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introduction to an essay discussing the role played by jealousy
introduction to an essay discussing the role played by jealousy
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The critic Roland Barthes once said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.” William Shakespeare's tragedy, Othello, can be used to exemplify this quote. One of the themes that Shakespeare discusses in Othello is: the effect jealousy has on people. Several of the characters become jealous over the course of the tragedy. Brabantio became jealous because Desdemona fell in love and married Othello. Roderigo became jealous because Desdemona didn’t fall in love with him. Bianca became jealous because she thought that Cassio was cheating on her with another woman. Othello became jealous because he thought Desdemona was cheating on him with Cassio. Iago became jealous because Othello gave Cassio the position of lieutenant. These characters’
Her jealousy made her angry and she demanded proof that Cassio still loved her by asking him to dine with her. Since Iago knew that Bianca and Cassio dined together before Cassio got stabbed, Iago tries to pin the blame on Bianca. If Iago had not been exposed as the real culprit, her jealousy would have allowed her to become another victim of Iago’s plan.
Iago had tricked Othello into believing that Desdemona cheated on him with Cassio, thus causing him to become jealous. His jealousy overcame his usual respectable, noble personality and he became irrational and violent. His jealousy and rage lead him to kill his wife, something he would never have done if he had not been jealous.
Iago’s initial jealousy of Cassio led him to seek revenge, thus moving the entire plot. He also fuels his hatred of Othello by convincing himself that Othello slept with his wife. His jealousy initiated many of the other characters’ jealousy, which resulted in multiple negative consequences. This included the death of Brabantio, Roderigo, Desdemona, his wife Emilia, and finally Othello. He was also punished for his jealousy. He is arrested and it is implied in the passage that he not be killed, but instead, tortured until he talks. Jealousy has harmful effects on people. It is never rewarded and is always
Have you ever been jealous of someone due to some reason? One can understand how jealousy can affect him or her to do horrible things. Jealousy causes people to perform stupid actions that they would not have done if they were not jealous of something or someone. The protagonist and the antagonist are mostly driven by love and filled with the feeling of jealousy. Due to the feeling of jealousy felt by the antagonist, Iago about not getting the job he wanted, he makes a plan to somehow destroy Othello’s love for Desdemona. As the play progresses, the protagonist, Othello begins to appear more like Iago, as his jealousy destroys his wife and consumes his life. Therefore, jealousy is personified as a “green eyed monster” through the combination of Othello’s credulous nature and Iago’s malicious villainy. It is the reason for the change in Iago’s and Othello’s behavior, impacts the insecurity
The desires of Othello, Cassio, and Roderigo allowed Iago to develop his deceitful plots by either offering, in the cases of Roderigo and Cassio, or taking away, in the case of Othello, what they want most. Iago used the weaknesses of others to complete his horrifying mission of destroying those above him. Iago manipulates Roderigo by using him as a pawn in his game to gain power. He also manipulates Cassio by using his flaw of becoming angry when drunk against him, a secret Cassio believed he told to a trusting friend. Othello is most clearly blindsided by Iago’s plot and no longer desires to live when he realizes he has killed his truthful wife after being told a lie. These characters all shared the common fatal flaw of trust, which lead to their downfall.
Iago’s actions were caused by his greed and envy of Cassio and Othello. His greed motivated him to use his wife Emilia and Roderigo and his envy towards Cassio and Othello cause Othello to murder his wife as well as commit suicide. Roderigo’s envy allowed him to become of use towards Iago’s greed. Envy blinded Roderigo of Iago’s action and motivated him to believe in Iago. This made Roderigo almost into a potential killer. Othello’s vanity deprived him of judgment on Iago. He believed Iago upheld to his name of “Honest Iago” and disregarded the fact of someone betraying. However, that was a lie and Iago abused Othello’s pride in his servants, and confused him into believing his wife of cheating. Othello, now blinded by his wrath, kills his wife due to his vanity and wrath. His vanity also leads him to suicide. Shakespeare shows to the readers of this play that sins of the Seven Deadly Sins can manifest within
While Othello murdered his wife Desdemona, he did it purely from misunderstanding and jealousy. Iago made Othello believe Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio even though she never did such actions. Iago’s persistence and villainous intentions made Othello become jealous of Cassio and break down his emotions towards Desdemona and want to kill her with fierce rage. Othello would not do such a crime if he have known it is was a
In Othello, the jealousy factor is deliberately introduced by Iago, with the precise intention of destroying those whom he feels have wronged him. Since it is intentionally used with malicious intent, it has catastrophic results. Iago himself is jealous of Cassio; he feels that he should have been appointed to Cassio's position by Othello, and since he wasn't he hates both Othello and Cassio. Iago channels the jealousy that Othello and Cassio have made him feel, and uses it against them in a hateful plan. Iago starts the process by planting the seeds of jealousy in Othello's mind, telling him Desdemona has been unfaithful. He then proceeds to cultivate the growing jealousy by feeding it with more lies, and twisting innocent events into situations which would serve his needs (his telling Othello that Cassio and Desdemona met in secret, and convincing him that Desdemona vied for Cassio's reinstatement as lieutenant because she loved him, for example). When the seeds had flourished, and Iago had succeeded in driving Othello mad with jealousy, Iago harvested his crop and convinced Othello to kill Desdemona. Othello's killing Desdemona would both rid Iago of Desde...
For instance, he includes the result of Othello’s struggle of “Fall’n in the practice of a cursed slave...I kissed thee ere I killed thee. No way but this, Killing myself, to die upon a kiss” (Shakespeare 5.2. 304-376). Consequently, Othello, who struggles with low self-esteem, identity, social acceptance, epilepsy, and jealousy, crumbles to Iago’s manipulative schemes by believing Iago’s lies of Othello’s wife running off with another man, thus resulting in the destruction of Othello’s virtue, including him killing his wife and himself. Jealousy causes emotional pain that may lead to self destruction. In addition, Iago faces troubles throughout the novel such as insecurities and resentment towards Othello. For example, Iago’s jealousy towards Cassio’s promotion provoked him to have “made him Brave me upon the watch, whereon it came That I (Cassio) was cast...Iago hurt him, Iago set him on” (Shakespeare 5.2.341-345). In other words, Iago decided to get revenge on both Cassio and Othello by having Roderigo kill Cassio since he did not receive the promotion and cause mental destruction towards Othello since he did not consider Iago as his second in command. Iago’s struggles revolved around hatred. Therefore, anger blinds an individual to lash out in order to gain
“Jealousy is troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves.” Those are words from a famous entrepreneur and philosopher, William Penn. In William Shakespeare’s Othello, the act of jealousy is a powerful sensation seen almost in every aspect and relationship throughout the tragedy. Furthermore, it is one of the most important topics in the play. Based on the conflicts within Othello, jealousy can be defined as troubles or misfortune caused by hallucinations. At the same time, Millicent Bell states in his essay, “Othello’s Jealousy” that the characters are driven to madness by being allowed to see what really is not so or simply using imagination. Bell also goes on to say the jealousy traits are shown only in a sexual manner. That statement can be argued against. True enough, sexual jealousy is shown in Othello, but it is not the only form of jealousy exposed.
Iago essentially ruined Othello’s life and caused it to come to an end. Throughout the story, Othello repeats how Iago is honorable and a trustworthy friend (Act II, scene iii, lines ): this couldn’t be further from the truth. Iago constantly goes behind Othello’s back and plots against him. Whether it be from convincing Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful (Act III, scene iii, lines 1816-1896), making him think a truly trustworthy person in Cassio was just the opposite because of his drinking (Act II, scene iii, lines 1315-1400), or taking the symbol of love, the handkerchief, between Desdemona and Othello and making it a symbol of hatred and unfaithfulness (Act III, scene iv, lines 1973-2007), he ruined the life of the Moor and, subsequently, ended it. Iago may have been fueled by a secret love to Desdemona, anger at his lack of promotion, or the thought of his wife cheating on him. Whatever his motives were, it can be said that he had no honor and only wanted revenge on those who had supposedly wronged
Iago is outraged as he believes he is far more qualified and possesses more field experience than Cassio. His rage extends to Othello for making the appointment: “One Michael Cassio, a Florentine / A fellow almost damned in a fair wife / That never set a squadron in the field / Nor the division of a battle knows / More than a spinster – unless the bookish theoric / Wherein the toged consuls can propose / As masterly as he: mere prattle, without practice / Is all his soldiership” (1.1.123-127) Iago conceives of a plan to turn Othello against Cassio by fabricating an affair between Desdemona and Cassio. Yet Iago is oblivious to his own jealousy and demeans Othello for his: “O beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.” (3.3.15) Iago’s embarassment and rejection when he failed to be named lieutenant turns to jealousy which gives birth to a plan to ruin both Othello and Cassio’s future. Another motivation for Iago’s plan to ruin Othello are the rumours that Othello and his wife Emilia are having an affair: “I hate the Moor / And it is thought abord, that ‘twixt my sheets / ‘Has done my office / I know not if’t be true / But I, for mere suspicion in that kind / Will do as it for surety.” (1.3.329-433) Iago’s excuse for ruining Othello’s life was always based on the fact that he appointed Cassio lieutenant instead of him. Here, however, Iago suggests he loathes Othello due to the ongoing rumours that Othello is having an affair with his wife Emilia. This demonstrates that Iago’s jealousy is rooted in more than one situation or event regarding Othello. As with Roderigo, Iago is ruled by his jealousy, even in the absence of real evidence. Although Othello possesses many admirable traits such as loyalty and determination, his tragic flaw is jealousy. Othello is another puppet of Iago, who is able to convince him that
Iago wanted Othello’s position and used others to shame Othello and gain stature. Iago dressed himself up a trustworthy man and worked his way into Othello’s trust with tricks and lies. He wore a very convincing mask; often temporarily defending the person he was trying to ruin to further his honest visage. He says to Othello, “Men should be what they seem…” (3.3.127) through these methods, Iago convinces Othello that Cassio, an officer, was having an affair with Othello’s beautiful wife Desdemona. As a vicious result, Othello is driven mad with anger and sadness and throttles Desdemona in their bed. The death and want left by Iago’s deception is vast hurting everyone involved most frequently on a mortal level. When the truth finally comes out, Othello, in his grief and remorse, ends up stabbing himself with a dagger. In the end, many die due to Iago’s deception, through villainy or despair, and none gain what they truly want because of it. This just goes to show that the mask of deception that a man wears can cause an unbelievable amount of harm, bodily and worse,
Iago is a very strategic and clever person, and he despises Othello because Othello appointed Cassio as a lieutenant over Iago. He plans to ruin Othello’s life by ruining his relationship with Desdemona. He starts off by telling Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, of Othello and Desdemona’s secret marriage. Iago goes to
The role of jealousy, love and betrayal play a major role in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. The entire play is based on the human interactions of the characters as related to Othello and Desdemona. The characters’ personalities, their social status, and their relationships to each other control the story line and their fate in the play. Othello is portrayed early in the play as an outsider with animalistic characteristics by Iago and Roderigo because of jealousy. “Your heart is burst; and have lost half of your soul/Even now, now, very now, an old black ram/Is tupping your white ewe”.(531) Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, accuses Othello of using witch craft on his daughter. “If she in chains of magic were not bound/ Whether a maid so tender, fair, and happy/ So opposite to marriage that she shunned…” (535) This point is important because Othello must defend himself not only to Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, but to the entire Venetian Senate. “And till she come, as truly as to heaven,/ I do confess the vices of my blood./ So justly to your grave ears I’ll present/ How I did thrive in this fair lady’s love, / And she in mine.” (539) Othello proves himself to be an intellectual hero early in the play. He has worked hard to gain respectability and power, but because he has a different background, is from another country, is dark-skinned and is older than Desdemona, he becomes jealous very quickly of Cassio. Cassio is from the same social class, is compatible with Desdemona and is a young handsome man. Iago has also convinced Cassio to seek favor with Desdemo...
"I follow him to serve my turn upon him," said Iago (9:45). From the beginning of the story Iago has a cruel intent bent on destroying Othello merely because the job that he sought after was given to young Cassio. Exactly why his hatred burns so bright is unclear because it was not uncommon to lose a position to another soldier. With or without reasonable justification for revenge, Iago immediately starts to tear Othello apart by informing Brabantio (Desdemon's father, Othello;s wife) that she is out with a black ram and committing unjust acts. As time progresses Iago becomes more wrapped up in his lies that he even begins to believe that Othello has slept with his own wife, Emelia, and now he has even more reason to hate "the Moor", "I hate the Moor and it is thought abroad that `twixt my sheets `has done my office"( 55:429-431). Iago is so obsessed with his revenge on Othello that he does not care what happens to anyone else so long as he is happy. In the process of hurting Othello he manages to have Roderigo killed, Cassio severely injured, his own wife Emelia is slain by his own hands, Desdemona dies at the hands of her husband Othello, and after everything Othello kills himself. Sadly Iago accomplishes his revenge but with so many casualties and then he himself is tortured and killed for his part in the great conspiracy, but before he is punished he has to see that Cassio will be the one to take Othello's place (a strange irony since it was Cassio that Iago was jealous of).
For the characters Iago and Cassio, there has been a sort of jealousy domino effect. Iago is jealous that Cassio got lieutenancy instead of himself. So he is determined to hurt Cassio and Othello in the same process. He succeeds at hurting Cassio but eventually finds himself in a job- jealousy situation again. In act IV, scene ii, Iago does not want Cassio having the powerful job of taking over for Othello in Cyprus. Iago thinks that if Cassio is dead then he can take the job, yet again. Instead of confronting Othello about why he may not be fit for receiving these jobs, Iago wants to hurt someone for it. He is letting a trivial situation make him jealous of others to the point that he would let himself take someone else’s life. In Cassio’s situation, an object gets used to spark jealousy upon someone else, but it was not even intentional. Cassio’s lady friend, Bianca, is afraid that “[the handkerchief] is some token from a newer friend./ To the felt absence now I feel a cause” (III.iv. 206-207). It can be described as a domino effect because the handkerchief was originally planted to make Othello jealous of Cassio, but now it has also made Bianca jealous of some other nonexistent women. The nature of jealousy is scary because it can destroy bonds and relationships even when it was not intended. In Cassio’s case, he made someone jealous without even trying and it will jeopardize his relationships. Most often people do not ask for the burden of having a jealous feeling, but it can consume their mind while destroying others in it’s
Even though Iago does offer motives causing him to take his vengeance on Othello and the other characters, but as he keeps altering and modifying his motives, he appears to be indecisive to his real motive (Djundjung). The jealousy trait is then revealed so early in the play. Jealousy is his driving force to get rid of Othello. Iago is a smart guy and he knows that he cannot directly get revenge on Othello. So he uses many characters indirectly to hurt Othello starting with Roderigo and Brabantio. Iago knows how to make people tick, and without his knowledge he would not have gotten too far in the play. Iago knows how much Roderigo is in love with Desdemona. He uses this as his own advantage. He is well aware that Roderigo is a fool in love and love can change how a person thinks completely.