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John Smith

5/15/2016
English 110
1470 Words

A Noble Hero and the Ignobility of Navet:


Analyzing Othellos Tragically Flawed Character

The Scotsman had his ambition. Prince Hamlet, the eternal philosopher, was forever
indecisive. Romeo and Juliet, the star crossed lovers, were blinded by love or by juvenile lust.
Alexander Hamilton was obsessed with his legacy, Oedipus the King could not overcome his
pride or his anger, and Victor Frankensteins curiosity could never be satisfied. In every great
tragedy, a hero a character with more redeeming qualities than not, someone the audience can
root for in success and feel pity for in their ultimate failure is plagued by one or more fatal
character flaws, their tragic flaw, that ultimately leads to their complete and total downfall. In
Shakespeares Othello, the titular protagonist and great war hero Othello is troubled by his poor
judgement in people and his inability to pull back the veil to perceive their true intentions and
loyalties. He casts down those who would be his greatest champions, his most loyal allies, and
elevates one man who would seek to destroy him above all else. In this manner, Othellos
navet and acceptance of Iagos lies leads to his ultimate downfall.

The entire plot of Othello carries a theme of deception, of false appearances, and of
misrepresentation. In the very first scene, we are led to believe that the character of Othello is
barbaric, as he is described by Iago as a Barbary horse, an old black ram, and his elopement
with Desdemona is compared to thievery. In scene ii, we see a very different Othello. As
Brabantio and his men come to confront Othello, and both sides draw their weapons, Othello
quickly and calmly takes command of the situation, and advocates for peace with the phrase

Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them. / Good signior, you shall more
command with years / Than with your weapons (I.ii.59-61). With a few well-chosen words,
Othello calms an angry crowd.

He presents to the audience a character that is not only

respectful, but respectable, and immediately likable. When the senator expresses his wish to see
Othello in prison, Othello does not argue, only mentions that he is on his way to meet the Duke
of Venice, and that perhaps the matter can be settled there. As Othello enters the Dukes
company in the next scene, it is immediately apparent that most characters perceptions of him in
the play are wildly different than those of Iago and Brabantio. Whereas before he has only been
referred to with animalistic metaphors and by his outsider status as the Moor, the most
powerful man in Venice now greets him with the call of Valiant Othello (I.iii.48), and as
Desdemona tells the story of her falling in love with Othello, the audience is presented with an
honorable man, a noble war hero, and a humble servant of the state with a gift for speech.
Before he begins his descent into madness, there are many reasons for the audience to root for
Othello. It is tragic and unfortunate, then, that his tragic flaw leaves him open and vulnerable to
Iagos scheming and brings about his demise.

At the end of Act 1 Scene 3, Iago makes his first famous soliloquy. He drops all
pretenses of deception, and speaks directly to the audience as if he were thinking out loud. He
expresses his deep hatred for Othello, and gives the first foreshadowing of Othellos great flaw
buried in his nobility with the damning lines,

The Moor is of a free and open nature,


That thinks men honest that but seem to be so,
And will as tenderly be led by the nose

As asses are.
(I.iii.402-405)

Though Iagos understanding of his own hatred and motivations is imperfect, he is a cunning
mastermind in the manipulation of others, and his interpretation of Othellos character is spot on.
Although Othello performs exceedingly well on the battlefield and while conducting himself
professionally, he is not capable of perceiving trickery or truth in his personal relationships, and
is easily led down the rabbit hole to madness by Iagos treachery under the visage of honesty.

Iagos cunning is underlined by a series of plots that are so complexly orchestrated and
exquisitely enacted that (due also in part to several turns of sheer luck) they seem almost
unrealistic. He plays the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of each character, exploiting Roderigos
wealth and desperation, Othellos honesty, and even Cassios good looks and charm in his
ventures against them. In Act III Scene iii, rather than implicating Cassio as Desdemonas sordid
lover all at once to Othello, he insinuates the idea with breadcrumbs. Othello would never want
to hear of an outright accusation of Cassio, but after Iago has fed his curiosity to the tipping
point, he nearly begs Iago to speak his mind. To Othello, Iagos perceived withholding of his
thoughts to save Cassio the suspicion and Iagos constant apologies for being too busy in my
fears / as worthy cause I have to fear I am (III.iii.253-254) make him seem ever more honest,
perceptive, and trustworthy, as he exclaims upon Iagos exit, This fellow's of exceeding honesty,
/ And knows all qualities, with a learned spirit, / Of human dealings (III.iii.258-260). Though a
noble and competent man, Othello is not capable of seeing through Iagos charade and
identifying the truth that lies beneath. He trusts Iago so much that he begins to doubt his most
loyal officer and friend, the one that even helped him win the heart of Desdemona, and sees

Cassio as a potential offender when the man himself has given him no cause to think as much.
Thus, Iago leads him farther into paranoia, obtaining Desdemonas handkerchief through a stroke
of fortune and setting his plans into motion until Othello almost redeems himself much later in
the same scene, as he demands Iago prove his wifes disloyalty if he dares to suggest it with the
lines,
Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore,
Be sure of it; give me the ocular proof:
Or by the worth of man's eternal soul,
Thou hadst been better have been born a dog
Than answer my waked wrath!
(III.iii.359-363)
In which he nearly doubts Iago, out of his fears of losing Desdemona and being made a cuckold,
and threatens to end the ensigns life if he cannot prove Desdemonas breach of faith.
Unfortunately, Iago manipulates his fear, implying to Othello that the only true proof (visually
catching Cassio and Desdemona in the act) would be too terrible for Othello to bear, not to
mention nigh on impossible to achieve. Othello, believing him, settles on any circumstantial
evidence that Iago may be able to provide, and Iago spins a tale of Cassio talking in his sleep
about his love for Desdemona, as well as implying that Cassio is in possession of Desdemonas
spotted handkerchief, the first gift Othello gave her. Though he has no proof the event ever truly
occurred (and in fact it did not), Othello trusts Iago once again, and takes it to heart as if it had.
At this point, even though he does not see the handkerchief (the only thing that comes to ocular
proof) in Cassios hands until much later in Act III Scene iv, Othello is on the path of no return.
He makes an oath with Iago to slay Cassio and Desdemona, and sets his fate in stone.

One could argue that Othellos navet is not entirely at fault for his downfall, and that
Iagos scheming is the chief reason for his tragic demise, but it should be said that there is a
distinct difference between a cause and a catalyst. While Iagos evil doings serve as the catalyst
for this tragic storys chain of events, they could not have occurred, or at the very least could not
have reached the same conclusion, without Othellos blind and undeserved faith in the devil of a
man that betrayed him. It can be said that had Iago never been born, Othello would eventually
have been pitted in life against a man with similar cunning and malevolent intentions, and would
have fallen prey to him instead, especially with the way he ignores the goodwill and pleadings of
those who intend the best for him, suffocating his wife before she has a chance to truly defend
her case, and only accepting when it was far too late the fact that Cassio truly never gave him
cause to wish his death. Othello jumped the gun, and his blind faith in Iago drove him to a
terrible fate. Perhaps he actually could have benefited from a dose of Hamlets uncertainty, had
he just given people enough time to let the truth come to light before damning himself as a
murderer.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William, and Kenneth Muir. Othello. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England:


Penguin, 1968. Print.

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