Iago's Tragic Flaws In Othello

In Othello, Iago utilizes tragic flaws in other characters in order to manipulate all of them, but Shakespeare is truly demonstrating how Iago is the tragic flaw of society. Iago’s acts of cruelty portray significant issues within Shakespearean society including racism, gender roles, and greed. From the beginning of the first act, Iago has a racist attitude towards Othello. This is to the extent that he doesn’t even refer to Othello by his name, but he instead refers to him as “The Moor.” This is degrading because Iago uses it to depict Othello as someone who is not worthy of their power and love with Desdemona. He utilities this as another method to initially plot Roderigo and Brabantio against him. Iago’s attitude towards Othello represents how race overpowers merit. Even though Iago discusses him negatively, Othello is still generally portrayed as a respected war hero. Iago’s cruelty towards Othello represents how people’s skills can be undermined due to race. Throughout the play, Shakespeare tackles gender roles, however Iago’s character clearly presents the issue of sexism. When it comes to how he views his own wife Emilia and other women, he sees them as inferiors that are lustful and untrustworthy. Even though Emilia initially puts up with Iago’s sexist comments and …show more content…
In the beginning of the play, Iago clearly states how his plan is to take over Cassio’s job. The “green-eyed monster” of jealously is what initially consumes him, but his greed is what continues his evil endeavors. Iago strips Cassio of his job and replaces him as Othello’s lieutenant, but he doesn’t stop manipulating lives after that. By the end of the play, he has led to practically every everyones downfalls including his own, so it shows how he kept scheming for as long as possible. This portrays greed as an automatic instinct, where even when specific motives might not be involved it continuously allows for