Tatiana Cline
Professor Kremers
Othello essay 1) a) Othello and Desdemona are defensive about their eloping because they felt Brabantio, Desdemona’s father would not approve of their marriage. Othello was considered an outsider, a moor. They felt Brabantio would not accept Othello since he was not of the same ethnicity. Although Brabanto wouldn’t have been accepting of it at first he would have eventually given his blessing. Othello and Desdemona really messed up by eloping.
b) Othello justifies the elopement by saying Brabanto wouldn’t give his blessing and allow Desdemona and him to marry. Othello and Desdemona are in love and do not want anyone or anything getting in the way of them being together. Brabantio believes Othello has drugged or use some kind of magic on Desdemona. No way does he think she would ever marry a foreigner
c) Desdemona says she has done her divided duty. She confesses her loyalty to Othello to her father. She is divided because she also respects her father but stands up to him. Desdemona expresses that she married Othello willingly, Othello did not try to drug or harm her in anyway.
2) a)Roderigo is a rejected suitor of Desdemona. Not only has he been rejected by Desdemona but also by her father. Roderigo fits easily into Iago’s plan because he is envious of Othello. He’s jealous of him for marring Desdemona. Iago knows he can manipulate Roderigo to do what he wants if Desdemona is involved. Iago gives Roderigo false hope that he might actually have a chance with Desdemona.
b) Iago wants to ruin Cassio’s reputation. By doing this he gets Cassio drunk, Cassio becomes argumentative and starts fighting With Rodergio then Montano gets involved. Iago achieved his goal, now everyone believes that Cassio is the drunk and doesn’t deserve his rank. He turns out looking like that bad guy in the situation.
c) Iago does this because he plans on making it look like Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair. Once Othello finds this out it will reinforce Iago accusations. It would make sense that Desdemona would try to help Cassio if they were having an affair. Its all part of his master plan to make everything he says believable.
3) a) “Tragic Flaw” a fatal weakness or moral flaw in the protagonist that brings him or her to a bad end. Sometimes offered as an alternative understanding of hamartia, in contrast to the idea that the tragic hero’s catastrophe is caused by an error in judgment. Tragic flaw is different from hamartia because hamartia is an offense committed by a morally good person. They did not act intentually, it was by pure ignorance.
b) We know jealously is Othello’s tragic flaw of Othello because he does not even ask Desdemona if she’s been unfaithful to him. He jumps to conclusions and assumes the worse. Desdemona was an honest and true woman to him. He was so incredibly jealous that Desdemona could have been possibly having an affair he didn’t care to think rationally. He just acted immediately on his emotions and that led him down a very bad road.
c) Othello already vowed to kill her but he still wanted to prove her guilty. He finds the handkerchief so persuasive because he knows how important it is to her. Of course as a part of Iago plan it makes Othello think why anyone else would have it at all. She would obviously have to be having an affair. With all the lies Iago has put in Othello’s head thats what he now believes.
4) a) Lodovico and Gratiano are outraged after seeing Othello