Like any tragedy ever, people are always looking for someone to blame. The terrorist attack on the Twin Towers? Blame the Muslims. Great Depression? Blame the U.S. government. Even something as miniscule as a student getting a bad grade? Blame the teacher, the school, anyone at all as long as someone takes the blame. Shakespeare’s Othello is no different in the fact that all the death and misfortune that happens throughout the play needs to originate from something. Identifying that something is what we’re here to talk about. In my A.P. Literature class, we all would take roles, read through Othello outloud, and would normally discuss our thoughts after each act. Throughout the play, it’s pretty safe to say that almost everybody would agree that Iago carries some of the blame; After all, he was the one who actually planned the whole thing out and went through with it. But then there was always that one student who would point out that “Iago’s plan really sucked and he got pretty lucky, so is it entirely his fault?” and it’s true. Iago’s plan could have been stopped in its tracks by so many possibilities; like what if Cassio didn’t have another drink? Or if Desdemona didn’t nag Othello about Cassio’s demotion, or if Desdemona never dropped the handkerchief or if Emilia didn’t give it to Iago or if Othello could not be convinced? There are so many if”s in Iago’s plan that Iago alone could not have made his plan go as far as it did. Of course, Roderigo was sided with Iago throughout the play but, other than attempting to kill Cassio (keyword: “attempt”), he didn’t make that much of an impact on the whole situation. So, considering all the reasons previously mentioned, I think there is only one option for who to blame for this tragedy… Everyone is to blame. Iago set the whole thing into motion but if you stop and do some solid, deep thinking about this, the ignorance and stupidity of all the other characters is what really makes Iago’s plan pick up pace and go crashing through their lives. Still don’t believe me? Othello wouldn’t listen to Desdemona, Desdemona wouldn’t just tell Othello the truth about Cassio, Cassio couldn’t resist alcohol and fought Roderigo, Roderigo was too much of a wuss to stand up for himself, Emilia gave the handkerchief to Iago to get his respect, and Iago is… Well, we already covered him and I think you get the idea. If just one person had some common sense and looked at the bigger picture of the situation, they could have noticed that Iago was setting them up and no one would have had to get killed or injured. Therefore, The Blame Game winner is everyone! Everyone wins, everyone loses; HOORAY! Citations:
Swedloff, Michael. Blame Game: Blame Everyone Else. Digital image. MichaelSwerdloff.com. Michael Swerdloff, 20 Oct. 2014. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. <http://www.michaelswerdloff.com/the-relationship-blame-game/>. Oprah Winfrey Meme. Digital image. Meme Generator. Meme Generator, n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. <http://memegenerator.net/instance/60248254>.
1 Comment
8/2/2022 04:32:31 am
Tiktok anlık izlenme satın al paketlerini inceleyerek kendinize en uygun paketi satın alabilirsiniz. Tiktok’ta popüler olmaya hazırsanız bu izlenme paketleri tam size göre. En uygun fiyat garantisi ve güvenilir ödeme yöntemleri ile izlenme paketlerimiz hizmetinizde.
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