Othello Explained In William Shakespeare's Othello, unexpressed fears of being an outsider and concerns about his public image contribute to the downfall of a tragic hero named Othello. The final monologue of Othello, a general in the Venetian army, reflects the importance of reputation and the conformity needed to adapt to one's surroundings. He is seen as an outsider of Venetian culture; he is often called "il Moro" and is called many racist slurs by native Venetians. Although Othello never expresses his internal struggle to feel accepted by the people around him, his image and physical appearance are some of the biggest problems he faces. Even in the moments before he stabs himself, Othello is more concerned about the legacy he is leaving than the death of his wife Desdemona. Shakespeare uses Othello's transformation from a heroic military soldier to a tragic figure to warn of the dangers of obsession with one's reputation and the need to feel accepted by society. Othello is very particular in how he wants to be remembered stating that he doesn't want his image to be exaggerated or toned down but subconsciously he is just trying to protect his reputation. After killing Desdemona, Othello begs Lodovico and Graziano, relatives of Desdemona's father, not to ask for forgiveness for having committed such a heinous crime, but to remember him as a proper man who has committed an irrevocable mistake. Instead of recognizing his wife's lifeless body, Othello is more faithful to how he will be described in Lodovico and Graziano's letters. At the beginning of the play, Othello professed his love for Desdemona at every available opportunity, but now he cares more about his own reputation than whether he dies... middle of paper...or kills his wife. Then, he doesn't want to be made out to be a murderer, so he begs to be remembered as a different man than he really is. In an attempt to save his reputation, Othello reveals his unconscious fears of not being accepted and of always seeming like a foreigner, no matter what he achieves. Among all his military successes, Othello wants to be remembered for one specific story: the time he saved a Venetian from abuse by a Turk. It is as if he was forcefully portraying himself as a contributing member of Venice by saying that he protected it from outside forces. At the same time, he identifies himself with the Turk and kills himself in the same way as he killed the Turk. Othello, in an attempt to save his reputation, loses everything he has ever cared about or worked for: Desdemona, his reputation and his career...