Deception In Othello Research Paper

In the act of misleading a person using various tactics one is considered a deceiver. Deception can be caused through many different factors. Dissimulation, or lies and half-truths, is the verbal way to deceive. A person's actions can also be deceptive, and one can use a symbol or tangible object to deceive another. The minor characters are the victims of deceit, while the major characters are both victims and deceivers themselves. The antagonist in the play is the biggest deceiver of all. The theme of deception is portrayed in the Shakespearean play Othello through both major and minor characters either being deceived by others or using their actions, words, and other inanimate objects as their deceptive tools. The minor characters in the play
Othello illustrate the theme of deception by being a victim of someone else's deceptive behaviour. The character of Brabantio shows some of the earliest signs of deception in the play. It begins outside his house when Roderigo and Iago yell to Brabantio that Desdemona has gotten married. "How didst thou know ‘twas she? O she deceives me/ Past thought!" (Shakespeare, I, i, 165-166) When Desdemona, his daughter, marries Othello, Brabantio feels as if he has been deceived. Desdemona's marriage is the symbol of her deception and her secretiveness about this action is what allows Brabantio to feel betrayed by her and causes him to go as far as kicking her out of his home. Similarly, the minor character Roderigo is being deceived by Iago throughout the play:
Thus do I ever make my fool my purse;
For I mine own gain's knowledge should profane
If I would time expend with such a snipe
But for my sport and profit.
(Shakespeare, I, iii, 374 – 377)

Iago states that he is making a fool of Roderigo by taking his money for fun and for his own gain, not to actually help him. His lies are what deceive Roderigo. Roderigo believes that Iago will help him win over Desdemona, but in actuality all he is doing is taking the man's money. This causes the money to become a symbol of the deception Iago uses against Roderigo. It is the reasoning for his lies. Roderigo has been misled and faces death because of it. Thus, even though the minor characters do not, themselves, deceive anyone, they still play an important role in making deception an evident theme in the play. The major characters illustrate the theme of deception because most of them are the ones who deceive others in the play, and they are all victims of someone else's deception. The antagonist, Iago, is the main deceiver. He deceives everyone from Othello to Roderigo. His biggest target is Othello, but to reach him he must deceive others, including Desdemona and Cassio. In a soliloquy, after Iago lies to Cassio, he says:
For whiles this honest fool Plies Desdemona to repair his fortunes,
And she for him pleads strongly to the
Moor, I'll pour this pestilence into his ear: That she repeals him for her body's lust; And by how much she strives to do him good, She shall undo her credit with the Moor. So will I turn her virtue into pitch, And out of her own goodness make the net That shall enmesh them all. (Shakespeare, II, iii, 332 - 340)

This shows how his deception works its way through many people to reach his target, Othello. Iago is infuriated due to the fact that Othello did not appoint him lieutenant. This is why Iago is willing, and manages to deceive and manipulate everyone. He is able to beguile Othello's thoughts so that he believes his deceptions very easily. He gets Othello to believe that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him with Cassio. Iago uses the handkerchief, a main symbol of deception in the play, to get Othello the ocular proof he wants. He uses stories, and makes up lies about Cassio as a verbal way of deceiving Othello. As for Cassio, he convinces him that he is concerned about his falling out with Othello. Iago allows him to believe that Desdemona is his best chance to win back the Moor's love. This lie is how Cassio is deceived by Iago, for Iago's own benefit. The audience can see that Desdemona's pursual on the matter of Cassio only enrages Othello because of the thoughts Iago has already manipulated him into believing. The deaths of all the characters result from the deceptions Iago uses to avenge himself. Iago continues to use his deceptive manner on all characters in the play, with his biggest deception being their belief that he is an honest man.
The main character, Othello, is the one who is encroached by most of the deception; not only by Iago, but Desdemona as well. She deceives him through dissimulation and with the inanimate object and symbol of the handkerchief. When asked if she has lost the handkerchief Desdemona replies, "It is not lost, but what and if it were?" (Shakespeare, III, iv, 79) This lie about still having the handkerchief with her is a deception towards Othello. Desdemona attempts to hide the truth from him. She wants him to believe that it is still in her possession so that he will remain calm and happy. The deception is accidental because Desdemona just wants to keep Othello content, yet she has deceived him none the less. The consequence of her action evokes Othello to see her lie as a cover of her infidelity, and justifies his plan to murder Desdemona. Comparably, Emilia deceives Desdemona using the same lie and the same symbol. Emilia, who stole Desdemona's handkerchief, deceives Desdemona when confronted about the whereabouts of the handkerchief. It is believed her deception is because of her obedience to her husband. She denies any knowledge of where it could have gone to although the audience knows she is the one who took it; a clear sign of deception. This assists Iago's in his plans against all the characters. Once one lie and deception starts, all characters seem to live out and continue the deception. It becomes a vicious circle of backstabbing and manipulating to cover one's own track of deceptions.
Consequently, both the major and minor characters are used to illustrate the theme of deception throughout this play. The antagonist is the character used most to outline deception with his natural deceptive ways. Minor characters are deceived by others while major characters take on the roles of the deceivers. Some use lies, half-truths, and actions, while others use symbols and objects to deceive. Deception is caused by a mixture of different elements. It is the act of being fallacious to another person that categorizes one as a deceiver.