Initially I was intrigued as to why Othello and Desdemona
were married in secret. Then as I saw
the situation Othello was in, as the Moor, it made more sense as to why the
marriage was not public or even known by Desdemona’s father. It reminded me of
a friend who had eloped and married someone she loved but didn’t know if her
parents would approve.
Roderigo
creates tension between Othello and Barbantio because he wishes to marry Desdemona.
Though rejected as a possible suitor, he is the type that is easily persuaded and
fooled into doing Iago’s dirty work.
Roderigo gives up hope easily and wants to quit, but he is used by Iago,
as a foil character, to stirrup Barbantio and keep Iago’s presence unknown. Roderigo’s purpose in Othello act one is to be
the “middle man”, devil’s advocate between the antagonist Iago and protagonist
Othello while thinking he is getting closer to obtaining Desdemona.
Shakespeare
attempts to show how being prejudice can cause an individual to feel worthless
and belittled through the use of symbolism.
Othello, as a Moor, is referred to as “an old black ram” (par. 90) in
context to having sex with a white ewe. We
know this is referring to Othello having sex with Desdemona; however, it is the
symbolism of the black ram polluting the purity of a white ewe that shows prejudices
against the Moor. Being referenced as an
animal is demeaning and the contrast of the black ram with the white ewe
symbolize his social estrangement from the Venetian people. He is referred to as thief, lustful, and a practitioner
of black magic, along with several other prejudice titles, and we can see a
glimpse of the affect it has on Othello, “’Tis yet to know-…I fetch my life and
being from men of royal siege” (par. 20), when explaining to Iago that
Desdemona’s father would have to accept their marriage. Othello feels a need to prove himself and give
no reason to those that are prejudice to think less of him.
You describe Roderigo the best way possible. I also like that points you made about Othello and the racism against him. It's as if he has to continue to prove himself even after fighting all these battles to protect the people of Venice, especially Brabantio. He doesn't think he is good enough for his daughter because he is black but if he was white it would be totally fine. The metaphors Shakespeare uses as symbolism really do emphasis the subject of prejudice like you said.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your take on your thoughts about Roderigo. He is clearly just a middle man how you mention. Shakespeare brings him in the story so that Iago's plans can work or else they would probably not go thru. I also agree on what you say about Othello, the author does use symbolism to help him deliver the message about prejudice. I think the fact that Shakespeare created Othello as a black person made a big impact on the story as a whole. This became one of Othello's weakness because this gave other characters in the story a "reason" to attack him even though he was a good great warrior.
ReplyDeleteThat is a different way of looking at Roderigo! I didn't really think of him as a "foil character", but I can definately se your point! I also like how you said "obtaining Desdemona". It really shows how women are objectified in this play. You can't really say that Roderigo is "connecting with/ creating a relationship with Desdemona". It's all about "winning", "obtaining", or "buying" Desdemona, which is pretty sad, but true!
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