Jealousy 1: The play opens with a discussion of jealousy. Iago is upset because Othello selected Michael Cassio as his lieutenant. He is jealous of Cassio's position both in the military and with Othello's service. This initial jealousy is the catalyst for the play's sequential plot of mixed jealousy and destruction. Jealousy 2: Brabantio is partially jealous of the Moor for stealing his daughter's love.
All three villains may differ in many ways, yet it seems they share a common urge for power, control and a use of sadistic measures. Jealousy is a very powerful emotion that can cause resentment and envy, creating strong anxieties in villains. This enviousness is a common motivational force for socio-paths. Both Iago and the Duke take on this form of motivation, in order to justify their actions that lack morally-correct social behavior. The Duke’s duchess is flirtatious in nature and this displeases the Duke “Sir, ‘twas not her husband’s presence only, called that spot of joy into the duchess’ cheek”.
I think that he is very evil when he tries to attempt to bring Othello down. He thinks that the best way to do this is to go after Othello’s wife Desdemona. He does this because he knows that Othello cares for her very much. Iago is just jealous of Othello. Iago is very jealous of Othello because he wants to be in a better position but he is out ranked by a moor.
Jealousy in Othello results in the tragic ending like in the beginning of the play, Iago was jealoused of Cassio because he wanted to get Cassio’s position as a lieutenant, Rogerigo was jealoused of Othello because Desdemona loves Othello and not him and Othello was jealoused of Cassio because he thought that Cassio loves Desdemona more than him. Roderigo was jealoused of Othello because Desdemona loves Othello and not him. He was willing to do anything to win her love. It is the jealousy which moves him to do many evil things in the play. He gave a large amount of money to Iago to get Desdemona but he failed.
For example, Tom tells Mr. Wilson about the incident that happens with Myrtle, and that Gatsby was responsible for it. This caused Mr. Wilson to fill with anger, and lead him to kill Jay Gatsby, and commit suicide. From these two situations, we see two contrasting consequences from one similar emotion. Jay Gatsby’s jealousy motivates him to pursue his true love, while Tom’s jealousy leads to the death of multiple characters. In conclusion, it is extremely transparent that Tom is a more corrupt character compared to Jay Gatsby.
Shakespeare shows Othello in having a gullible and a Jealous and insecure nature. This is shown from Iago manipulating Othello and the idea of Desdemona having to love someone like him (Othello). Iago understands Othello’s weaknesses and he used that to his advantage to get his revenge on Othello by manipulating him in killing Desdemona. Iago shows Othello’s jealous nature when taking action of the plan of making it seem like Desdemona had an affair with Cassio. Iago shows that he has noticed Othello’s jealous nature from the quote, “O beware, my lord, of jealousy: it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.” This shows Othello’s jealous nature by the way he takes action of the situation he believes that is going on.
Because of Iago’s web of lies, Othello was transformed into a monster, who no longer spoke to Desdemona gently, but rather struck her in public. The emotional change of Othello was extremely evident as he was so utterly in love with Desdemona in the beginning, yet by the end he could actually bring himself to kill her. Othello seemed to be tragically flawed in the sense that he was too proud to stand the fact that his wife had been unfaithful. Being a general he was always in control, and Iago made it seem that he did not have complete dominance over all aspects of his life. Every lie brought him deeper into his madness, and he appeared to be so
Iago then urges him to start a fight with Cassio. Iago encourages the fight because he wants revenge on Cassio for being promoted to the lieutenant position. Iago shows his masterful manipulation skills by having Roderigo being almost invisible in the scene where Roderigo starts the fight with Cassio, who is drunk and chasing Roderigo around the stage threatening to beat him up. As he was chasing him, Cassio stabbed Montano, the Governor of Cyprus. No one seems to give it a second thought of who started the fight and what the fight is about.
Jealousy is a powerful theme explored in Othello that remains of concern in today’s society. Through Iago and Roderigo who are both motivated by jealousy and Othello who is subject to it, many dimensions of jealousy are explored. The play uses emotive imagery; it is filled with images of darkness, confusion and uncertainty which helps establish this theme Jealousy is what appears to destroy Othello. It is the emotion suggested to him by Iago, when he says, “O beware jealousy; / It is the green ey’d monster, which doth mock / that meat it feeds on”. Iago has noticed Othello’s tendency to insecurity and overreaction, but not even Iago imagined Othello would go as far into jealousy as he did.
In the first few scenes of the play, the readers experience first-hand some of Iago’s capabilities, in particular, his deceptive traits. Distinctively in act 2 scene 3, Shakespeare exposes more of Iago’s personality – a greedy and jealous man. Iago’s actions in this scene lead to the firing of Cassio. Previously, in act 1, the readers are shown Iago’s jealousy towards Cassio’s higher rank – a lieutenant (in lines 19-28). Iago’s unforgiving and jealous nature comes into place like a jigsaw puzzle when Othello holds a party to celebrate the unsuccessful Turkish invasion and his marriage to Desdemona.