Imagine a young man, brave and hungry for power, a man that would risk it all for his country, a true hero by nature; this man is Othello. Othello is no typical hero though. He is a hero full of admirable qualities and one flaw: a flaw that proves to be fatal. William Shakespeare’s Othello, is considered to be one of his most underrated plays and a classic tragedy. This play takes us through the ups and downs of Othello and ultimately leads to his demise as well as the supporting characters’. Othello’s tragic flaw, although argued to be jealousy or egotism, is actually his need for validation. This was undoubtedly for a few reasons, including the fact that he is an outsider, he is black, and having a good reputation was important at the time.
Although jealousy played a factor in the play, it wasn’t his fatal flaw. Othello was not a …show more content…
Like a new guy in the office, he always looks for validation to make sure that he is doing a good job and that people still like and respect him. He wants people to be impressed by what he had accomplished and what he is capable of. After all it wasn’t easy to get where he was being an outsider and even harder being black. Unlike many of the other important people in Venice, Othello had to build his own reputation; he could not simply coattail his father or grandfather’s reputation. Therefore, he took great honor in it and tried to maintain it as much as possible. He knew that without it, he wouldn’t have much and would not be looked at as an important member of society. Validation from important people, such as Brabantio (Desdemona’s father), meant a great deal to Othello. He was quit pleased with the fact that “[Desdemona’s] father loved [him], oft invited [him], still questioned [him] the story of [his] life from year to year – the battles, sieges, fortunes that [he had] passed” (1.3.49-52) and that he was able to impress such an important member of the
Although jealousy played a factor in the play, it wasn’t his fatal flaw. Othello was not a …show more content…
Like a new guy in the office, he always looks for validation to make sure that he is doing a good job and that people still like and respect him. He wants people to be impressed by what he had accomplished and what he is capable of. After all it wasn’t easy to get where he was being an outsider and even harder being black. Unlike many of the other important people in Venice, Othello had to build his own reputation; he could not simply coattail his father or grandfather’s reputation. Therefore, he took great honor in it and tried to maintain it as much as possible. He knew that without it, he wouldn’t have much and would not be looked at as an important member of society. Validation from important people, such as Brabantio (Desdemona’s father), meant a great deal to Othello. He was quit pleased with the fact that “[Desdemona’s] father loved [him], oft invited [him], still questioned [him] the story of [his] life from year to year – the battles, sieges, fortunes that [he had] passed” (1.3.49-52) and that he was able to impress such an important member of the