False Accusations in Othello Essay Sample

One will be deceived many times in their life. Whether this is because of a miscommunication or because of someone purposely giving false accusations, they are still misled. This is a very important theme in the play Othello. In this play the main character, Othello, is deceived by a so-called “friend” and it leads to many deaths in the end. Iago is this friend, and he is able to make Othello believe things that are, in reality, not happening by twisting what Othello sees throughout the play. In Othello, the main theme is appearance vs. reality, and Othello himself lets this control him because of miscommunication and Iago’s Influence.

Within the play, miscommunication is present everywhere, but the main damage is between Othello, Cassio and Desdemona. The first time Iago brings up the suspicion of an affair between Desdamona and Cassio, Othello still trusts Desdamona a little and demands evidence of it. This being said, Iago plans to plant a special handkerchief, representing their love, with Cassio. Although Desdamona never gave him the handkerchief, Othello is deceived by the sight of seeing him with it, and loses all trust and loyalty to his wife. Othello also sees Desdamona and Cassio talking to each other many times and although nothing was going on, this further strengthens his false suspicions. With Othello seeing these things, he chooses to automatically believe Iago, but in reality if he had spoken to Desdamona or Cassio the deaths at the end of the play could have been spared.

Along with miscommunication playing a role in Othello, Iago’s influence plays a major role as well. Although it seems very unwise for Othello to trust Iago, Iago was already friends with him and Iago makes sure to never fully pick a side, which makes him seem very truthful. However, Iago is the exact opposite. Iago tells Othello that Cassio dreams of Desdamona and says her name in his sleep. Even though Othello has never literally seen this, he believes it because he has lost trust in Desdamona. Another example of Iago feeding false information is him telling Othello to watch him and Cassio speak together. Othello is under the influence that they are speaking about Desdamona, but they are in fact talking about someone else. This develops the fraud more because Othello starts to believe the lie even though none of it is literally happening. With Iago’s influence over Othello, it leads to interpretation of Othello seeming very self-obsessed and him being over reactive. However, This is because he did not see reality and was focused on appearances.

With the theme of appearance vs. reality, Othello lets it get the better of him with miscommunication and Iago’s influence over him. Between Othello, Desdamona, and Cassio, if a single one of them would have communicated better the end of the play would have been altered. Although, with Iago feeding false information to everyone, especially Othello, it makes it almost impossible for them to avoid these lies. Along with these lies, the deception of sight makes Othello believe false accusations he has never seen. This influences the audience to believe that Othello seems not loyal and self-absorbed, when in reality he was doing what he thought was best. With the lies of appearance vs. reality in Othello, the characters could have avoided a fatal end, but deceit is very powerful and it is important to communicate and stay close to loved ones in order to avoid a disaster.