Analysis Of Hero's Journey Othello

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The embarkation of the hero’s journey is more than a call, it is taking control of your life and discovering the hero who dwells inside you. Each hero who enters the journey is tested to the very end of the cycle, where the hero must choose rebirth or death. Othello is man of many fortunes, but he does not have what it takes to complete the Hero’s Journey.
The initial call into the hero’s journey begins when he decides to take Desdemona’s hand in marriage. Desdemona’s father (Branbantio) who is the senator begins Othello’s ticking time bomb known as the “Call to Action” by planting a seed into his mind which causes more destruction then we realized. Branbantio tells Othello “Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see. She has deceived her …show more content…

The journey states that “The Hero Meets a Mentor to gain confidence, insight, advice, training, initial fears and face the threshold of the adventure” (Voytilla), instead of meeting such a mentor Othello meets Iago and takes advice from him. Othello just might be his own mentor, after all he is the general of the great Venetian army. Since Othello lacks a mentor who would actually inform him of proper relationship standards, he is basically entering this relationship blindly and setting himself up for failure. This already hints toward Othello’s downfall at the end of the …show more content…

Iago and Othello plan to murder Desdemona and Cassio. Instead, Iago once again betrays his word and sets Othello up for failure and the evil that lurks within this stage devours Othello. The mighty dragon which the hero must slay at the end of the journey proves to be Iago himself all along which kills Othello ending his journey before he can even finish it. Manipulation is Iago’s ultimate power, “he frequently takes the audience or reader into his confidence, manipulates his prey, and watches his deceptions wreak havoc”

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