Othello Appearance Vs Reality Essay

In the Shakespearean play Othello, Shakespeare starts off the very first Act by introducing the theme appearance versus reality through one of the villainous characters named Iago. Iago has the tendency to manipulate other characters in the play so that he can get his revenge on Othello because he dislikes him. There are three major characters in the play that Iago manipulates so that he can use them for his own purpose and desires. The first major character is Roderigo. In front of him, Iago leads Roderigo to believe that he is his close friend and that he is willing to help him get revenge on Othello for marrying Desdemona who Roderigo is in deeply love with. But after Roderigo leaves the scene Iago reveals his true nature and expresses his true feelings towards Roderigo by calling him names,

Thus do I ever make my fool my purse

For I mine own gained knowledge should profane

If I would time expend with such a snipe

But for my sport and profit.

(I.iii.320-323)

In this quote Iago is essentially showing us that he is using Roderigo’s lust

for Desdemona to benefit himself so that he can get revenge on Othello. Iago promises Roderigo that Desdemona will fall out of love with Othello and when that opportunity arrives he’ll aid Roderigo in winning Desdemona’s love. But in his manipulative mind Iago is just using Roderigo as a pawn in his mindset to take down Othello because of the hatred that he has for him.

The second major character that is manipulated by Iago in the play Othello is Brabantio, Desdemona’s father. Iago tends to act as if he is in Brabantio’s side and does so by calling up to him with Roderigo while he’s sleeping and telling him that Othello has married his daughter.
...Because we come to do
you service and you think we are ruffians, you’ll
have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse.
You’ll have your nephews neigh to you. You’ll have
coursers for cousins and gennets for germans.
(I.i.114-117)

This leads Brabantio to believe that Iago is on his side because he’s telling him the secret that Othello and Desdemona are hiding, but in reality Iago has other plans for Brabantio and he’s using him as another pawn to get what he desires which is the downfall of Othello.

Iago then proceeds to insult Brabantio by slandering his bloodline by relating them to horses and donkeys and refers to Othello as an African horse who is having sex with his daughter. This really seems to aggravate Brabantio and he becomes very angry with Othello which benefits Iago because Brabantio has power in the city of Venice (almost as powerful as the duke) and he can use the position that he’s in to get rid of Othello because he’s frustrated about his daughter which will ultimately benefit Iago. In the next scene when Iago is speaking with Othello, he repeats the same actions as before but this time he abhors Brabantio in front of Othello by

saying

Nay, but he prated
And spoke such scurvy and provoking terms
Against your honor
That, with the little godliness I have,
I did full hard forbear him.
(I.ii.7-10)

From this example in the text we can see that Iago is clearly portraying Brabantio to be villainous and a threat to Othello because he is saying corrupt things about him against his honour. Iago knows that he’s already stirred Branbantio’s anger up and he’s trying to do the same with Othello so that hopefully they would get into a quarrel. Brabatio would then evidently win because he has higher power than Othello in the city of Venice and would thus get rid of him.
The third and final major character that Iago manipulates in this play is Othello himself. Iago is Othello’s ancient and he acts as if he respects him and cares about him but again in reality Iago despises him and wants to get Othello killed. We can see this when Iago is talking to Roderigo in Scene 1 Act 1,

…In following him, I follow but myself.
Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty,
But seeming so, for my peculiar end…
(I.i.60-62)
In this quote we can see that Iago is telling Roderigo that the only reason that he is serving Othello is to get what he wants. Othello in the other hand trusts Iago and believes that he wants what’s best for him, but Iago goes behind his back and tells Brabantio about how he and Desdemona secretly got married hoping this will cause distress between the two. This is an example of appearance vs. reality because Iago acts as if Othello is his friend but in reality he despises him and wants him dead.
In conclusion, there are many ways that the villainous Iago manipulates and tricks Roderigo, Brabantio, and Othello in Othello. By doing so he leads each character to believe that they can trust him without any doubt causing them to be different pawns in his mind where he’ll manipulate them and achieve his goal of ultimately killing Othello.