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Essay / Jealousy as a motive for destruction in Shakespeare's Othello
William Shakespeare is one of the most famous English poets and playwrights who composes his writings on various themes related to aspects of human nature such as: deception, deception, revenge and jealousy. . In his famous tragedy Othello, critics have argued that the importance of his writings significantly shaped readers like me and our opinions to better understand the causes of their immoral actions. Throughout the play, the characteristic features of jealousy and envy play a prestigious role from beginning to end. Othello reveals that it is obvious that jealousy is one of the greatest motivators for destruction in itself. This incites the victim to manipulation, revenge, betrayal and even the death of others. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The event that leads to all the turns in the play is the murder of Othello's wife, Desdemona. Shakespeare was inspired by an Italian love story by Giraldi Cinthio to write Othello. The masterpiece was written in England during the tense period of racism. In this atmosphere, Shakespeare wrote a drama about a black Arab military general from North Africa, Othello. Othello later falls in love and marries Desdemona, a white daughter of the senator. Every major character in this tragedy is prone to weakness, not just the main character himself. The moral lesson of this tragedy reminds us that even a person's good nature can be exploited for the worse benefit of others. Iago's hatred for Othello is based on jealousy and the assumption that Othello is sleeping with Emilia, Iago's wife. Iago goes on to say: "But partly led to a regime of vengeance, for this I suspect the vigorous Moor". The drama expresses the lesson through different relationships and emotional responses, a theme that all humans are vulnerable to self-destruction, even when they occupy high positions of power and glory. Iago hates Cassio and Othello so much that he shares: "I'll have our Michael Cassio on my hip, I'll insult the Moor in rank suit." Shakespeare shapes the characters in the play to demonstrate human vulnerability when they personally interact with one another. All of the relationships in this tragedy demonstrate insecurities in each person, especially in Othello himself. Although Othello is a tragic hero, Shakespeare reveals his flaws by showing more of his human side than his heroic side. Shakespeare's play also centers on the concept of trust and its crucial role in Othello's flaws. Whether it's overconfidence or underconfidence, the characters use it to their advantage in no time. Iago is seen as the villain who uses Othello's blindness in faith for others to his own advantage. Throughout the play, Iago takes advantage of his reputation and uses the trust he has wrongly gained from everyone to take revenge on the protagonist Othello and his beloved Desdemona. However, he doesn't pursue this task alone, he uses people to get exactly what he wants, unrepentant for those he hurts along the way. Othello was seen as a man with power in society, he went from having everything to having nothing by the end of the play. This wouldn't be possible, however, without the help of our main antagonist Iago, also known as Othello's standard-bearer. Iago is Emilia's husband who is said to have an affair with Desdemona because he wants revenge on Othello for possibly sleeping with his wife, "woman for woman". Othello is anoble man who possesses all the qualities of a tragic hero. and a military leader; however, he had let jealousy get the better of him. Jealousy is the ugliest trait; but Othello acted on his jealousy and murdered his wife, Desdemona. Human nature is a term used to describe the characteristics of humans' feelings and behavioral traits. Humanity often express different types of emotions, be it joy, frustration, despair, remorse and any other forms of emotions depending on the different situations they come in contact with. At the heart of these features are our vulnerabilities. Murdering Desdemona was a very irrational act where Othello allows himself to be controlled by jealousy and Iago. Desdemona is the only pure and innocent figure in Othello and this corruption is symbolized in her handkerchief with the strawberries. His death perhaps symbolizes his loyalty to Othello until the end. Before being murdered, Desdemona confesses: “I have never offended you in my life; I have never loved Cassio except with the general guarantee from heaven that I could love: I never gave him a pledge.” Othello refuses to believe that his wife denies the evidence on the handkerchief, claiming that Cassio confessed before being killed by Iago. Desdemona swears: “I give you my mandate, assure you, I swear my friendship to the last article, my lord will never rest; … I’m going to watch him tame and talk to him about patience.” Upon learning of Cassio's death, Desdemona begins to mourn his death, which makes Othello even angrier. Even on her deathbed, she had denied that her husband was the one who killed her. Emilia, Iago's wife, had asked who had murdered her. She refused to name Othello but replied: “No one.” Myself. This quote shows his naivety and blind trust in Othello. It is Othello's insecurity that makes him jealous of Cassio and allows him to believe that Cassio had slept with his wife, Desdemona. The story ultimately teaches readers that the main idea revolves around feelings of jealousy and revenge. Already inflamed with feelings of jealousy, Othello smothers his wife while she is in bed. This teaches us how powerful feeling can be and that it is the dominant motive for action. Therefore, just like in real life, we witness the jealousy that influences the characters of Iago, Brabantio, Roderigo and Othello. As the play progresses, we witness the development of the character's assumptions and motivations. The change is noticeable primarily in our main protagonist, Othello, who goes from being the proud, deceptive leader of Act 1 to becoming an unstable, jealous, and irrational tragic hero toward the end of the play. Iago shares to the audience his plot to bring down Othello because Othello is so gullible that he will believe anything because Iago is known for being so "honest". Iago shares: “We must bring this monstrous birth into the light of the world.” Iago plots to lead him "by the nose" by making our tragic hero believe that his wife has been having an affair with Cassio, one of Othello's inexperienced soldiers. He [Iago] plants the seeds of jealousy in our main protagonist, making the audience understand his plan of evil as a "monstrous birth" and a plan that will highlight Othello's tragic flaw of jealousy. “To doubt” means to suspect, and despite what he says, Othello already has strong suspicions, not from seeing anything, but simply from listening to Iago. Worse still, Othello is willing to hear and believe whatever Iago says next. Othello thinks that he is not the jealous type and he believes that Iago is his honest friend, therefore he thinks that Iago cannot lie and he believes that he himself cannot be wrong. Iago surrenders.