Diasporic Identities in Othello and Heart of Darkness
This paper examines diasporic identity as a literary theme in Shakespeare's Othello and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Moving beyond the traditional association of diaspora with Jewish history, the paper argues that both works portray characters who are uprooted from their origin cultures and struggle to find belonging in alien societies. Othello's conditional acceptance into Venetian society and Marlow's psychological estrangement in the Congo are analyzed as parallel expressions of cultural displacement. The paper also explores how assimilation attempts by Othello and Kurtz deepen rather than resolve their diasporic alienation, situating both texts within the broader tradition of colonial literature.
- Introduction: Diaspora Beyond a Single Culture: Redefines diaspora broadly; introduces both texts
- Othello's Conditional Acceptance in Venetian Society: Othello tolerated only as a valued soldier
- Soldiering as Identity and the Loss of Self: Soldier role anchors and ultimately destroys Othello
- Marlow's Displacement in the Congo: Marlow alienated despite colonial superiority
- Kurtz and the Failure of Assimilation: Kurtz goes native; assimilation destroys both men
- Colonial Literature and the Diasporic Condition: Both texts show cultural homelessness without resolution
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper broadens the conventional definition of diaspora at the outset, giving itself intellectual room to apply the concept to two canonical texts from very different historical periods.
- It uses direct quotations from both primary texts strategically, letting the source language carry argumentative weight rather than relying solely on paraphrase.
- The parallel structure — contrasting Othello's position of inferiority with Marlow's position of superiority — shows awareness of how diasporic displacement can operate in opposite social directions yet produce similar psychological estrangement.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates comparative literary analysis: it holds two texts in productive tension, identifying a shared thematic concern (diasporic identity) while carefully distinguishing the different social positions and psychological experiences of the protagonists. The Othello–Kurtz parallel — both men attempting assimilation into cultures that ultimately reject them — is the paper's strongest analytical move, tying the argument together in the conclusion.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a definitional claim that reframes diaspora broadly, then devotes its central sections to close reading of each text in turn. Othello is treated first (the conditional acceptance by Venice, the soldier identity, racial otherness), followed by an extended reading of Heart of Darkness (Marlow's alienation, Kurtz's psychological collapse, the colonial hierarchy). The conclusion synthesizes both texts under the shared theme of failed assimilation and total cultural homelessness.
Introduction: Diaspora Beyond a Single Culture
The issue of diaspora is often associated with only a single culture — that of the Jews, who were challenged by secular and Islamic leaders of their "homeland" to flee for their lives and who came to believe they were in constant wandering upon the earth. Yet the concept of diaspora is much broader than that, as individuals and groups often feel disconnected from their homeland both figuratively and literally, in literature as in life. In Shakespeare's Othello and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, one can clearly see the literary expression of diasporic identities. This paper argues that each of these works demonstrates the reality of the challenges one faces when uprooting oneself from an origin culture and beginning to wander the earth without a home — and without the feeling of security that the thought of that home brings.
Othello's Conditional Acceptance in Venetian Society
In Othello, the acceptance of Othello into the dominant white culture of Venice and Cyprus is clearly conditional. He is a Christian Moor and a mercenary soldier, valued only for his wisdom and valor in battle, and he is openly berated for attempting to cross a social line by taking Desdemona's hand in marriage (Shakespeare 1.3). The early juxtaposition of the diasporic role that Othello plays is both significant and telling of just how far an outsider might be pushed when accepted only conditionally. Simultaneously, he is being sought by local leaders to lead a military campaign to Cyprus, while the father of his new wife assumes his daughter has been bewitched, having just learned of the marriage (1.2–3).
There is even some sense that the Duke of Venice's urgent need for Othello dictates the tolerance extended to his unconventional marriage — a union that, under different circumstances, might have ended with his death. Had he not been a valued and needed soldier and leader of men, but rather a common household slave, his marriage to Desdemona might have been seen as an utterly unforgivable act (1.2–3).
Though the work contains no servants or slaves of color with whom to compare Othello's treatment — and indeed, the condition of slavery was not yet race-based in the work's setting — there is still a clear sense that Shakespearean England would have demonstrated open disdain for the union Desdemona and Othello create: a secret wedding without her father's consent, to a man regarded primarily as a soldier. The visible external separation of Othello from those around him is evident and openly expressed. Desdemona's father challenges Othello, insisting his daughter would not have "run from her guardage to the sooty bosom / Of such a thing as thou, to fear, not to delight" (Shakespeare 1.2.70–72). Later, Iago — the agent of Othello's undoing — says of Desdemona in relation to Othello: "Her eye must be fed; and what delight shall she have to look on the devil?" (2.1.225–227). To Iago, Othello is the devil, both because he is Black and because he holds more authority and power than Iago and has appointed another man to a position Iago believes he deserves. Othello's otherness thus becomes a tool for his enemies to disdain and defame him.
Soldiering as Identity and the Loss of Self
In his role as a soldier, Othello is important and earnestly sought — men who admire his skill and knowledge come looking for him in the middle of the night. Othello himself wraps his entire identity in this role. He uses his stories of soldiering to woo Desdemona, and when he is tricked into believing she has been unfaithful, his farewell is not to her or to his love for her, but to his identity as a soldier and leader of men — the very thing that gave him honor and sanity (3.3.345–357).
Othello says goodbye to the identity that had won him valor, honor, and the respect of foreigners. Othello demonstrates no connection to anything from his origin — not his mother or father, not his homeland, nothing. His entire self is constructed from the role his adopted society has granted him, and when that role is undermined, he has nothing left to stand on. The diasporic individual, the paper suggests, is particularly vulnerable to this kind of collapse, precisely because his identity depends so heavily on the approval of a culture that never fully claimed him.
Works Cited
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness: And the Congo Diary. Westminster, MD: Modern Library, 2000.
Shakespeare, William. Othello: The Moor of Venice. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
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