...play did do a good job in it's representation of a black man in a position of power, as well as the display of an interracial marriage (though it does go up in flames). The way Shakespeare portrays some clearly racist characters as using derogatory names towards Othello, such as Roderigo calling him, “thick lips”(I.i.72), is actually fairly progressive as well. The reader gets a feeling Shakespeare does not condone this, but is rather making a point of how stupid it sounds. Other than those few fairly on the nose points though, issues of race are largely ignored and some problematic ideas are even perpetuated.The major underlying issue with race here is that in the end, the black man ends up where stereotype would have him be, a dead, titleless, murderer. It is presumably his internalized insecurity about his position as a powerful black man, caused by constant belittling with such remarks as the aforementioned one, that make him so quick to believe that his wife has been unfaithful. Racism prevails, and two of the most progressive aspects of this play: the black general, and the forbidden marriage, are killed with the main characters. The destruction of these points reinforce the thought that they are not meant to be. If this were truly progressive, The racism would still be pointed out, but it wouldn't be accepted, and it surely wouldn’t prevail over love. On a similar note, Desdemona, upon being asked who killed her, responds, “Nobody. I myself. Farewell. Commend me to my kind...
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...becomes too deep in his ideology of masculinity which later causes his own tragic demise. The focus of this essay is to discuss the contribution of the various settings in the development of Okonkwo and its relevance in today's society. This novel is partitioned into three main parts which deal with three remarkably different settings. These are Umofia, Mbanta and the Umofia in change respectively. In the first part, which is in Umofia, Achebe offered an understanding of Okonkwo's nature who lived in fear of becoming like his father. Achebe furthered on providing precise characteristics of his father who was notorious for his unmanly behaviour and therefore died in dispute. He had always been associated with agbala; woman and titleless(pg 13). Through this, the reader's are privileged with the significant event that occurred in Okonkwo's course of life in which he grew up in in criticism. This experience has been essential in the formation of his character where he had always been haunted by the actions of his father and attempted to adopt totally opposite characteristics of his father. Although he managed to attain a position of wealth and prestige in his clan, he was always dazed by the fear of being regarded to his father, an emasculated figure that he associated with women. In effort to avoid this, he associated masculinity with aggression- the only emotion that he allowed himself to display. This is discovered in a few events in the novel such as when his wife...
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...Reading the Novel in English 1950–2000 i RTNA01 1 13/6/05, 5:28 PM READING THE NOVEL General Editor: Daniel R. Schwarz The aim of this series is to provide practical introductions to reading the novel in both the British and Irish, and the American traditions. Published Reading the Modern British and Irish Novel 1890–1930 Reading the Novel in English 1950–2000 Daniel R. Schwarz Brian W. Shaffer Forthcoming Reading the Eighteenth-Century Novel Paula R. Backscheider Reading the Nineteenth-Century Novel Harry E. Shaw and Alison Case Reading the American Novel 1780–1865 Shirley Samuels Reading the American Novel 1865–1914 G. R. Thompson Reading the Twentieth-Century American Novel James Phelan ii RTNA01 2 13/6/05, 5:28 PM Reading the Novel in English 1950–2000 Brian W. Shaffer iii RTNA01 3 13/6/05, 5:28 PM © 2006 by Brian W. Shaffer BLACKWELL PUBLISHING 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Brian W. Shaffer to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and...
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