Othello: A Man Stripped Of Everything

Jessica Hanley

Mr. Magness

English 12

6 April 2014

A Man Stripped Of Everything Othello was the perfect leader of the Venetian army and was a loving new husband to his wife until Iago made it his mission to destroy Othello’s life. Iago used the insecurities that Othello already had about his complexion, not being able to assimilate, and not being able to give his wife what she wanted, to strip Othello of everything that he had. Othello did commit the heinous crime of killing his devoted wife, but only because he was driven to madness by Iago’s lies and manipulation of reality. Every malicious thing that Othello did was out of a false jealously that Iago orchestrated by using his improvisation to convince Othello that every fear he had that

When Othello was in his room trying to build up his strength to kill Desdemona there was an obvious internal struggle when he tries to convince himself that, “It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul./ Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars!” (5.2.1-3). He is personifying the stars, and the stars could also be representing Desdemona. She is the purest and most innocent character in the play, and Othello did not want to try to account for his actions to her when he could barely convince himself that he was doing the right thing. Upon hearing what sounded like Cassio’s death, Othello seemed set on killing her to save Desdemona from destroying her own soul, and that this

He fought off countless turks for the Venetians, but Iago stripped Othello’s reputation away from him. Iago made it his life’s mission to destroy Othello even if it ruined his own life. Iago played off of Othello’s insecurities to blind him and, “bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light.” (1.3.398) Iago knew that Othello could not assimilate but desperately wanted to be like Cassio, a respectable white man that could get a woman’s love, so when Iago said Cassio had stolen Desdemona from him, Othello was quick to assume Desdemona would choose to be with this perfect man rather than himself. A jealousy that Othello himself did not know he possessed came out in him and created this violent monster that helped conspire the murder of Cassio and murder his own wife. Iago orchestrated everything that drove Othello into madness, and Iago’s genius for improvisation only helped convince Othello of Desdemona’s infidelity with a stolen handkerchief and a dream. Once Iago tapped into Othello’s insecurities, Othello became too susceptible to every lie Iago threw at him, and in the end, Othello became the very monster Iago played him out to be and just as bad as the turks he had fought for