Arthur Shopenhauer once described a racist man as a “…miserable fool who has nothing at all of which to be proud, adopts as his last resource the pride of the nation to which he belongs; he is ready and happy to defend tooth and nail all his faults and follies, thus repaying himself for his own inferiority. Without a doubt, racism is one of the key themes of Othello, which challenges the thoughts and actions of the characters throughout the play. One specific character, Iago, is motivated by such racial distortion, particularly against Othello, which ultimately motivates his ingenious rampage of vengeance and confusion. Therefore, the racist attitudes of the characters, but primarily those of Iago, create the momentum necessary to create confusion and tension between the characters, culminating in the popular Shakespearean dramatic ending. Iago's choice of words describes his racial view of Othello very clearly. He refers to Othello throughout the play with numerous racial slurs: "the moor", "a misguided barbarian", and "the black ram". His attitude towards Othello involves certain personal characteristics: it shows that he is jealous, hateful and insecure about "his own inferiority". From the beginning, Iago has been the "ringleader" of the play, always causing trouble and trying to harm Othello in one way or another. Even now, now, very now, an old black ram kills your white sheep: Get up, get up; Wake up, sniffer. citizens with the bell, Or the devil will make you a grandfather. Get up, I say! (I,i,9)It is interesting to note Iago's choice of words when he wakes Brabantio with the news that his daughter has run off with Othello. He describes Othello as an “old black ram” who “kills” or sleeps with the innocent Desdemona, the “white sheep.” It plays on the belief that black men have a... middle of paper ... Desdemona, but then the Iago-type thoughts negate the innocent calls from within, showing the possible centaur-type personality. The motive for launching a charade of death, confusion and manipulation was primarily due to racism and its roots of envy and hatred. This is undoubtedly a general theme and subject collected by Shakespeare in order to guide the dramaturgy of the play. However, it also shows that Shakespeare wanted to leave a message in the novel, a message about the consequences of misplaced trust and also about the deception of premature appearances. Where the manipulation and hatred all came from one person's premature racial views and led to the deaths of innocent characters in dramatic irony. “Be true to thyself, and it must follow, as night is day, thou canst not then be false to any man” (William Shakespeare, an apt description of Othello).