Humans are known to adapt to different circumstances in terms of personality over and over again. There are so many factors that influence this and one of them is the environment in which one finds himself or herself in. William Shakespeare in his play, Othello, creates the character Othello as an individual who changes throughout the play. Othello passes off a tragic hero by virtue of what he goes through throughout the play. It is therefore imperative to look at him as a character that embodies very many aspects among them a person characterized by so many flaws, good and at least a person who is held in high regard in line with his position in society.
His innocence can be used to make him look like the good man that he is. Most of his tragic actions are not from within him but rather are as a result of manipulation. Othello gives other people room to instill in him negative attributes that he does not possess in the first place. He is an innocent and unsuspecting personality to such an extent that after committing the flaws that he does, is when he gets to realize how mistaken he is and therefore making him be judged as bad, not by his own will but by giving too much room and space to other people in his life. The evil in him is therefore not of his making but from his ally Iago through whom Othello ends up as a bad character.
Othello is also has quite much to his cup even if he is seen to be a great leader. He has quite a handful of flaws that work against him. In as much as he is intelligent, he fails to see the character of malicious people around him especially Iago. He trusts so easily and Iago knows this and therefore takes advantage of this weakness. Having been friends he had learnt to trust him so much so that when Iago comes up with malice about Desdemona, he trusts him too easily an act that in the long run works against him. He is portrayed as a very confused man when he gets to a point of being unsure about Desdemona and fails to know whether to trust her or not. He therefore seems to be confused, not knowing what to do.
Othello is therefore a person of all attributes, from good to evil depending on the circumstances that he finds himself in. he ends up embodying both good and bad attributes unsuspectingly. He is both good and bad. The bad attributes consequently help develop his fatal tragedy. The play creates Othello in conflict with his being whereby he struggles with different situations and people.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. Othello. Irvine: Saddleback. 2003
