It's Complicated: Shakespeare's Othello

In Othello every character has their own personalities that makes them the person they are. In Othello there are characters that show true grit, a fixed mindset, and a growth mindset. Each characters are different which makes the book even more interesting. True grit means to endure and push through to do something better no matter what it takes. An example of grit is studying for a long period of time for a test and enduring the amount of work that must be completed. The definition of mindset is the established set of attitude held by someone. There are two other types of mindset as well. There is growth mindset and fixed mindset. Growth mindset is when the person isn 't

Othello is honestly is getting more crazy in jealousy and rage. He actually starts to believe Iago’s stupid lies and “proofs.” Iago is like becoming the master of Othello thoughts and is basically telling him what to think. And it’s sad, because of Othello’s lack of esteem, he believes all of it. Iago tells Othello that Cassio has even told Iago that Desdemona and Cassio slept together. To which they both devise a plan to make Cassio outwardly say he has, so Othello hides while Iago and Cassio “talk about Desdemona” but in reality he was talking about Bianca the whole time. Because Othello is starting to believe Iago, he is making a fool of himself. He is becoming more irrational and not trustworthy of his own wife, going as far to hit her

     Iago told Othello that he would discuss Desdemona with Cassio, and that he would talk about the affair. Iago does not do this, and instead he talks about Bianca with Cassio, and Cassio laughs at things Iago says. Othello sees Cassio laughing and just assumes he is laughing at Desdemona, which in return upsets him very much. Iago used several tactics to set up Othello for deception in this case.

Othello trusts Iago and now Iago is trying to take his wife from him for someone else. Furthermore, “He takes her by the palm...sir in.” (pg. 71). Iago watches Cassio and Emilia because he thinks they had an affair he watches them carefully so he can figure out how to convince Othello that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair. Another example involves the plan to help Othello kill Desdemona. “Do it not with poison. Strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated” (pg. 185). Othello believes that Iago is most honest, thus he believed killing his wife Desdemona was the right thing to do. Iago brainwashed Othello into believing the wrong thing was the right thing. The characterization of Iago is created by the use of dramatic irony. The audience knew how devious Iago is, but the characters fell for his mischievous acts.

says,” Make the Moor thank me, love me and reward me,” (Act 2, sc 1,

Othello is an easy target in this drama, because Iago already knows that he is a very insecure person. With that stated, it will be easy for Iago to use Othello’s jealousy to trick him into thinking that Desdemona is an unfaithful wife. Iago will manipulate the way Othello sees things in order to convince him that what he sees is innocent acts between Desdemona and Casillo. Iago’s starts to plant the idea in Othello’s head of an affair after Othello sees Casillo rush leaving Desdemona in a manner that looked as though he is guilty (1223). Alone with Othello, Iago begins to make Othello feel threatened by Casillo and Desdemona’s apparent relationship by bringing up the fact that Casillo served as Desdemona’s and Othello’s go-between during the time of their courtship. The conversation ends with Iago asking Othello to watch carefully of Desdemona and Casillo, and Iago exits giving Othello time to question the accusation of Iago (1225-1228).

When pairs of texts are considered together, their universal themes and ideas lead to greater understanding, appreciation and insight of both the old and the new. The texts Othello, William Shakespeare (1600) and Othello, Geoffrey Sax (2001), ring true for this statement. Despite the differing contexts and ages, the universal themes of racism and betrayal bring new meaning to each of the texts. The primary meaning from the juxtaposition of the two is that of the human condition, and how the problems faced in the 17th century are faced in modern times.

Once a seed of suspicion or doubt is planted in a person’s mind, the noxious effect of jealousy is soon to ensue. Jealousy and suspicion are Othello’s flaws hubris throughout the play and foreshadow to the audience his imminent downfall. He believes what Iago tells him so strongly that he compromises his close relationship with his best friend and his love for his wife. Iago manipulates Othello through the use of extortion, literary techniques, and his keen judge of character. His syntax and diction are so simple yet so powerful because he uses the correct rhetorical questions and addresses Othello with respectful terms such as “my lord.” He allows Othello do most of the talking

Judging Othello from a self-proclaimed feminist Audre Lorde’s perspective allows the reader to see the double standards women faced in the Elizabethan society. Today our society assigns gender roles to children from birth. From the baby dolls needing care and EZ Bake Oven toys, little girls are encouraged at an early onset to lead domesticated lives. Boys on the other hand, are given cars and action figures that can take rough-housing because this is considered the type of behavior that was expected of them. Although gender roles are still a part of our society, we have made great progress from where our society was hundreds of years ago.

Manga Shakespeare is able to properly convey Shakespeare’s original story and language through its use of images, original text, and speech bubbles. The manga’s use of different speech bubbles conveys the intended language and emotions of Othello, as if it is being preformed rather than if it is simply read, thus putting forth a product that accurately depicts Othello in a similar fashion to which the play originally was intended to be viewed.

The entire trajectory of the play turns- Iago is rightfully seen as a liar, Cassio rules Cyprus and Othello, full of grief and remorse,understands that he has been tricked. Othello is now in a state where he can think logically and lucidly for his jealousy is not clouding his mind since the subject of his passion, Desdemona, is no longer alive. Like the beast who once the feather or poison has been removed, is able to identify his tormentor and act in an appropriate manner. Now, Othello is able to recognize other people's perspectives on the situation and recognizes that he has committed an atrocious and irreversible crime.Othello is able to identify Iago as the untrustworthy one and acts as what is deemed appropriate for his straight persona, which is to kill

Iago plays on Othello’s low-self-esteem and insecurities to bring about his downfall. It is noticeable that Othello has self-doubt due to his skin colour and having married a white lady which was rare during that period. As the result of social prejudice, Othello’s self-image diminishes and this open doors for Iago to capitalise on this weaknesses. To start off, Iago suggests to Othello that Desdemona might be having an affair with Cassio. Iago circumvents the idea that Desdemona is unfaithful to him, he does not say it straight forward that however, he is just sharing his thoughts and fear for his friend. This is a good strategy to create doubt and plant a seed of jealousy on Othello’s mind. To make it more reasonable to Othello that his wife is capable of being deceitful, Iago further convinces Othello that Desdemona is more likely to love Cassio since she prefers only people of her type and class Othello will never belong. He convincingly states “Ay, there’s the point; as, to be bold with you, not to affect many proposed matches of her own clime, complexion, and degree, whereto we see in all things nature tends.” (Act 3. Scene 3. Lines 232-236) (Shakespeare, 2008). By this speech, Iago suggests to Othello that it is expected that Desdemona would prefer Cassio since they have many things in common. Furthermore, Iago challenges Othello with some truth. He alludes that it is likely for Desdemona to betray Othello because she was able to betray his own father by marry Othello. Iago is aware that in order to stir up Othello’s anger and jealousy, he has to provide some evidence that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. Therefore, Iago adds fuel by persuading his wife Emilia to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief, which is Othello’s token of love to Desdemona. To complete his vicious mission, Iago confirms Desdemona’s unfaithfulness by proving prove to Othello, he

“Jealousy is a killer. Relationships end because of jealous conflicts and people kill other people because they are jealous” (Leahy). The feeling of jealousy is a strong emotion that can intervene with an individual’s mind negatively, not only mentally but physically as well. Othello is a genuine gentleman who loves Desdemona and would do anything for her, but his jealousy through the story begins to transform him into someone he isn’t. Initially, Othello begins to listen to a standard bearer named Iago who fills his head with lies to the point that Othello automatically believes him and jumps to conclusions. Through Iago’s actions and lies Cassio is affected drastically by Othello’s sudden changes due to Iago’s lies about him. Iago resents Cassio because Othello chose Cassio as his lieutenant over him. Throughout the play Cassio is not able to progress because he is completely blinded by the trust he has for Iago, thus, has no idea he is being targeted by Iago. The evil Iago plans to kill two birds with one stone, he intends to destroy Othello’s marriage and ruin Cassio’s reputation in the process. The choices Cassio makes could have probably avoided the loss of his position if he would not have fallen into Iago’s trap.

(Sociopathic Personality.) Iago so desperately wants Othello to become jealous, and he to start his envy and rage by creating lies of Desdemona being unfaithful. The chance comes when Iago see Cassio and Desdemona together. He makes comments of the two’s intentions, which actually causes Othello to wonder about what Cassio and Desdemona’s intentions actually are. When further questioned by Othello, Iago does not elaborate, which causes Othello to become even more suspicious. “Ha, I like that not” mumbles Cassio. Othello asks, “What dost thou say?” Iago answers, “Nothing, my lord” (III. iii. 34-40). Iago and Othello’s conversation about Cassio and Desdemona also proves demonstrates Iago’s manipulation. To Iago’s happiness, he has changed Othello’s perception of Cassio really quick with one story. Also, Iago also makes Othello desiring to know more about whether Iago is right in his observations of Desdemona’s affair. Iago manipulates Othello into thinking the same way which leads him to acting upon it. Othello has become mad with jealousy and Iago tries to redirect his emotions in false stories. Iago tells Othello, “I hear [Cassio] say, ‘Sweet Desdemona…let us hide our loves!’”(III. iii. 416-417) and “Such a handkerchief I am sure it was your wife’s –did I today see Cassio wipe his beard with” (III. iii. 434-436). This story that Iago maked up, especially about the

Shakespeare’s play Othello is not solely a tragedy of misunderstanding as there are many other factors that assist each other in bringing about the devastating end to the main characters in the play. These factors include; Othello’s outsider status as a Moor in Venetian society, Iago’s jealousy of Othello’s and Cassio’s political superiority to him and the lack of respect and trust of any of the females characters.