Othello Character Analysis

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All villains pursue in evil actions to accomplish their goals. But, every villain is different and has their own motives for their wicked ways. In the play “Othello,” William Shakespeare presents the villain known as Iago, who is a manipulative devil that only cares for himself and will stop at nothing to reach his goals. In the novel “Wuthering Heights,” Emily Bronte presents the cruel character Heathcliff, who seeks revenge on his enemies. The bad guys of both genres each make the largest contribution to everyone's tragic ending. Heathcliff and Othello are two different types of villains and it is obvious which type of villain is superior to the other. Of course, both of these villains are meticulous in their own ways, but Iago is the greater…show more content…
Correspondingly, Iago’s rational helps to recognize how evil he really is. Iago’s motive as a villain has to be interpreted by the reader because he never bluntly says why he wants Othello destroyed. Iago gives multiple reasons for why he hates Othello such as, he assumes Othello slept with his wife, and he is angry Othello gave Cassio the lieutenant position, rather than himself. I think Iago’s true motive is to be evil just to be evil. On top of that, Iago has a way with his words. Iago’s ability to manipulate others is one of the many idiosyncrasies that makes him a powerful villain. Specifically, manipulation is used when Iago tells Cassio to use Desdemona to convince Othello to give back his position as lieutenant. When Cassio and Desdemona are talking, Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona and Cassio are seeing each other. Although Iago gives Cassio good advice that would help him get his position back, Iago was just setting Cassio up for failure. Iago would consider what he has done, to be a good deed because he is being “honest.” Iago’s use of manipulation helps his plan progress rapidly. Furthermore, Iago is incapable of forming affectionate relationships with others. Therefore, he only cares for himself, and again is another of his villainous characteristics. Likewise, Iago despises all women, he doesn't love his wife, he views her as an object and will keep her around as long as she’s useful. Egocentrically enough,…show more content…
Iago and Heathcliff share the some of the same evil characteristics, although Iago characteristics are pushed to a further extent. Iago and Heathcliff’s goals are very similar, they both try to bring down everyone they to get what they want. However, Iago’s motive is to be evil just for the soul purpose of doing so, rather than Heathcliff’s motive, which is to get revenge. Iago’s villainous motive is always there, Heathcliff is torn down from the begging and is created into a monster. If Heathcliff had not been abused, neglected, and altogether degraded as a human when growing up, he wouldn’t have became the cruel man he became, but no event can change Iago’s motive to be evil. Furthermore, Iago and Heathcliff manipulate people to get what they want. The difference is that Iago uses manipulation to destroy everyone and to be evil. Heathcliff uses manipulation to get revenge and to be evil, but primarily to get to his soul mate, Catherine. When Catherine is dead, Heathcliff stops manipulating people and stops doing anything for that matter. Iago uses manipulation to succeed upon his diabolical plan, he would never stop fulfilling his goals at the loss of another. On top of that, Iago and Heathcliff do not care about anyone but themselves, of course with Heathcliff’s exception to Catherine. Iago completely only cares for himself, while Heathcliff is weak for love. Heathcliff has feelings, has motives, and has
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