Racism And Usage Of Animal Imagery In Othello

She's, like a liar, gone to burning hell:

'Twas I that kill'd her.

O, the more angel she,

And you the blacker devil! (5.2.130-133)

When Othello kills Desdemona, he enacts a racist stereotype – that black men are violent, savage, and to be feared.

Othello’s insecurity about his skin colour and heritage is a tragic flaw. He is the highly-respected general of the armies of Venice. He is not a native of Venice, but rather a Moor, or North American. Othello is easy prey to insecurities because of his self-consciousness about being a racial and cultural outsider. This is a tragic flaw because it leads to death. He is insecure about himself already, and when he finds out that the one person he truly loves and trusts is “cheating” on him, he instantly believes it because he believes that he is not good enough for her. He knows that he does not meet Brabantio’s standards, and that Brabantio does not want his daughter married to a black man. His insecurities are so close to the surface, that a few deceiving words from Iago can easily cause Othello to burst and be seen at his worst.

Even though he shares the same religion, values, and patriotism towards Venice, he is a black face among a sea of white faces and he is constantly referred to as “The Moor”, a representative African, while others are called by their personal names and are seen as independent individuals. This is disrespectful towards Othello since he is the General and should be respected and be called by his respectable name. This lowers Othello’s self-esteem and confidence because when the other characters call him “black” they not only refer to his face but also to the concept of colour symbolism in Elizabethan morality: White is honour, black is wickedness(Evil/bad), white is innocence, black is guilt.

All my fond love thus do I blow to heaven.

'Tis gone.

Arise, black vengeance, from thy hollow cell! (Act III, 3, 442-445)

Othello himself associates blackness with something negative - 'vengeance'

This shows the lack of pride and confidence in Othello. He is not proud of who he is and is not comfortable in his own skin.

OTHELLO

My name, that was as fresh

As Dian's visage, is now begrimed and black

As mine own face. (3.3.383-385)

This is one of the most important passages in the play. When Othello suspects that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio, he suggests that his 'name,' or his reputation, is now soiled and 'begrimed' because of his wife's supposed infidelity.

What's interesting about this passage is Othello's use of a racist discourse. When he says his 'name' used to be 'as fresh as Dian's' face, he compares his (former) good reputation with the 'freshness' of a white face. (Diane is the goddess of the palemoon and of chastity.) Now that Othello feels his wife's supposed sexual infidelity has soiled his good reputation, he compares his once good name to his 'begrimed and black' face. In other words, Othello associates the blackness of his own skin with something dirty and stained, which is exactly the kind of thing that the racist Venetian characters (like Brabantio) have been saying all along. This shows his insecurity and a sense that he is giving in. Othello is listening to the hateful and racist comment towards him and he is believing what others are saying about him.

Roderigo shows his racist side by referring to Othello as “thick-lips”.

Even now, now, very now, an old black ram

Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise;

Awake the snorting citizens with the bell,

Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you.

Arise I say! (Act I, 1, 89-93)

In this quote, Iago uses racist slurs when he wakes Brabantio with the news that his daughter, Desdemona, has eloped with Othello. When Iago says an 'old black ram' (Othello) is sleeping with Brabantio's 'white ewe' (Desdemona), he plays on Elizabethan notions that black men have an animal-like, hyper-sexuality. Iago is trying to manipulate Brabantio's fears of miscegenation (when a couple 'mixes races' through marriage and/or sex).

An important note is that, Othello is a Christian, Iago calls him 'the devil,' playing on a sixteenth century idea that black men were evil and that the devil often took the shape and form of a black man. This is foreshadowing to Desdemona's tragic death when Othello suffocates her in bed because Iago mentions, 'You'll have your daughter covered with a barbary horse' and in the end, Othello, the 'Barbary horse' smothers her and suffocates her to death.

Because we come to 

do you service and you think we are ruffians, you'll

have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse;

you'll have your nephews neigh to you;

(Act 1, scene 1, line 110) 

Iago uses animal imagery, and says that black men and women are inhuman.

In conclusion, Othello's racial insecurity is a tragic flaw because it is a major cause in his tragic downfall. It was just one of the many ingredients that drove Othello to the solution of murder, but it's one that stands out the most. When he finds out that the one person he truly loves and trusts is “cheating” on him, he instantly believes it because he believes that he is not good enough for her. He knows that he does not meet Brabantio’s standards, and that Brabantio does not want his daughter married to a black man. Othello instantly believed that Desdemona was cheating on him with Cassio because he feels so insecure and low about himself that he wouldn't even question it because deep down he must be thinking 'Why wouldn't she cheat on me?' 'Her father doesn't accept me' and 'I am the devil' 'I am black.' Racist comments got to Othello's head and caused his insecurities to build, which then turned into a tragic flaw, leading to his downfall.

Personally, I do not think he was being racist because the whole story line was a black man falling in love with a white woman, he was promoting racial equality in his play. But Shakespeare did write some racist passages in the play that showed that if Othello was a white man then things would have worked better between Othello and Desdemona’s relationship. Whenever Othello did something bad, the other characters would some how associate the problem with Othello’s skin colour/heritage. In conclusion, Shakespeare did write racist passages, but really it was only to support his story and his message of promoting of racial equality.