Othello: Tragic Flaw

Prompt: Does Othello fall as the result of a tragic flaw? Why or why not?

        What is a tragic flaw? To fully understand this paper you must know what it means. A tragic flaw is a term that refers to a personally of the main characters that leads you his or hair downfall. In the play Othello written by William Shakespeare, Othello goes through many obstacles mentally and emotionally. Othello is truly a dynamic character. From reading the play from the beginning to the end you can observe how Othello gradually changes from a flawless military general into a cold blooded murder. William Shakespeare uses the literary device characterization in order to convey that Othello falls as the result of a tragic flaw.

 One factor contributing to the reason Othello falls as the result of a tragic flaw is that he is characterized by jealously. Othello jealousy throughout the play is very strong is also sensed by many of the other characters in the play. Othello says “Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul. But I do love thee! And when I love thee not, Chaos is come again.” Othello’s jealousy is the catalyst for the inescapable end he sees for his relationship with Desdemona.  Jealousy is being used as a catalyst to cause relationship problems when the trusted honest Iago rots Othello’s mind by telling him that he is being betrayed by Desdemona and Cassio.

Another example is when Iago tells Othello that Cassio was dreaming about Desdemona. Iago says to Othello “In sleep I heard him say, ‘Sweet Desdemona, Let us be wary, let us hide our loves’.” Iago tells Othello lies to create a whirlpool of jealous emotions in his head. Othello grows more confused and frustrated for the love he has for Desdemona. Iago tells Othello untrue stories of a romantic situation between Desdemona and Cassio, in telling him these lies, Othello grows more and more aggressive in his relationship with Desdemona.

            Lastly Othello get jealous when he finds out the Cassio has the handkerchief that he gave to Desdemona as a gift.  Iago tells Othello that he has seen Cassio using handkerchief spotted with strawberries. Iago says “I know not that, but such a handkerchief—I am sure it was your wife’s—did I today see Cassio wipe his beard with.”

 Since he has accurately described the handkerchief, Othello believes him and starts to believe that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair due to the proof given by Iago.      As a result Othello is so blinded by jealousy that he accepts Iago's lie as the strongest possible evidence.

                The second factor contributing to the fact Othello falls as the result of a tragic flaw is that he is characterized by being gullible. Othello is a very gullible person and believes everything that Iago throws at him. Othello is a very easy person for Iago to lure and fall into his evil diabolical    plan due to the fact that he is so in love with Desdemona and doesn’t want anybody to have her but him. For example he was tricked by Iago, thinking that Desdemona was really having an affair with Cassio .After when Iago told Othello that Cassio had a dream about Desdemona, Othello replied “Oh, monstrous! Monstrous!" He trusts Iago too much and totally relies on Iago therefore making him really vulnerable to Iago's evilish schemes.  Othello's gullibility thus causes him to be jealous.  He lets his jealousy take over, he loses control of himself and acts on his jealous emotions, and he lets his jealousy clutter his mind and good judgment.

            Another example would be when Emilia told Othello about Desdemona death, and he admits to murdering his honest wife Desdemona but says that he killed he because it was untrue to him. When Emilia told him that it was not true Othello said “Ay,  twas he that told me on her first. An honest man he is and hates the slime that sticks on filthy deeds.”  By reading that quote, Othello gullibility is fully observed. Othello believes Iago and his lies because he thought that Iago was an honest person. Iago’s plan was so powerful that Othello praised him for his “honesty”.

             Lastly Othello told the officials his reasons for committing murder and that Iago told him of an affair. Iago's response was, "Demand me nothing. What you know, you know. From this time forth, I never will speak a word.  Iago told Othello and the others that he didn't tell Othello about an affair. He just made insinuations and suggestions about one. Othello really didn't know of an affair between Desdemona and Cassio. His gullibility led him to be overtaken with appearances. Othello didn't make any real attempt to find out the truth. He relied on Iago to provide a picture of what he thought happened. Because of Othello's mistake to seek the truth, his inevitable downfall became realized when he killed himself. Othello's tragic flaw was being gullible. His background of baseness made him a weak minded person. Iago was an evil man who wanted to see the downfall of Othello. He recognized Othello's flaw and used it to his benefit. 

            The last and final factor that led to the fall as the result of a tragic flaw is that Othello had an enormous amount of trust for Iago. This is clearly visible throughout the whole play. For instance when Iago gives Othello the proof that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair Othello says “Oh, blood, blood, blood!” Othello grow furious and want to kill Cassio because he believes that what “honest” Iago is saying is the truth. This automatically reveals that Othello trusts Iago just because he has attained “proof” that Othello’s wife is having an affair with 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. So it can be said that Othello's jealousy and inability to see past it remains the reason for his downfall.