Othello Act 5 S/R Collin Sailor

Othello Act 5 Summary Response REDO Collin Sailor

Summary: Act 5 of William Shakespeare’s, Othello, demonstrates how manipulation is the cause of betrayal. Iago manipulates Othello throughout the book to think that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio, and with that seed of manipulation, it causes Othello to get to the breaking point where he kills Desdemona in act 5. Manipulation is the reason for betrayal throughout act 5 of Shakespeare’s, Othello.

Response:

Claim 1: Othello act 5 by William Shakespeare correctly portrays how manipulation is the cause of betrayal because when Iago hints at how Desdemona is disloyal, it creates tension between Othello and Desdemona when they are with each other. This tension between them keeps growing and growing until Othello can’t take it anymore and decides that he needs to kill Desdemona. “I would not kill thy unprepared spirit”(Shakespeare 5.2.36) Othello betrays their marriage by killing her because he thought that she was having an affair. Othello isn’t at fault here though, it is Iago to blame for her death because without his manipulation of planting those ideas in Othello’s head, he would’ve never killed her, and they would still be in a happy marriage.

Counterclaim 1: However, one can see that it is not Iago’s fault that Desdemona was killed because of his manipulation, it was entirely Othello’s fault for believing him. Othello loved his wife very much, until Iago started to tip him off about Desdemona being disloyal when she really was loyal. Othello didn’t have to believe Iago, he had no solid proof except that Cassio had the handkerchief. “By heaven, I saw my handkerchief in’s hand”(Shakespeare 5.2.77)! Othello never saw them kiss, or do other things that show that she is cheating on him.

Rebuttal: At first glance, one may think that it was Othello's fault for believing Iago when he told Othello of his suspicions that Desdemona was a cheater. This position seems reasonable because one may think that it would be easy to not believe that their beloved new wife was cheating on him while they are religious, but it's more complicated than that... When a person loves another person with all of their heart, if they even just get some suspicion of them not being faithful, then it could drive them crazy. Iago's manipulation of Othello is driving him crazy because he starts to see that she has been talking up Cassio as well. Eventually, Othello can't take the thought of Desdemona betraying him, so he betrays her by killing her.

Conclusion: In the end, throughout act 5 of William Shakespeare's Othello, manipulation is the cause of all of the betrayal that occurs.