The tragic hero is defined as one who is of noble birth with heroic qualities who is destined by some fate to failure and suffering. While Othello is not noble by birth, he is portrayed as a high ranking government official trusted enough by his government to be given command over Cyprus. In fact, when searching for him in order to give Othello this news, The Senate sent out three different search parties (I.ii.46). One of Othello’s defining characteristics which is talked about throughout the script is his African origin. Though we do not see any discrimination against Othello because of this other than a few racial slurs here and there, the plot of this production would be the same with a European protagonist. So, why then did William Shakespeare choose to make this important to his character? Having Othello be a black man in a high position earns him more respect from the audience; them knowing how hard it is for a non-European to be in a higher position than a European in that time period. Building his character up like this only makes it more tragic when he falls victim to his own fate. Othello …show more content…
Desdemona and Othello were very much in love, but having that love be threatened by the handsome Cassio caused Othello to feel jealous of Desdemona’s friendship with Cassio. Cassio was never a real threat, but was perceived as such thanks to a few small nudges from Iago. Iago knew that Othello was insecure about the fact that he was a moor, so having him believe that Desdemona’s handsome white friend was in danger of stealing Desdemona from him wasn’t that hard. Throughout the performance, Othello is fed lies by the “Honest” Iago which could easily have been disproven by doing some basic research. Instead of doing the logical thing, he acts upon his suspicions exactly how Iago tells him to. This loyalty to someone who has nothing but the worst for him over even his own wife ultimately ruined his