Do Characters in Othello Cause Their Own Misfortune Essay Example

which he makes many assumptions. It increases Othello’s jealousy even further, to a point where he is enraged and wants to kill Cassio. His jealousy fuels his irrational judgement, and thus causes him to continuously believe many things which are, in fact, false. Another example where Othello’s pride and jealousy clouds his judgement is when he is about to kill Desdemona:“By heaven, I saw my handkerchief in ‘s hand./O perjured woman, thou dost stone my heart,/And mak’st me call what I intend to do/A murder, which I thought a sacrifice!/I saw the handkerchief.” (V.

II.66-70)Othello listens to Desdemona’s pleas, but doesn’t believe her sincerity. This shows how his pride takes precedence over his rationality, because he believes that he can never be wrong, and a subordinate woman such as Desdemona could never question his actions. This scene is the most important cause of his downfall, his death, as it is the one where Othello finally unleashes his inner anger on an innocent human, and in turn, causes him to kill himself. Othello is a brave and valiant soldier, but his rational thinking eventually falls prey to his jealousy and pride, which leads to his downfall.Roderigo is a man who is deeply in love with Desdemona, but is gullible and lacks self-determination to achieve his goal. Roderigo places his trust and money in Iago, hoping that he will, in return, help Roderigo acquire Desdemona’s love. It seems as though he will do anything just to receive Iago’s consent in helping him, even though Iago doesn’t prove to be knowledgeable in the field of love.

When Roderigo says “I will incontinently drown myself” (I.iii.308) it reveals his personality

and how he is not very independent or determined. It shows how he will try to kill himself because he loves Desdemona deeply. Roderigo’s lack of self-reliance proves to be the flaw in his character; it is the cause of his misfortune later on in the play, because he is constantly seeking advice and help from Iago, a keen manipulator. “Do you find some occasion to/anger Cassio, either by speaking too loud, or tainting/his discipline, or from what other course you please,[…] Roderigo: Well.” (II.i.

269-273)When Roderigo has just learnt that Desdemona is beginning to love Cassio, he is quick to ask Iago for advice, because he doesn’t know what to do. Roderigo blindly agrees to anger Cassio, even though it may put him on bad terms with the lieutenant. Roderigo continuously believes every piece of advice Iago has to give, which shows how his love for Desdemona causes him to become susceptible to Iago’s puppetry, and is the primary cause of his misfortune later in the play. Towards the end of the play, Roderigo surprisingly becomes somewhat independent and courageous, and confronts Iago about his efforts in making Desdemona love him. However, his assertive attitude is voided when he says “I will hear further reason for this,” (IV.ii.251) after Iago has told him about the plan to kill Cassio. This shows how Roderigo may try to have determination, but he will always fall back into his foolish nature; he is a victim to ‘honest’ Iago’s words.

Roderigo’s naivety and trusting nature is the true cause of his constant misfortune, and finally, his death.Iago is the one of the most villainous antagonists in all of Shakespeare’s

plays, and he himself creates his own misfortune, due to his jealousy and, surprisingly, his trust in others. It seems ironic that one who creates others’ downfalls also creates one’s own, and his own characteristic flaws are the cause of his downfall. First of all, Iago begins to manipulate numerous characters in the play, due to his minor jealousy of Cassio becoming lieutenant. This jealousy is a hamartia which causes great suffering for Iago, and leads to his demise. “I hate the Moor:/And it is thought abroad, that ‘twixt my sheets/He has done my office: I know not if’t be true;/But I, for mere suspicion in that kind,/Will do as if for surety.” (I.iii.

387-391)Iago has an unjustifiable reason for hating Othello, which causes him to manipulate Othello greatly, much like a puppet on strings. This is a dominant reason for Iago’s downfall, because when Othello finds out that Iago manipulated him throughout the whole play, he is completely enraged and stabs Iago out of anger. Iago is then presumably punished for the monstrous deeds he performed. “She did deceive her father, marrying you;/And when she seemed to shake and fear your looks,/She loved them most” (III.iii.218-220) In this quote Iago is trying to plant the seed of jealousy and hatred in Othello. Othello will not simply believe anything that Iago says, so Iago uses some basis of truth to formulate his statements.This half-truth allows Othello to ponder upon it and is what keeps Othello’s jealousy going throughout the play; Iago is filled with half-truths that force the receiver to believe the whole statement because some of it is true.

This is an excellent example of

Iago’s manipulation, which causes his downfall. Iago confidently places trust in Emilia, including her in his schemes and plans. However, this trust proves to be a bad decision when Emilia conveys the truth to Othello about the handkerchief. “Iago: Filth, thou liest!/Emilia: By heaven, I do not, I do not, gentlemen.” (V.ii.238-249) This particular scene shows how Iago places too much trust in Emilia, and it is a direct cause of his downfall. It gives Othello and many others insight into the real truth of Iago’s manipulations of the various characters in Othello.

Consequently, Iago’s evil nature allows him to place trust in no one, which is a cause of his misfortune, in addition to his unreasonable jealousy.Othello is a tragedy in which many characters experience misfortune. However, there are some characters that cause it themselves, and some characters that do not cause their own misfortune. Othello causes his own misfortune by having an extreme jealous nature and hubris. Roderigo is an innocent and ingenuous young man who succumbs to manipulation, which causes his downfall. Finally, Iago is a malevolent character that causes misfortune to others and by consequence causes his own. Shakespeare demonstrates that, in the play Othello, even when one can have positive or negative intentions, it is still possible to cause hardships to oneself unknowingly.