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The Failure To Lose His Reputation In Shakespeare's Othello

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The major conflict in this scene surrounds Cassio’s distraught over losing his reputation. The conflict is between Cassio who is unable to decide a rational path to move forward and Iago who tries to push Cassio to take a path that will further his plans to destroy Othello. The despair from being removed from the position as lieutenant overwhelms Cassio allowing Iago to easily manipulate him.

The conflict arises from the situation as Cassio loses his reputation due to his inability to control himself after consuming alcohol. Iago who is well aware of this, takes advantage of it by urging Cassio to drink to the point he is completely drunk. He then uses Roderigo to provoke Cassio which quickly escalates into a large fight. The fight ends only after Othello jumps in and Montano gets stabbed by Cassio trying to stop the fight. This results in Cassio being removed from his position and the conflict that appears now.

Iago clearly has the greatest status because he has control over everyone else in the scene. He is the puppeteer and the other people are his puppets for him to manipulate. Cassio is in a lower status after being demoted from his position as lieutenant. At this moment in the scene, he is ashamed of himself and he regrets his actions with no hope for …show more content…

Iago has the greatest status in this scene because he is able to take advantage of each character by manipulating them to follow his plans out of their own will. His advice is true and reasonable yet pushes them to follow his plans without resistance. Cassio’s low status in this scene is caused by his loss of reputation and his willingness to follow any hope of restoring it even if it means listening to Iago. Roderigo has the lowest status in this scene because he is so obsessed with trying to gain Desdemona’s affection that he is willing to listen to anyone, especially Iago who promises that he will do everything to make Desdemona fall in love with

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