Othello

1 Pages 268 Words

In the play Othello, by William Shakespeare, the main character, Othello, experiences a heroic struggle within his own mind, which leads to his downfall. He feels that it is directly based on his cultural background. The villain in the play, Iago, puts this in his mind when he tells Othello that his wife, Desdemona is having an affair and claims that he saw Cassio with Desdemona’s handkerchief. Othello becomes angry of this and reflects his cultural background, how his is black and the fact that he is a soldier and begins to experiences his own heroic downfall.
The affair between Cassio and Desdemona really starts to become true to Othello when Iago claims that he saw Cassio with Desdemona’s handkerchief. The handkerchief was a gift Desdemona received from Othello. The handkerchief has been passed down from generation to generation. Othello’s mother used it to keep his father faithful to her, and it was given to Othello who gave it to Desdemona to be used in the same way. The handkerchief is a symbol of love and marriage between two people. During the play Desdemona leaves it behind and Iago plants it on Cassio. He then uses this to further convince Othello of the affair between Cassio and Desdemona. The handkerchief then changes from a symbol of love to a symbol of betrayal. This handkerchief has been in Othello’s family and is a part of his cultural background, so it is very special. The thought of Desdemona having an affair is seen, in Othello’s eyes, as an insult to his love and also to his background and this enrages him....