Tragedy vs. Tragic Flaw

The brain and mind is a delicate thing. When once someone may have everything they ever wanted, by changing their own views, whether influenced by others or not, they clutch onto anything or anyone in order to comfort themselves. They believe everything that comes their way, and even if it is far from the truth, they create illusions that are not made upon by their reasonable and logical thought of mind. In the case of Othello, Iago uses the flaws of many characters, for his own benefit. He is far from a genius, he just preys upon every error, and every fault made by characters, to advance his own plot. In spite of him being Othello’s “trustworthy” servant, his status is what assures him revenge against anyone that comes between him and his goal. Iago becomes the controller of Rodrigo by playing upon his obsession with Desdemona; he preys on Othello’s mind, using his jealousy against him, and he uses Cassio’s weak state, when he is fired from the position of lieutenant, which heavily ruins his pride and reputation. He uses each character’s flaw- obsession, jealousy, and pride- to get what he wants. It is these exact flaws, which leads to many characters downfall. This displays how the outlook of humans is controlled by the predicaments that they are challenged with, not by people.

The first of many people to fall under Iago’s influence is Roderigo. Roderigo’s obsession with Desdemona leads to him losing perception of reality. When he finds out about Desdemona’s marriage with Othello, he feels, “it is silliness to live when to live is torment; and then / have [he] a prescription to die when death is [his] physician” (Othello, 1.3.308-309). At this point, to make Roderigo believe that he will get Desdemona, Iago plays on Othello a...

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...ief of Cassio being a traitor. Cassio, who thinks that Iago is good at heart, does not suspect Iago of any evil, and is unaware of the fact that his every action changes the fate of many.

Iago is a two faced person, adjusting to what situation presents itself, in order to exact his revenge. He has many personalities, in which he shows to be an honest man, but he is actually hiding a scheming monster underneath. What Iago does is attack when everyone is in shock, or they are willing to do anything. However, Iago is not the only player at work, as Othello’s jealousy, Roderigo’s obsession, and Cassio’s reputation, leave them all vulnerable for attack. However Iago does not state lies, he leaves hints, which many characters pick up on, leading them to their own downfalls. Yet Iago, as all villains do, left some stones unturned, which led to his own downfall as well.