Four Faces of Man in OthelloThe four main characters in the play Othello represent four different character traits of manhood: Roderigo, failure; Othello, the hero, but the mad lover; Cassio, the nobles; and Iago, the villain, but the strongest character in the play. Among these four characters, Roderigo reveals the weakest character traits. Iago effortlessly takes advantage of Roderigo's lack of intelligence, in fact Iago himself stated that he would not waste time and effort on "such a snipe" (I iii 387) except for "sport and profit ". Towards the end of the play, Roderigo reveals certain traits that might classify him as a man with a backbone. He ultimately stands up to Iago and threatens to expose the conspiracy against Othello and Cassio, but ultimately his faults outweigh his virtuous traits and he is persuaded by Iago to kill Cassio instead. Similarly, Othello is the tragic hero of the play but his character is also weak. Jealousy is Othello's main downfall. He reveals his insecurities in the scene where he hits Desdemona and calls her a "devil". Similarly, in the brothel scene, Othello's insecurities arise when he cruelly questions Desdemona. He condemns her as a "mere whore" and a "whore", for which he has no real proof. Iago also easily manipulates Othello, like Roderigo, throughout the play. Othello is naive. He demonstrates that a few well-placed suggestions can change one's thinking, such as when Iago spoke to Cassio and made Othello believe that the lieutenant was talking about Desdemona instead of Bianca. Overall, Othello was a weak character and a naive man. On the other hand, Cassio's character is strong. He spoke about Othello with dignity and grace, something no other character in the play does. Cassio also showed extreme loyalty to the Moor. Cassio's only flaw is that he temporarily lost his ability to reason when he was drunk and allowed himself to be manipulated by Iago. Overall, Cassio is a good example of how a man should act; with dignity and honor. Likewise, Iago's character is also strong. He is an intelligent man, as can be seen in the soliloquy where he hatches a plan to trap Cassio "to get his place" (I iii). In the soliloquy, Iago's intelligence is revealed in the statement "How, how?" - To abuse Othello's ear / That [Cassio] knows his wife too well.