Trust No One

Trust No One

       There is common saying that goes do not fear the enemy that attacks you but those who are closest to you. The people that we consider to be our friends are normally the ones we trust. The definition of trust in the dictionary is a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone. But trust also means giving someone the authority to destroy you completely, but having the confidence they would never do it. In the tragedy Othello by William Shakespeare the tragic hero Othello trust his servant Iago completely. His humble and loyal servant is what he refers to him as. But this is the same humble servant that lies to Othello. As a result of Othello believing that lie Othello kills his wife Desdemona. A common debate is who is to blame for this tragedy, Othello or Iago? I believe Othello is the one to blame for this tragedy. Iago may have instigated the situation, but Othello is the one who took it upon himself to bring it to the next level.

       In the Act 1 Scene 1 Iago talks of the two types of servants. One type of servant is one that is loyal and honest. They kneel down to the one they follow and do whatever is being asked of them. But ultimately they become worthless and are replaced. The others are “… trimm’d in forms and visages of duty, Keep yet their heart attending on themselves, And throwing but shows of service on their lords Do well thrive by them, and when they have lined their coats Do themselves homage…” (2). Iago then confesses that he is the second kind of servant. On the outside he will appear humble and trustworthy but his true agenda is to bring down Othello. And his plan will work because in Act 2 Scene 1 Iago says “The Moor is of a free and open nature, That thinks men honest that but seem to be so...” (20). Othello’s weakness is trust. He is blind to the true intentions of people because he only judges them on who they appear to be.

       Throughout the play we see Iago’s plan unfold. Things start to take off once Iago decides to use Cassio to make Othello jealous by telling Othello Cassio is sleeping with his wife. Iago gets Cassio drunk and this end in Othello firing him. When Cassio gets fired Iago convinces Cassio to ask Desdemona to get his job back. Desdemona constantly bring up Cassio to Othello. Desdemona then loses the handkerchief that Othello gave him and when it turns up again he sees it with Bianca (Cassio’s mistress) who accuses him of having the handkerchief in his chamber. Iago is the cause of all of this chaos and with the help of luck the outcome always comes out better than he anticipated. But, Othello never takes matters into his own hands. He is getting all his information from Iago who repeatedly lies to him and because Othello trust him, he believes everything he says. If Othello did not trust Iago, he would have never believed what he said and as a result would have never killed his wife Desdemona.

       No one can force you to do something. Every decision we make is made by what we chose to do. Regardless of what the situation was or how things seemed to be Othello chose to believe Iago, he chose to trust him. And because of the decision that he made he suffered from the consequences. This is why I believe Othello is the one to blame for the death of Desdemona.