Symptoms of Moral Illness in The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Great Gatsby

Author's Introduction: I completed this work for AP English Literature and Composition with Mrs. Inspektor. The assignment was an argumentative literary analysis essay focused on hierarchy in literature. For my essay, I analyzed Othello by William Shakespeare. 

In his tragic play Othello, William Shakespeare develops the titular character’s complex response to hierarchy by portraying his authority and respect within the military, while also highlighting his vulnerability and marginalization in Venetian society. Ultimately, Shakespeare reveals that social prejudice and rigid hierarchies can destabilize even the most competent and honorable individuals.

Shakespeare meticulously constructs Othello's relationship with Venetian hierarchy by framing him as a figure whose authority within the military commands admiration and unequivocal obedience. From the outset of the play, Othello’s strategic brilliance and valor are most evident. Most prominently, the audience comprehends Othello’s indispensability in the military hierarchy through others’ words about him. For instance, the Duke of Venice characterizes him as courageous and honorable, even publicly defending Othello against Brabantio’s accusations at the start of the play. He values Othello for his military service and integrity and prioritizes Othello’s leadership in defending Cyprus, showing that he sees him as a trusted military general, honorable, and essential to Venice’s safety. This reaction from a man of indisputable power not only celebrates Othello’s accomplishments but also positions him within a hierarchy that rewards proven skill over social background, thereby establishing a key aspect of Othello’s relationship with Venetian hierarchy—one in which he is respected. This meritocratic validation, however, extends beyond other characters’ testimonies, as Shakespeare also highlights Othello’s authority through the protagonist’s own public speech. This is where Othello most deliberately constructs his ethos—his credibility as a speaker and a man of integrity. For instance, when Othello is summoned before the Duke and the senators after Brabantio accuses him of using witchcraft to win over Desdemona, Othello responds with humility and eloquence, acknowledging the difference in his and Desdemona’s statuses and accepting full responsibility for marrying Desdemona. Though he modestly claims that he is not skilled in refined language, this very statement introduces a speech that is calm, structured, and rhetorically controlled. Furthermore, his composed narrative of courtship, grounded in both logic and genuine emotion, conveys humility as well as self-assurance. Likewise, Shakespeare portrays Othello as a competent and confident military leader, highlighting his authority in both personal and professional spheres. By allowing Othello to present his own account of events, Shakespeare grants him agency and public legitimacy, suggesting that he is well-respected within the military hierarchy. Ultimately, Shakespeare indirectly conveys Othello’s elevated position within the military hierarchy through his actions. For example, when Othello enters the scene amid the chaos that erupts shortly after Iago manipulates Cassio into drinking, his tone immediately shifts the atmosphere. When he calls “hold, for your lives,” the fighting stops instantly, and no one questions him or hesitates to obey him. His command alone restores order, demonstrating his high respect and effective assertion of dominance over his men, thereby solidifying his position at the top of the hierarchy. Through these techniques, Shakespeare contrasts the order and stability of a hierarchy grounded in competence with the volatility of one shaped by prejudice and insecurity. Othello’s military authority becomes a space in which his outsider identity is momentarily neutralized; however, the persistence of racial bias beneath this surface acceptance foreshadows his eventual unraveling.

Having established Othello as a figure whose authority within the military hierarchy commands admiration and unquestioned obedience, Shakespeare deepens the titular character’s relationship with Venetian hierarchy by also exposing the fragility of his integration as a man of color. From the outset, Brabantio’s language casts Othello as a barbaric outsider, accusing him of having used unnatural means to win Desdemona’s love and implying that she could only have fallen in love with him through spells or trickery. This imagery of witchcraft and corruption not only casts Othello as inferior and barbaric but also underscores how his racial identity limits his ability to succeed through the same means available to other men. Here, Shakespeare reveals a darker aspect of Othello’s relationship with Venetian hierarchy—one in which, despite all his hard work and military contributions, he will always be perceived as inferior because of his skin color, espousing the notion that social hierarchies in Venice remain deeply shaped by racial prejudice. Moreover, by positioning Brabantio’s prejudice against the Duke’s measured respect, Shakespeare foregrounds the tension between two competing hierarchies—one that rewards merit and one that enforces exclusion—thereby revealing the instability of Othello’s social standing. To further extend this exploration of marginalization, Shakespeare employs Iago’s calculated manipulation, which exploits the sort of societal biases Othello faces and deepens the latent insecurities within him. Othello’s own soliloquies throughout the play reveal his deep anxiety about his status as an outsider: he worries that Desdemona might not truly love him because of his age, his dark skin, and his perceived lack of refinement, reflecting the internalized prejudice he has absorbed from Venetian society. Shakespeare suggests this internal vulnerability is Othello’s fatal flaw: his insecurity about his social and racial standing makes him susceptible to Iago’s manipulations, ultimately turning his admirable qualities into tools of his own undoing. Othello’s response, therefore, is not only outwardly heroic but also inwardly fragile. Thus, through the dramatic irony of Iago’s plan to destroy Othello by exploiting his inner weaknesses, Shakespeare deepens Othello’s relationship with Venetian hierarchy. Outwardly, his role in the military renders him untouchable, but beyond the title as general, his race positions him much lower in hierarchy, thus rendering him more vulnerable than most other characters in the play. Shakespeare’s hierarchical representation becomes evident here: hierarchy does not merely determine status. Othello’s growing mistrust of Desdemona thus emerges not simply from personal weakness, but from the corrosive pressure of a society that has always positioned him as conditional and precarious. By embedding racial prejudice within both dialogue and plot mechanics, Shakespeare reveals how social hierarchies—unlike the structured military system—are governed by bias rather than justice. Ultimately, Shakespeare reveals that social prejudice and rigid hierarchies can destabilize even the most competent and honorable individuals, demonstrating how societal bias can undermine merit and authority regardless of personal achievement.