Racism In White Man's Burden By William Shakespeare

Racism has been a prominent problem all throughout history and still is a major issue preventing peace and trust between a lot of different ethnicities and races around the world as well. Furthermore, racism has been an idea or institution that has been somewhat spread through the influx of diverse immigrants (like Jews, and African Americans) into populated nations and ethnic disputes caused social turmoil. This, evidently, led to the discrimination and segregation of alot of civilians, namely African Americans and those of the Jewish belief during a large portion of history. As a result, many revolts created by those of different races have taken place, as well as the occurrence of events of the Jewish Diaspora, and protests led by African

Therefore, writing has also been a vessel to describe characteristics of racism, or to express personal views about those of other races without doing so as well. A notable example of racism in literary works is the tragedy Othello by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare described a military general, Othello, his lover Desdemona, and a devious plotter Iago. As the reader delves deeper into the meaning of Othello, it can be inferred that Othello’s feelings for Desdemona are repeatedly and heartlessly tampered with by Iago, in hopes of attaining Michael Cassio’s military respect and status. Therefore, as Othello received enough false truth about Desdemona’s infidelity from Iago,Desdemona was murdered by the hands of Othello without a second thought. Othello finds out only to realize Desdemona’s love for Othello was pure, when learning of this Othello commits suicide from the shame and guilt that rested upon his

Said to be an advanced writer, Shakespeare has written many plays for the benefit of the social classes in England. While all of these titles may be valid, Shakespeare has written many pieces that have attracted controversy as well. His most notable pieces; Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello have gained much recognition during the time of its writing. Othello however, has gained much racial recognition, and had known to be themed around racial and sexual injustice. Critics have also analyzed Othello, and have found many representations of a various amount of stereotypes, mainly around Moors(African Americans), in Othello. Michelle Lee, a critic of Shakespeare’s work, described in an article breaking down the themes and different ideas and examples of racism expressed in Othello. As stated by Lee, “Othello (1604) is generally regarded as a captivating domestic tragedy that concentrates on the psychological repercussions of racial hatred and sexual jealousy.”(Lee, 1). In the critics analysis, Lee proves the presence of racial hatred, as well as sexual jealousy in the play. The quote goes to prove that themes of racism, hatred, and jealousy are ideas that are seen in Othello, and contribute to the development of characters and the play itself. In another criticism of Othello, the similar idea of the representation of racial hatred is represented as well. Ryan Kiernan, another