Jealousy

Jealousy, whether romantic, social, or economic, is a central theme in New Boy; over the course of the novel it is the primary destructive force undermining almost every relationship between characters big or small. This mirrors the original Othello, a play which is one of the most famous literary work focused on the dangers of jealousy, even popularizing the phrase green-eyed monster. Othello’s fears that Desdemona has committed adultery drive him to murder her, and later take his own life out of remorse for having acted on false, circumstantial evidence. While New Boy may have less of the intense violence that marks its origin text, it keeps the central conceit that jealousy is a toxic emotion that drives otherwise sane people to behave in ways they would never dream of.

The plot is set into motion by Ian’s envy of O, the new boy...