Deception In Julius Caesar And Othello

Nobody thinks that it will happen to them, yet many people will find themselves as the victim of some type of criminal deception within the next year. According to the American Psychological Association, an estimate of 30 million Americans become the victims of fraud each year, whether that be by losing their retirement savings to a deceitful financial advisor or falling for an internet scam (Miller). Not all the world’s crooked people use their clever trickery with the intent for financial gain, yet some lie seeking revenge. Victims become manipulated to believe that they are talking to honest people, while the perfidious scoundrels are happily exploiting them. The greatest terror derived from this is that anyone can become a victim, and be …show more content…
They tend to remain distant to a certain degree, separated from relationship and lacking any emotional connection with their victims, but Shakespeare’s Iago and Poe’s Montresor chose to methodically scheme against victims that they already know. They use their glibness to win the minds of their chosen prey just the same. According to Harry Keyishian, the author of Destructive Revenge in Julius Caesar and Othello, “Iago uses various poses of blunt cynicism and excessive skepticism to gain credibility, he presents himself as a man fundamentally, even compulsively, honest.” (Keyishian) Othello has no reason to doubt his close ally Iago, in fact he trusts his compadre, and believes that his is an honest soul. Othello says “Iago is most honest” (Shakespeare) and continues to use the word honest as a word to describe Iago throughout the play, as he is Othello’s ensign. Although some may see through Iago’s maniacal ways, Othello assumes that his friend is full of good intentions. Knowing that he is a trusted individual of Othello, Iago is able to easily plant the seed of deception. Situations like this are common and take place in the real world, as business owners place trust in their employees, only later to find out that they have become duped by shady individuals. In the case of Fortunato trusting Montresor, it may be the repeated usage of “My friend” (Shakespeare) or it could be the over consumption of alcohol, but either way Montresor has used his devious charm to infiltrate the mind of Fortunato. Even though the fabricated lies seem to be farfetched, each of the victims are easily persuaded, quick to believe their friends. Circumstances like this take place all the time, where the inebriated are easily taken advantage of, whether for financial gains or intentions of sexual