believing that his wife has not been loyal, Othello is shocked, and scared of the effect on his honor. The more manipulation by Iago, leads to more fear and rash acting by Othello. This escalates into an equivalent of a fight or flight response. Othello believes that, in order to protect his honor and his reputation, he must kill Desdemona. This rash decision surfaced from a point of extreme manipulation, and despair; a situation created by Iago. When Othello is describing himself and the act he was about to commit, he constantly uses the word honor. He considered himself an “honorable murderer”, and that he did everything, “naught [in hate], but all in honor”(5.2.345). He believed that murder was a worse crime