Justice (Othello)

Discuss and evaluate the view of the concept of Justice in relation to Othello and two supplementary texts. Justice is to live in a society that is fair to everyone, were everyone’s human rights are met and were everyone has equal opportunity to succeed. The concept of justice is portrayed rather unevenly in Othello and does not prevail as the villain, Iago, is still alive while his ‘victims’ are not. Also in my supplementary texts the balance of justice is uneven. One of my supplementary texts ‘Men of Honour’ is a film about a black sailor, Carl Brashear, trying to become a US Navy Diver but his training officer, Billy Sunday, makes it hard for him because of his colour. In the end of Men of Honour justice does prevail as Carl becomes a navy diver. My other supplementary text the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech is about a man, Martin Luther King, telling the world about the injustices against black people in America and how justice should be achieved. My argument is that justice is not achieved in Othello while it is achieved in ‘Men of Honour’ and it is explained in the ‘I have a Dream’ speech.
Othello is written by William Shakespeare in England when Prejudice against women and people of different race was acceptable in society. In Othello racial prejudice, gender injustice and Vigilante injustice are very prominent especially towards the end of the play. Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca are treated like second class citizens because of their gender and Othello feels alienated by white society and feels he is always being judged because of his colour. The setting plays a major role in the balance of injustice throughout the play. In the beginning it is set in Venice which seemingly appears democratic and just with Othello being given a fair trial when they discover he has married Desdemona. This is in stark contrast to Cyprus which is the setting for the majority of the play and appears less civilized and lacking any real legal structures. This change of