Deceptive Iago
Without a doubt, one of the main themes that runs throughout William Shakespeare's tragic play, Othello, is that of honesty. In the play, the most interesting character is Iago, who is commonly called and known as "Honest Iago." However, this could not be farther from the truth. Through some carefully thought-out words and actions, Iago is able to manipulate others to do things in a way that benefits and moves him closer to his own goals. He is smart and an expert at judging the characters of others. Because of this, Iago pushes everyone to their tragic end. Iago knows very well that trust and deceit must go hand in hand in order for him to achieve his vengeance on Othello and Cassio. Hence, as he plans the downfalls of them, he is continually trying to obtain their undoubting trust. He slowly poisons people's thoughts, creating ideas in their heads without implicating himself. Iago even says himself that the advice he gives is free and honest and thus, people rarely stop to consider the possibility that Iago is fooling them. One person Iago deceives is Roderigo. Throughout the play, Iago tells him that he hates Ot
hello and that Roderigo should make some money so he could give gifts to Desdemona, who he admires from afar. Thinking that this is sound advice, Roderigo does just that. However, Iago is actually keeping the gifts that Roderigo plans to give Desdemona for himself. Eventually, Roderigo begins to catch on to the act and confronts Iago, but he falls right into Iago's trap again when he tells him that killing Cassio will help him win over Desdemona. Roderigo is then lead to his death by the hands of "Honest Iago." The vast difference between reputation and character adds not only irony, but also conflict to Othello. It gives the play a twist, while maintaining the audiences undivided attention. When you are reading the book, it's almost like you could wish that there was a way you could speak to the characters themselves and show that their perception of other characters is totally wrong. For instance, we all know that that the character of Iago is corrupt through and through. There probably isn't one good bone in his body. But ironically, the other characters all see him as "Honest Iago." This allows him to manipul
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Approximate Word count = 783
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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