A character's tragic flaw or hamartia is the character defect that causes the downfall of the protagonist of the tragedy. Think about Othello's character and actions in the play so far. What would you consider Othello's tragic flaw and why?
19 comments:
Lynn Luckenbaugh
said...
Othello's tragic flaw is jealousy because he is so overtaken with the jealousy that Desdemona may have had relations with someone else that without taking time to think or gather more than a tiny piece of ocular proof he is willing to claim two lives. It is in this way that jealousy is Othello's tragic flaw.
I would consider othello's flaw to be his inability to rationalize. He never takes time to think over his actions and responses. Rather he jumps to conclusions without just cause. He gets too emotional in his responses too, leading to bad outcomes.
Othello's tragic flaw is his jealousy and poor judgment. He trusts the wrong people (Iago) and falls prey to his lies. He doesn't bother questioning Iago or Desdemona and automatically assumes the worse.
I think Othello's tragic flaw is his insecurity. Since he is black and everyone else is white he feels inferior and this insecurity makes him susceptible to believing IAGO's lies.
I consider Othello's tragic flaw to be his belief in other or him being gullible. He believes everything Iago tells him and has no suspicion of the integrity of Iago's character. This will eventually lead to his downfall as Iago is setting him up, with his plan to kill Desdemona.
Othello's tragic flaw is that he is too gullible and trusting. He begins to doubt Desdemona's faithfulness just because Iago told him he might be cheating on him but he did not give Othello any proof of this. Then, when Othello got mad at Iago for making him think she is unfaithful, he then believed Iago again based solely off of Iago's word that Cassio was dreaming about Desdemona. He then continues to blindly believe whatever Iago tells him.
Although there are many areas that could be considered Othello's hamartia I would have to argue that the overarching issue that creates his problems would be that he trusts too easily, and too much. We see throughout the play that his trust shifts around different characters, but it causes problems regardless. Originally Desdemona held all of his trust and he was completely confident in her faith. He also trust Iago do a very severe degree, and the trust he has for both of these characters creates problems. It is when Iago challenges Desdemona's fidelity that Othello first starts to lose his humanity. His trust for both individuals, Desdemona and Othello, clash and create the tragedy.
Othello's lack of own ability in finding evidence. His ease to trust and listen and believe everything everyone tells him is frightening. He should take the time to find out the truth on his own about his wife.(who if he truly cares about would cut no expense in finding out what's actually going on)
Othello's flaw is that he's too trusting, and easily fooled. I would put jealousy in there, but I mean, who wouldn't be if they genuinely thought a close friend had proved that their significant other was sleeping with someone else? Probably not so jealous as to murder them, but I think the underlying problem is that he doesn't question anyones motives until they're pointed out to him. He isn't a naturally suspicious person.
Othello's tragic flaw would be his foolishness. He believes everything that Iago tells him about his wife and friends. If he would just wait to find out things for himself then he wouldn't be in bad situations. He is putting all of his trust into Iago and trusting him and thinking that he is doing the right thing for him when in reality he isn't. The plays plot and conflict revolves around Othello's weakness of believing Iago.
Othello's tragic flaw is jealousy and not thinking enough. He had very little, to no proof at all that Desdemona cheated on him, and he is getting ready to murder her already. He has not thought about the issue rationally, leading to his tragic flaw.
I would say Othello's tragic flaw would be him being gullible. Othello starts to believe Iago right from the start. The first time he suggests that Desdemona might be cheating with Cassio his mood instantly changes. He goes without questioning Desdemona about her "affair" with Cassio and doesn't see through Iago's lies. In the end Iago even convinces Othello to kill Desdemona in a certain way because he is so gullible that he doesn't even stick with his own method.
Othello's lack of own ability in finding evidence. His ease to trust and listen and believe everything everyone tells him is frightening. He should take the time to find out the truth on his own about his wife.(who if he truly cares about would cut no expense in finding out what's actually going on)
Othello's tragic flow is the way that he can trust so easily in everybody. Othello in the beginning of the play loves everybody and believes that everybody is honest and trustworthy. This causes him to trust the wrong person to listen to, Othello can not see that he is being played with by Iago, and he should really believe more in Desdemona and Cassio.
Othello's tragic flaw is his lack of self esteem and his insecurity. He has come to believe the prejudices of others around him. He believes that black man are not beautiful or graceful or sophisticated. Due to his lack of self esteem he is easily influenced and succumbed to jealousy very easily. Due to his belief that he is unsophisticated he acts in an unsophisticated and ungraceful way.
Othello's tragic flaw is that he puts his faith in the wrong people. While he has trustworthy people around him, he instead chooses to listen to Iago who is really out to get him. Along with putting his faith in the wrong person, Othello has a problem with directness, rather than addressing his issues with Desdemona and Cassio upfront, he beats around the bush and merely goes off of Iago's word. Not once does Othello actually ask Cassio or Desdemona about whats going on, but rather takes Iago's word for it which will lead to his insanity and their death.
Othello's main flaw is his jealousy, he lets it over take him and consume his logic thinking. He shows this by the constant negative thoughts that he allows into his head. He even is wanting proof of such distrust that he almost hungers for the fact that she is not being loyal.
Othello's tragic flaw is that he listen to much to Iago and does not talk with any one else. This is a flaw because if you only get your information from one source you can not hear different sides of a story you can only hear one side. The problem with only hearing one side is that you can not know if something is true or not or what is the real truth. For Othello this hurts him because only hearing what Iago has to say has made him hate Desdemona and Cassio and trust neither of them.
I think Othello's tragic flaw is jealousy. His jealousy clouds his judgment and makes him so angry he becomes obsessed with the idea of Desdemona cheating that he immediately neglects anything that points otherwise and believes things that if he actually thought about them, he would realize they were not true.
19 comments:
Othello's tragic flaw is jealousy because he is so overtaken with the jealousy that Desdemona may have had relations with someone else that without taking time to think or gather more than a tiny piece of ocular proof he is willing to claim two lives. It is in this way that jealousy is Othello's tragic flaw.
I would consider othello's flaw to be his inability to rationalize. He never takes time to think over his actions and responses. Rather he jumps to conclusions without just cause. He gets too emotional in his responses too, leading to bad outcomes.
Othello's tragic flaw is his jealousy and poor judgment. He trusts the wrong people (Iago) and falls prey to his lies. He doesn't bother questioning Iago or Desdemona and automatically assumes the worse.
I think Othello's tragic flaw is his insecurity. Since he is black and everyone else is white he feels inferior and this insecurity makes him susceptible to believing IAGO's lies.
I consider Othello's tragic flaw to be his belief in other or him being gullible. He believes everything Iago tells him and has no suspicion of the integrity of Iago's character. This will eventually lead to his downfall as Iago is setting him up, with his plan to kill Desdemona.
Othello's tragic flaw is that he is too gullible and trusting. He begins to doubt Desdemona's faithfulness just because Iago told him he might be cheating on him but he did not give Othello any proof of this. Then, when Othello got mad at Iago for making him think she is unfaithful, he then believed Iago again based solely off of Iago's word that Cassio was dreaming about Desdemona. He then continues to blindly believe whatever Iago tells him.
Although there are many areas that could be considered Othello's hamartia I would have to argue that the overarching issue that creates his problems would be that he trusts too easily, and too much. We see throughout the play that his trust shifts around different characters, but it causes problems regardless. Originally Desdemona held all of his trust and he was completely confident in her faith. He also trust Iago do a very severe degree, and the trust he has for both of these characters creates problems. It is when Iago challenges Desdemona's fidelity that Othello first starts to lose his humanity. His trust for both individuals, Desdemona and Othello, clash and create the tragedy.
Othello's lack of own ability in finding evidence. His ease to trust and listen and believe everything everyone tells him is frightening. He should take the time to find out the truth on his own about his wife.(who if he truly cares about would cut no expense in finding out what's actually going on)
Othello's flaw is that he's too trusting, and easily fooled. I would put jealousy in there, but I mean, who wouldn't be if they genuinely thought a close friend had proved that their significant other was sleeping with someone else? Probably not so jealous as to murder them, but I think the underlying problem is that he doesn't question anyones motives until they're pointed out to him. He isn't a naturally suspicious person.
Othello's tragic flaw would be his foolishness. He believes everything that Iago tells him about his wife and friends. If he would just wait to find out things for himself then he wouldn't be in bad situations. He is putting all of his trust into Iago and trusting him and thinking that he is doing the right thing for him when in reality he isn't. The plays plot and conflict revolves around Othello's weakness of believing Iago.
Othello's tragic flaw is jealousy and not thinking enough. He had very little, to no proof at all that Desdemona cheated on him, and he is getting ready to murder her already. He has not thought about the issue rationally, leading to his tragic flaw.
I would say Othello's tragic flaw would be him being gullible. Othello starts to believe Iago right from the start. The first time he suggests that Desdemona might be cheating with Cassio his mood instantly changes. He goes without questioning Desdemona about her "affair" with Cassio and doesn't see through Iago's lies. In the end Iago even convinces Othello to kill Desdemona in a certain way because he is so gullible that he doesn't even stick with his own method.
Othello's lack of own ability in finding evidence. His ease to trust and listen and believe everything everyone tells him is frightening. He should take the time to find out the truth on his own about his wife.(who if he truly cares about would cut no expense in finding out what's actually going on)
Othello's tragic flow is the way that he can trust so easily in everybody. Othello in the beginning of the play loves everybody and believes that everybody is honest and trustworthy. This causes him to trust the wrong person to listen to, Othello can not see that he is being played with by Iago, and he should really believe more in Desdemona and Cassio.
Othello's tragic flaw is his lack of self esteem and his insecurity. He has come to believe the prejudices of others around him. He believes that black man are not beautiful or graceful or sophisticated. Due to his lack of self esteem he is easily influenced and succumbed to jealousy very easily. Due to his belief that he is unsophisticated he acts in an unsophisticated and ungraceful way.
Othello's tragic flaw is that he puts his faith in the wrong people. While he has trustworthy people around him, he instead chooses to listen to Iago who is really out to get him. Along with putting his faith in the wrong person, Othello has a problem with directness, rather than addressing his issues with Desdemona and Cassio upfront, he beats around the bush and merely goes off of Iago's word. Not once does Othello actually ask Cassio or Desdemona about whats going on, but rather takes Iago's word for it which will lead to his insanity and their death.
Othello's main flaw is his jealousy, he lets it over take him and consume his logic thinking. He shows this by the constant negative thoughts that he allows into his head. He even is wanting proof of such distrust that he almost hungers for the fact that she is not being loyal.
Othello's tragic flaw is that he listen to much to Iago and does not talk with any one else. This is a flaw because if you only get your information from one source you can not hear different sides of a story you can only hear one side. The problem with only hearing one side is that you can not know if something is true or not or what is the real truth. For Othello this hurts him because only hearing what Iago has to say has made him hate Desdemona and Cassio and trust neither of them.
I think Othello's tragic flaw is jealousy. His jealousy clouds his judgment and makes him so angry he becomes obsessed with the idea of Desdemona cheating that he immediately neglects anything that points otherwise and believes things that if he actually thought about them, he would realize they were not true.
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