Othello Essay, Research Paper
Othello is a romantic character. His origins are not from the high society like his wife or the previous governor, instead, he comes Morocco and usually he is called the Moor. He is a characteristic hard working man that has got his leadership by working in the most humble working places, such as being a slave, and working hard to let himself out of slavery to become a high politician. He seems to enjoy what he does by traveling to distant and strange lands and thorough the fight described against the Turks.
Othello shows to be a fearless soldier and general. Since he has been in the army for years, he started from the most basic soldier in the battlefield, where he spent most of his days. From this experiences, he knows that it has to be done and puts in other peoples feet and is fair, as a result of his style of life in the army, he is used to the hard work of military life and to take decisions fast an precisely. Because of his leadership, he is appointed the leader of the Venetian troops, and most of the high politicians recognize his abilities including his closest worker, Iago.
In the play Othello is a tragic hero. Since he is a black person and comes from Morocco, the first image you can get of a person from those origins and in those times, is of a messy, corrupt and without manners, but it is not. Ironically, that impression of a black man is not the one that characterizes Othello, because he has a noble nature, and Desdemona confirms that. In the beginning of the play, when he is still not in love of Desdemona,he is proud, intelligent and self-confident. Once he falls in love, all his abilities disappear and he transforms into a beastie manner.
Since Othello has passed all his life in the fields of war, he has the innocence and simplicity of a child when it comes to social graces and worldly knowledge. In matters of life, he is simple, frank, and honest. He has no experience with the wickedness that exists in human nature. He thinks that men who appear honest, are really so. He also believes the lies that Iago makes and trust him more than anyone, incliding his own wife Desdemona.
Othello loves Desdemona a lot and can do anything for her. With his noble characteristics at fist, he trusts almost anyone thinking that all the people that are around him are honest and never thinks they could do anything to him. But even though that he is amazed and in love with his wife’s beauty, he doesn’t end to understand that her true nature is pure and good, and not a whore, as she has been insinuatedly characterized by Iago to Othello. He does not know her good enough to know that she could never be dishonest or unfaithful, especially not to her husband. Because of Iago’s evil comments, Othello starts to think that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him and he tortures himself by getting images of her in a sex scene with Cassio. In one of the scenes he tortures himself so much that it seems that he is having an epilepsy attack and shows us how much he is suffering for the love of his wife and the degree of trust in the word of the Iago.
Othello’s punishment to be a tragic hero is being jealous to Desdemona. After a painful scene of Othello killing Desdemona suffocating her, he knows the truth from the words of Iago’s wife, and again his noble nature makes him trust in her and decides to punish Iago and forgive Cassio from what he believed he did to him. He takes the action of commiting suicide after knowing the truth and suffering from trusting the word of Iago. This action confirms him as a tragic hero and the story ends.