Social Isolation: Effects on Human Fulfillment & Needs Acquisition - Essay Sample

Human beings tend to each on each, whether voluntarily or otherwise, to acquire the needs that they need to live a normal life. Such reality explains the reasons as to why many people who live in isolation may feel undermined on their ability to lead a fulfilled life. According to Gierveld et al., social isolation is the existence insufficient meaningful ties with kin and no-kin relationships that naturally expected among human beings (Gierveld et al.2). These effects have been captured many literary works. In Othello, William Shakespeare attempts reveal the extent of the impact of the environment on human beings. It is a story in which tragedy befalls Othello, due to his inability to overcome the negative impacts of his surroundings. In Shakespeare's' Othello, isolation is greatly exhibited and can be blamed for the tragic demise of the protagonist.

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The reason for the concern on isolation of people results from the psychological, physical and social effects that affected individuals experience. When people are isolated, they may experience depression and their ability to make sound decisions. The number of people living in isolation in the United States is staggering, with almost half of the adult population exposed and studies show that individuals who are psychologically disturbed as a result of isolation are more likely to consume a high number of cigarettes or huge amounts of alcohol or other substances. The ability to make decisions that are beneficial to one's life relates to the decrease in the cognitive abilities of the individuals affected psychologically (Holt-Lunstad 227; Novotney 32). This implies that one may engage in actions that many appear unusual to the large section of members society yet such person is not capable noticing the harmful effects of his/her actions to other people or themselves.

Isolation effects are no limited to psychological negative effects alone as people who experience it may be denied the benefits physical fitness. Once somebody is isolated, they may not manage to do exercises which are beneficial to body functioning. Exercises ranging from simple work-outs or jogging reduces stress as it suppresses the production of stress hormones and adrenaline which create anxiety, thereby predisposing somebody to depression (Rajkumar 102066). When individuals are isolated, they fail to engage in physical activities which reduce their risk of developing disease or develop psychological problems. The effects of isolation on the physical health may expose such persons to other health due to lack of social contacts as well.

Perhaps the effects isolation may be most felt on the social life of the affected individuals. Any human being needs social interactions with other people for them to lead a healthy life since the biological and psychological body systems are sustained by the fact that people talk with each regularly with the impact seen more in adults than youths (Mathews 339). The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has further increased the risk with preliminary studies suggesting that the mental health of many people as they struggle with loneliness brought about by quarantining themselves at home (Rajkumar 102066). And socially isolated persons have a greater risk of experiencing loneliness which could result in severe outcomes such as heart problems, depression, and anxiety (Gierveld et al. 2). Since these forms of social isolation denies individuals the change to communicate with others, they miss the benefits that are associated with socializing. A person who, for instance, experiences isolation resulting from the need to undergo treatment for Covid-19, may miss the encouragement and love from family members. Whether she/he gets the best care in hospital settings or not, the lack of social interactions wit loved can have a heavy toll on their ability to fight the disease due increase in anxiety; hence it is vital for people to be surrounded with a network of social relationships. In context, the behaviors of Otello towards his friends and wife reveal a man who is fighting the effects of psychological and social isolation which his unusual actions that eventually result in his own demise.

Isolation in Othello can be seen first in the dialogue between Lago and Rodrigo in the opening scene, the former speaks in a manner disliking the influence of power on Otello. The revelation is made when Lago complains that Othello failed to listen to influential men regarding his qualification for promotion in the military. Lago, says, "Loving his pride and purposes evades them with a bombast circumstance, horribly stuffed with epithets of war" (Line 11-13). The position of Lago can be substantiated by the fact that Othello won Desdemona by luring her with stories of his exploits at war as a military general. Here, the reader gathers that Othello is consumed by pride which isolates him from rational decision process in the military. The idea of cult makes feel that his experience is enough to enable make decisions without consulting others .The conversation between the two characters not only informs the reader about the origin of the conflict in the story but also reveals how the absolute power wielded by Othello has isolated from many ranking officers in the forces as well as society. Isolating oneself from others may limit the ability of people to make right decisions in important matters relating to their lives or jobs. Such an outcome could harm the individual involved as seen in the case of Othello and his obsession with power.

The social status of Othello in the society in he lives plays an essential role in enhancing the isolation of the character from the rest of the people in society. According to Gierveld et al., disadvantaged socioeconomic environment shape the ability of individuals establish adequate social relationships which in turn leads to loneliness (8). As noted previously, loneliness affects the psychological standing of affected persons. Through dialogue once again, the audience learns that Othello is dark skinned and it is evident that Lago and others do not like such individuals. In his dialogue with Brabantio, Lago describes Othello as " an old black ram topping your white ewe"(Scene 1 lines 88-89). Such a description is a clear racial slur. Further from the dialogue, it is evident that Othello is aware of the racial dislike that society hold towards his skin color. Research has shown that racial discrimination not only undermines the emotional-well being but also reduces the ability of individuals' cognitive abilities (Gibbons 1089). In the case study, the audience may be surprised by the behavior of Othello towards his wife after learning that she apparently engaged in infidelity. Instead of Othello devising his own ways of ascertaining the alleged unfaithfulness, he is consumed by jealousy and believes all that Lago says. He even goes into a trance. These behaviors suggest that the protagonist is dealing with some of psychological isolation which limit his ability to make reasonable decisions and the color of his skin plays a crucial part in promoting this isolation. Perhaps the quest for a sense of acceptance in the society makes him fail to see issues which the audience may easily consider as obvious.

The settings in which the acts in the play take place play important role in developing the theme of isolation. The action moves from the busy city of Venice to the island of Cyprus. The island is protected by forts and there is little presence of human life except the soldiers. When the scene moves from Venice, it is evident that people living in the island, the characters do not experience sufficient social contacts which are vital in the psychological and social well-being of human beings. The lack of these relationships can be seen that characters of Othello, Lago, Rodrigo and even Emilia. After failing to secure promotion, Lago conjures up a plan to convince Desdemona to leave Othello. Upon realizing that he could not achieve this through dialogue, he resorts to manipulating the emotions of Othello. He evokes jealousy in Othello to limit his ability to reasonable judgment regarding the allegation that his wife is unfaithful. Although he succeeds, the outcome does not result in taking the price because Othello kills Desdemona before taking his own life. Rodrigo and Lago eventually lose their lives as well. When one compares the behaviors of the characters in the island and Venice, it is apparent that the isolation in the island impacts their lives negatively. They seem to be chasing ambitions that appear strange to the audience, and therefore, one can draw the conclusion that the characters do not even understand reason for engaging in certain actions. As observed by Simour et al., none of the characters in Othello, including the hero, who seem to understand their situation. The characters appear to note the isolation they are experiencing when the situation has become impossible salvage, leading to their demise (8). It is zero-sum game which can be equated with a gunman, who is psychologically disturbed, goes on a shooting spree before being killed by police as it often happens in the US. In this case, the gunman vents his isolation-related problems on innocent people, but this does not address his challenges other than condemning him to death.

In conclusion, isolation can have damaging consequences on the individuals affected by the same. The inability to deal with the psychological and social effects resulting from isolation is even more concerning as affected persons tend to lead a disturbed life. Similarly, in Othello, Shakespeare demonstrates that the hero experiences mental and social isolation which undermines his ability to detect the lies of Lago about hi wife. The change of scene from Venice to the island of Cyprus also indicates the isolation that the characters undergo determined their fate. Overall, isolation may lead to death and, therefore, should addressed as serious issue in society.

Works Cited

Gibbons, Frederick X., et al. "The Erosive Effects of Racism: Reduced Self-control Mediates the Relation between Perceived Racial Discrimination and Substance use in African American Adolescents." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 102, no. 5, 2012, pp. 1089-1104.

de Jong Gierveld, Jenny, Theo Van Tilburg, and Pearl A. Dykstra. "Loneliness and Social Isolation." Cambridge handbook of personal relationships (2006): 485-500.

Holt-Lunstad, Julianne, et al. "Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality." Perspectives on Psychological Science, vol. 10, no. 2, 2015, pp. 227-237.

Matthews, Timothy, et al. "Social Isolation, Loneliness and Depression in Young Adulthood: A Behavioural Genetic Analysis." Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, vol. 51, no. 3, 2016, pp. 339-348.

Novotney, Amy. "The Risks of Social Isolation." American Psychological Association, vol. 50, no. 5, 2019, p. 32.

Rajkumar, Ravi P. "COVID-19 and Mental Health: A Review of the Existing Literature." Asian Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 52, 2020, p. 102066.

Simour, Lhoussain, et al. "Shakespearean Tragedy Revisited: Death in Othello and Hamlet." Philosophy, Social and Human Disciplines, vol. 1, no. 2016, 2016, pp. 9-20