To Serve Oneself The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a psychopath as a “person who is mentally ill, who does not care about other people, and who is usually dangerous or violent.” This is correct although not all psychopaths have exactly the same characteristics. Professor Kiehl mentions in Talk of the Nation that the “classical definition” of a psychopath “is someone who has real profound difficulties understanding empathy, guilt and remorse. They’re pretty glib and superficial, somewhat charming. They tend to get themselves in all sorts of trouble, from - starting from a very early age. They’re impulsive, they’re nomadic, they jump in and out of all sorts of relationships very quickly. And sometimes they do...extremely bad things that
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One of these is he uses a lot of manipulation and lying to get his way. Iago becomes friends with Othello while plotting a devious plan to ruin Othello and Desdemona’s marriage. Iago plants a devious disguise in order to cover the real him from Othello or anyone else for that matter. By telling Othello his false feelings, he gains Othello’s trust and Othello believes that Iago is his friend: “For too much loving you / I do beseech your honor” (3.3.211/255). Iago is a master at manipulation and Othello seems to be falling for all his tricks and lies even without having any real concrete evidence. This causes a great deal of pain and confusion for Othello later in the play. Psychopaths, unlike others, can easily “get into others’ heads” because they are master “seducers, manipulators, con men … and often worse” (I’m O.K., You’re a Psychopath). People with this tendency rely on their skills and they seem to push aside their conscience, so that they can go through with their wants. This also becomes a problem because when Iago drops his conscience, he takes more impudent actions to accomplish his plan. Iago continues to plant inaccurate facts about the other characters and eventually convinces Othello to take matters into his own hands and stop the madness: “Do it not with poison. Strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated” (4.1.204-05). Surprisingly, Iago has managed to keep his secret plan to himself this entire time and yet again, this shows how similar his traits are to that of a psychopath; for this reason, he must be one
One of these is he uses a lot of manipulation and lying to get his way. Iago becomes friends with Othello while plotting a devious plan to ruin Othello and Desdemona’s marriage. Iago plants a devious disguise in order to cover the real him from Othello or anyone else for that matter. By telling Othello his false feelings, he gains Othello’s trust and Othello believes that Iago is his friend: “For too much loving you / I do beseech your honor” (3.3.211/255). Iago is a master at manipulation and Othello seems to be falling for all his tricks and lies even without having any real concrete evidence. This causes a great deal of pain and confusion for Othello later in the play. Psychopaths, unlike others, can easily “get into others’ heads” because they are master “seducers, manipulators, con men … and often worse” (I’m O.K., You’re a Psychopath). People with this tendency rely on their skills and they seem to push aside their conscience, so that they can go through with their wants. This also becomes a problem because when Iago drops his conscience, he takes more impudent actions to accomplish his plan. Iago continues to plant inaccurate facts about the other characters and eventually convinces Othello to take matters into his own hands and stop the madness: “Do it not with poison. Strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated” (4.1.204-05). Surprisingly, Iago has managed to keep his secret plan to himself this entire time and yet again, this shows how similar his traits are to that of a psychopath; for this reason, he must be one