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DJ to the 3rd power
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Body 1: Point 1 — Shared Quality
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Quotation/paraphrase with page #
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1A. Text 1
Iago
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Cunning/
brilliant/manipulative
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“Trifles light as air/
Are to the jealous confirmations strong/
As proofs of holy writ.” (handkerchief) (3.3.319-321)
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1B. Why is this point/quality significant?
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Were he not brilliant, Iago would not be able to
manipulate. His personality is sort of viral; he’s corrupted and debases
those around him.
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1C. Synthesis: Why is what I point out important to
understand in relationship to some greater context (specify that context)
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At this scene it becomes clear that Iago is confident that
his power of suggestion is sufficient to implicate Desdemona in Iago’s
stratagem of infidelity with Cassio.
“Hungry mouths get fed.” Weaknesses among virtuous
characters can relatively easily be exploited by a deliberate assailant.
Virtue can become a vice under the right circumstances. Othello’s dedication to his marriage is a
virtue. But fortitude can be tested to its brink with dire consequences for
the perceived perpetrator. In this case, Desdemona was falsely accused of violating Othello’s marital trust. Iago, the proverbial snake in the tree, relies
on the vessel of virtue to exist, mutate himself. His ego demands it.
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2A. Text 2
Othello
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- Easily Manipulated /gullible
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(Desdemona tries to wipe his forehead with the
handkerchief--before it disappears)
“Your napkin is too little;/ let it alone. Come. I’ll go with you.”
[Pushes the handkerchief away and it falls.]” (symbol of his trust.)
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2B. Explain why this quality is important
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Without Othello’s tender heart for Desdemona, Iago simply
could not have succeeded at this plan. Othello’s trust/faith in Iago as
a fellow military chum allowed Iago’s
scheme to work.
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2C. Synthesis
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Othello is all alone in Venetian society. The general
context where he now lives involves a
lack of trust. He’s confident and calm on the battlefield, not as a civilian.
Being a fish stripped of his water he needs to be more careful of who he
trusts, rather than trusting all, and really trusting none.
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3A. Now, look at the synthesis of each point above (C) (vertically), and comment
on what they share in common, and what is different.
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While opposite sides of a coin in some ways, they also
both share a prideful introversion, a type of rose-colored glasses which
prevents them from seeing outside their paranoia. This obsessive need to hold
on to Desdemona for Othello, and Iago’s relentless need to vanquish Othello
for giving away the position Iago felt he deserved propels both of them to
tragic myopia (shortsightedness).
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3B. What does the comparison between the two texts show?
(Conclusion for that point)
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Their inflexibility to alter their way of thinking blinds
them from seeing the truth. Because they don’t trust themselves, they really
don’t trust anyone. Thus, the vulnerability and manipulations of Othello and
Iago, respectively, are mere conceits.
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