Othello a Tragic Hero free essay sample

Shakespeare develops the characters into fully realized human beings, with their own names, personalities, and ways of looking at the world. Othello is the protagonist of the play. He is a combination of greatness and weakness, in his own words an honourable murderer. He is a general in the Venetian defense forces. Although he is a foreigner from Africa, he has been promoted this position by excellence in the field of war. He has courage, intelligence, the skill of command, and the respect of his troops. But Othello’s characteristics lead him to demonstrate his hamartia. There are Othello’s three tragic flaws that cause his downfall. The first and most important one is his green-eyed monster, jealousy. Second is his insecurities. And the last one is his poor judgement. Othello trusts the wrong person and mistrusts those who are most loyal to him. Shakespeare uses Othello’s three characteristics to be the causes that lead Othello to make his life fall apart and end up as a tragic hero. We will write a custom essay sample on Othello a Tragic Hero or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the play Othello, many of the characters have jealousy which is causing them to commit acts outside of their normal personalities. Iago, Emilia, Bianca, Roderigo and Othello all display jealousy throughout the play, though each finds resolution in a different way. Othellos jealousy against Desdemona is the strongest emotion in the play. The jealousy he experiences turns him insane with anger, and he loses all ability to see reasons. The first instance that instills doubt in Othellos mind is Brabantios warning that one day Desdemona will deceive him just like she does to her father. This doubt allows Iago to use Othellos jealousy, and plan to take advantage of Othello. Iago gradually leaks his poison into Othello and soon has the result he desires. Othello is overcome with jealousy. Othello continuously denies his jealousy, but it is apparent that he is losing his mind with the thought of Desdemonas adultery. Soon after, with Iagos help Othello believes to see undeniable proof that Desdemona is unfaithful with the loss of the handkerchief. Othellos jealousy soon turns to rage as he struggles to cope. He accuses Desdemona of infidelity. Though Desdemona denies it, Othello is not convinced. Othello believes he has no other way to resolve his doubt than to murder Desdemona. After Desdemonas death, the truth is uncovered, and Othello chooses to commit suicide. Because Othello’s jealousy easily makes him feel violated and betrayed. The feeling of betrayal by Desdemona who he trusts is one of the most hurtful emotions Othello can feel. His jealousy turns into anger and he ends up killing himself and Desdemona. Jealousy is the major reason that causes Othello to become a tragic hero. Another cause that leads Othello to be a downfall on hero is his insecurity. Othello is an outsider who is intelligent and confident in military matters but socially insecure. He leads an intense life, swinging between triumph and dread. Othello is different from those around him, due to his origins and his life history, but he shares their religion, values, and nationalism to Venice. More importantly, Othello is visibly different due to the color of his skin, so he lives constantly among, but separated from, other people. Whenever they look at his black face, however brilliant a general he is, he knows the others are thinking that he is not really one of them. Shakespeare presents this fact in the dialogue and also in the staging of the play. Othello is referred to as The Moor a representative African, while others go by their personal names and are seen as independent individuals. When other characters call him black, they refer to his face but also to the concept of races. White is honor, black is wickedness; white is innocence, black is guilt. Thus, throughout the play Othello feels insecure. And he realizes the reason why Desdemona loves him because of his power and position as a general not because of his skin color and who he really is. Othello’s social insecurity leads him to easily trust Iago on Desdemona’s infidelity and turn himself to be in a downfall. The last characteristics that makes Othello to be a tragic hero in the play is his poor judgement. Othello’s misjudgment towards trusting the characters who betray him, and mistrusting the loyal and faithful characters who obey him, play the major role in his downfall. Throughout the play Shakespeare creates Iago as being a deceiving liar, but to Othello, Iago is nothing except an honest man. Othello’s naive mind leads him to believe that Iago is an honest man, which result in a deadly mistake. Othello also puts all his trust in Iago. Othello places his marriage with Desdemona in great despair. Othello accuses Desdemona of giving the handkerchief to Cassio. Desdemona denies to him that she has not given Cassio anything. As Desdemona is lying on her bed, she pleads to Othello her innocence, and swearing that she has never told a lie to him, Othello refuses to believe anything Desdemona is confessing to him. Only if Othello kept waiting longer to see more ocular evidences, he would have known the truth that Desdemona and Cassio are loyal and faithful people in his life and he would not have ended up as a tragic hero. Othello is a play of a tragic hero. Othello’s three main characteristics which cause him a downfall. Firstly, Othellos tragic flaw would most likely be his jealousy. This is brought on by simple persuasion by Iago. Even though Iago used extreme manipulation to get Othello to be jealous, Iago does not really have to try very hard to get Othello in a jealous state of mind. Othello is blinded by his jealousy which lead him down a path of questioning of his wife, Desdemona and his officer, Cassio. Throughout the play we see Othello sink deeper and deeper into a cloud of doubt which eventually leads him to kill not only his wife but also himself. Moreover, there are his insecurities. Othellos insecurities are so close to the surface that a few words of hint from Iago can tear the confident exterior and expose his fears, desires, and tendency to violence. Lastly is his poor judgement that leads him to believe in what Iago tells him about Desdemona’s affair. Othello has no alternative way of thinking to find more proofs to ensure what he already knows from Iago is true or not. In Othello, the protagonist’s downfall is caused by his own actions.