Good afternoon class and Ms Teltey, Jealousy has the power to consume oneself... Jealousy changes people in horrific ways. Othello is transformed from a normal human to a spiteful monster It destroys both Iago who is jealous of Cassio and Othello who is jealous of his wife. Iago warns Othello to be wary of jealousy as it is a potent poison that turns Othello into a green eyed monster. Iago is described as a “demi-devil” and rests confidently on the assurance that people and in particular Othello believes him to be honest. He possesses an exterior glitter which is really sinister and which misleads everyone in the play.
The character of Iago is presented to the viewer early on as the obvious villain of the play. His initial exploitation of Othello and Desdemona’s marriage makes the viewer aware of his calculating and manipulative nature, which is further emphasized by his continual deceit of Othello. Despite the ease with which he enacts his controlled and cunning plans, Iago sometimes seems to the viewer as an irrational, vengeful character acting out of jealousy. This trait can make him appear illogical and unreasonable but emphasis his pure evil nature. Iago’s initial soliloquies reveal his deceptive nature, he is presented as Janus, the 2 faced man, as he reveals his plan which becomes more and more complex and reliant on his continual manipulation of the people around him.
Scene 1 offers us a good preview as to what Iago is going to do for the rest of the Act and ultimately the rest of the play. Our first view of Iago is of a hard deceitful man who says « Sblood » as opposed to Roderigo’s « Tush! », we see already his powers of deception as he explains how he is even worse off than Roderigo, his furious language: « A fellow almost damned in a fair wife » manages to convince the intellectual Roderigo who is presented along with Cassio in contrast to Iago. They are polite, educated, fairly wealthy and can not imagine that something as evil and motiveless as Iago exits. Iago has not only lost his promotion but also his hero in Othello.
In East of Eden, Steinbeck accentuates the theme of the confrontation between good and evil by specifying that some people become evil and others are born evil. But what creates a greater dilemma is what Steinbeck later states. Posterior Steinbeck introduces thou mayest which means that everyone has a choice. Steinbeck implies his belief that Cal and Aron both have the power to make their own choices and change their fate and choose to be good or evil. East of Eden is all about the struggle of this concept.
When Shelly is trying to put out the problems of the Enlightenment such as individual’s to know things that are unknown, Victor takes the spotlight when he is messing with life and death. By showing that everyone has some evil in them it shows that some parts of the Enlightenment could be used against people. The collapse of the Enlightenment thinkers was on the verge when people continued to have reasoning for things weather they were right or wrong. I see this novel as a human and a monster who just both want to be loved in the wrong
Laura Niemi Dr. Tait ENG 450 21 October, 2012 Othello The analysis of this play doesn’t begin with Othello, but it does start with the fact that Iago is the evil person portrayed here. He plays on Othello’s thoughts and emotions which makes Othello absolutely insane. He uses the passion that Roderigo has for Desdemona as a dagger to play on his unending nerves. He also uses Cassio’s character of love as well as drink against the lieutenant, along with Desdemona’s chastity against her. His plan of action was almost complete if he was able to murder Cassio.
The above statements serve to prove that Macbeth is Shakespeare’s most profound and mature vision of evil. In this play, Shakespeare presents the overspreading influence of evil over the guilty and ambitious minds which lead them to commit the most treacherous villainy that affect not only the man and the state, but the family and the physical universe as well. But this evil is not the one that finally triumphs, Shakespeare in this play also provides the essential morality and courage which in their progression defeat the evil and restore the natural order of things. This paper endeavors to present the various viewpoints from which this evil can be interpreted. It shows how Shakespeare has depicted the transformation of a good person to a ghastly figure.
Iago has many rather theoretical reasons for his revenge, one of which being his failure to receive the spot of lieutenant, and the other being that he “suspect[s] the lusty Moor” of sleeping with his wife, Emilia. Iago, being a very jealous and icy man sees that the only way to be “even’d with him” is to go “wife for wife”. Iago’s revenge is a carefully plotted strategy that involves many intricate details and occurrences. This extract tells the reader a lot about Iago’s plan that has previously only been assumed. Iago is so emotionally detached that he claims his ‘love’ for Desdemona exists predominantly “to diet [his] revenge”.
To begin with, ambition is the driving force of the play. It has a corrupting power over Macbeth, causing the downfall of both himself and Lady Macbeth as well as initiating a series of deaths. Today, ambition is highly regarded. Job applications often ask for ambitious candidates, entrepreneurs are admired for their ambition and energy and dynamic countries and cities have ambitious plans for growth. In Act 1 Scene 7 Macbeth says, “I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself And falls on th’other” In this soliloquy, Macbeth admits that his only reason for committing murder is ambition.
Iago not only attempts to seek out his own personal revenge, but he manipulates several other characters in order to help him reach his own goal. He plays on the other characters’ weaknesses and personal tragedies to help him reach his own ultimate revenge. As is proven by the end of the play, Shakespeare is clearly stating his personal belief that revenge is improper. This can be seen through the ultimate downfall of Iago and all those involved. In his play Othello, Shakespeare uses the plot, characters, and ultimate destructive ending to all to show the reader his opinion that all revenge is improper.