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
(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