Othello Is Responsible for His Own demise.
Othello is a play written by William Shakespeare. Othello is the character the play is named after and is therefore the main character. The play describes how Othello is lead to believe that his wife has been unfaithful to him. This treacherous act is the work of the villain, Iago. However, as we are about to study, his demise is might be his own doing.

Othello by William Shakespeare.
In the play, the main character is portrayed as too trusting and too naïve. The play is one of Shakespeare’s most tragic stories. Othello holds a very respectable position among his peers. He is a military commander who lives in a mansion and has people working under him such as Cassio. This puts him in the perfect position for a great demise, one with an impact. He turns down Iago’s request to be the lieutenant and gives it to Young Cassio instead. Although this in itself is not wrong, it sets Iago’s hateful mind in motion to plot for the perfect revenge. Iago feeds him with lies about his wife and convinces him that she is unfaithful to him. He goes a step further to state Cassio as her partner in her act of unfaithfulness. Othello’s character is an irony of his position as a general; he does not see to find facts but instead lets emotions that are manipulated out of him to get the better of him. Even though the role of Iago in the tragedy cannot be argued with, it is the character of Othello that makes him an easy target. His naivety and lack of rationality makes him as much to blame for his demise as the lies told by Iago.

At the end of the play, a great tragedy occurs. Othello ends up murdering his wife and harming an innocent young man, Cassio. He acts without verifying the facts. He later realizes that he had been lied to by Iago and that his wife had in fact been faithful to him and their marriage. After all this damage, he commits suicide and loses all his integrity as a general, a great tragedy.
His biggest character flaw and perhaps one that contributes greatly to his tragic demise is the fact that he is easily manipulated by Iago, showing him to be a very naïve and easily duped person. Iago is a master manipulator. He sparks an interest in Othello by inferring without really giving too much information “ha I like that not” he says coyly (III.iii, 39). Here he is referring to the way Cassio and Desdemona are talking. He hints that he knows that something is going on but does not exactly blurt it out. Othello falls straight into Iago’s con trap. Iago then acts like he is reluctant to tell Othello about The affair “utter my thoughts, why say the vile and false?” Iago asks questions that help create a sense of paranoia in Othello’s head “Did Michael; Cassio when you wooed my lady, know of your love?” He suggests that perhaps Cassio does not know that Desdemona is Othello’s wife. Othello knows however, that Cassio knows of their love. “Iago creates chaos because Othello’s imagination and assumptions lead him to believe Cassio has actually admitted an affair with Desdemona-even when Iago admits he is only asking “what if” and really doesn’t know the truth” (Ancona, 3).
Iago keeps intriguing him and Othello even starts to ask for details including how he knew about the affair “what dost thou say, Iago” he shows interest. By doing this, he elevates Iago into a place where he seems to have all the knowledge and power. He, without knowing opens the doors for more manipulation in the future. He does not stop to think about how loyal his wife has been and that Iago might have a score to settle. After all he himself had turned him down for the opposition of lieutenant. As a commander, he should have noticed how convenient it was that the man his wife was being accused of being unfaithful with is the same man that had been given the position that Iago had wanted. He is too trusting and does not stop to question motive. He acts like a naïve person and eventually ends up getting duped by Iago. Iago says, “The moor is of a free and open nature,/that thinks men honest that but seem to be so (I.iii, 399-400)” The more Othello continues to trust Iago, the more lies Iago tells to manipulate the situation. Othello, instead of trusting a woman he had spent a great amount of time with and had come to learn was faithful, misplaces his trust on Iago. The result of this is that he loses his integrity and becomes a murder. He eventually commits suicide.
Othello is a foreigner. It is even suggested that he is of different race from his wife Desdemona. He is therefore naïve of the culture of Venice “The most important feature of Othello is the character of his skin” (Mathews, 53). Iago uses this to manipulate him. He tells him that women in Venice often cheat on their Husbands and prefer men of the same culture and race as them. This would explain why Desdemona is said to be interested in Cassio. Instead of looking for another person to verify this information, Othello is quick to trust the words of Iago. He lets him translate the Venetian culture for him and as a result ends up getting duped. Iago only plants the seeds of paranoia and anger, Othello does the rest of the heinous acts himself. If Othello had remained calm and approached the situation with tact and wisdom like a great and wise commander, the tragedy would have been avoided.
Perhaps his greatest mistake and one that, had it been avoided, would have resulted in a much more effective solution is his lack of communication with his wife. Not only does he mistrust the love of his life, he goes ahead to not let her give her side of the story. Even though he hints to her of his suspicions of her affair with Cassio, he never comes out to plainly ask her if it is true. He does not even approach Cassio who is his minor and would definitely have cleared the air. Instead he attacks first and asks questions later. Perhaps if he and Desdemona had talked about it, Iago’s treacherous plan would have been exposed. However, even with their relationship, he acts like a soldier. He strikes first and asks questions later. The result of his gullibility and his lack of tact is the death of his wife by his own hands. Later, when he finds out the truth about Iago’s conspiracy, he ends up committing suicide.
Another major character flaw that Othello carries is the fact he is a very proud man. This is the weakness that Iago uses against him. He uses the pride that Othello has to make him believe that his friend Cassio had turned against him. He lies about the relationship that Desdemona and Cassio are having. He even leads Othello to believe that he had heard Cassio say to Desdemona that they needed to keep their affair private. Othello is a decent man and does not like feeling insulted. From the beginning, his interest is only sparked enough to believe Iago due to the fact that he does not want to be left out on information especially about his wife. He feels greatly insulted by the fact that his wife would be unfaithful to him. “Lie with her? Lie with her? We say lie on her when they belie her” he is clearly wounded. His ego is more than just grazed. This leads to anger. He gets so angry that he gives up his honor as a commander and murders his wife.
He even fails to believe Emelia, Desdemona’s closest friend, when she tells him that she had not heard of the affair” I dust my lord to wager she is honest”. He calls her a whore with secrets. “This I a subtle whore, a closet lock and a key of villainous secrets”
Othello lets his anger blind him. His biggest character flaw is that he is rash and is guided only by emotion. This can be called the greatest tragedy of all time. The reader follows the journey of an honest man whose honor is stripped from him by a vengeful manipulator. He himself knows that he plays a big role in his own downfall. When he speaks on stage in his last scene he says, “Then you must speak. of one that loved not wisely but too well. Of one not easily jealous but wrought. Perplexed in the extreme. Of one whose hands like the base Indian, threw a pearl away.” (V.ii, 343-347) Instead of questioning facts and investigating without getting irrational, he lets emotion drive him to commit homicide and eventually suicide.
In conclusion, Othello, even though manipulated by Iago, is at fault for his own demise. He is of very noble character but is also very gullible and trusting. This makes him an easy target for Iago. It is easy for Iago to make him believe that is wife is unfaithful because of these traits. He, also, does not communicate with his wife and lets his anger drive his actions instead of reason. Instead of questioning the words of Iago he jumps to conclusion and eventually commits the murder of his wife and later on suicide. Othello is therefore responsible for his own demise