Racism in Othello and An Echo in the Bone - 2296 Words

Every emancipation is a restoration of the human world and of human relationships to man himself. MARX, Zur Judenfrage (1844) It has often been mistaken that racism only exists between those who are black and white. This of course, has largely been influenced by colonialism and slavery in the New World. Carlos Hoyt Jr in his article, ‘The Pedagogy of the Meaning of Racism: Reconciling a Discordant Discourse,’ states that although several key concepts in the study of diversity, social bias, and social justice are somewhat nebulous and overlapping, for example, culture, race and ethnicity, there†¦show more content†¦Racism hummed within the veins of the oppressed and the oppressors alike and blanketed the atmosphere within that era and in the play as well. Through the nine night ritual and a series of possession and flashback techniques, Scott further illustrates the atrocities of slavery and racism and the traumatic effects it has on the oppressed even after emancipation. This causes one to question the real meaning of emancipation. Even after fifty two years of independence Jamaica an d the Caribbean society has yet to liberate themselves from slavery and racism. Though we are not shackled and bound by chains, evidence of this trauma is still rooted deep within our minds. From skin bleaching to the notion that foreign is better and the ‘crab inna barrel attitude’ displayed by the majority of Jamaicans it is obvious that the freedom fought by our fore fathers to gain was in vain. Like Marcus Garvey who pleaded with us to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery, Bob Marley who sang songs of redemption, King who had dreams of a better tomorrow, Malcom X who fought for equality and Mandela who endured humiliation behind bars fighting against the apartheid system in Africa, Scott in his play seeks to give a voice to the disenfranchised. By incorporating the nine night ritual the playwright places emphasis on possession, this he demonstrates through the