“I kissed thee ere I killed thee”: Performing Race and Gender in William Shakespeare’s Othello and Richard Wright’s Native Son

This thesis elaborates on the existing scholarship connecting William Shakespeare’s Othello and Richard Wright’s Native Son, and consequently addresses Wright’s direct Shakespearean allusions in addition to the common themes and questions the works share, in particular, the performative nature of race and gender. The main parallels critics draw between the characters in the texts—Othello/Bigger and Desdemona/Mary—demonstrate how each “actor” deviates from his or her normative role, and the result of his or her deviance. Judith Butler’s work on performance offers a basis for examining the theatricality of both texts, particularly with respect to Wright’s use of theatrical tropes, as well as his allusions to acting, the stage, and the various roles humans play. Thus, in a world as a stage, with people as players, what one “sees” says little about reality or truth. Both Shakespeare and Wright make use of this theme throughout their work, but most certainly in Othello and Native Son, where the authors explore in-depth the questions of race, gender, and performativity.