Othello is a tragic hero whose ill-fate is self-inflicted by his own tragic flaw. First, Othello is portrayed as a noble character, and that makes him a hero. From his genuine heart to high social ranking, Othello’s being a noble character is certainly undeniable. He is a man who defied a difficult past to become an army general and a respected war hero in Venice. And despite his high social stature, Othello continues to have a noble heart. But despite his evident nobility, Othello has many traits that can be considered tragic flaws.
Shakespeare sometimes depicts Othello as violent but his loving nature keeps coming out in many different instances in the play. Even other characters cannot help to admire the virtuous traits of this protagonist. For example, Iago confesses that Othello would make a great husband for Desdemona because of his “constant loving, noble nature” (2.1.290-292). Even in tough moments, Othello does not lose his calm and ably keeps his anger in check. When he is accused of using witchcraft to win the heart of Desdemona, Othello approaches the standoff with so much grace and style that he captures the attention as well as the emotions of his listeners.
Nonetheless, Othello exhibits many detrimental traits, including gullibility and jealousy. His problems and eventual downfall begin when he develops a tragic sense of insecurity as a result of Iago’s appeal to mainly these two flaws (Mukhtar, et al. 1257). As an outsider and the only black character in Venice, Othello finds himself in a state of much vulnerability. This situation makes Othello an easy prey for the manipulative tricks of Iago, who misleads him to think that he cannot measure up to Desdemona’s romantic expectations. He begins to believe that he is barbaric and inarticulate, lacking the soft communication skills. He also negatively perceives his age and race: “Haply for I am black,/ And have not those soft parts of conversation/ That chamberers have; or for I am declined/ Into the vale of years” (3.3.267-270). Iago thus, easily makes him lose confidence in Desdemona's fidelity. Othello, therefore, lets go of his lover and turns to hate her. `
Othello is gullible because he is unable to discern people for who they really are. He trusts the characters he interacts with even when they hell-bent to harm him. Notably, Othello has been a military officer for a better part of his life, and it is normal for him to trust Iago as a friend who also worked in the military. However, his tragic weakness is that he exercised this trust without any caution. Iago committed many evil acts against Othello but he fails to see.
Perhaps this problem came from his experience in the battlefield where he was used to entrusting fellow military people with his life. Trust is undeniably very important for soldiers on a battlefield but not in everyday civilian life. Othello fails to realize that he is no longer in a military conquest but in a fight for love, in which Iago is the new enemy. Instead, all he sees in the villain determined to destroy his life is honesty. “Why did I marry? This honest creature doubtless sees and knows more, much more, than he unfolds" (3.3.248-249). He thinks of his greatest enemy as a trustworthy and honourable man, and thus finds no reason to question his honesty. Instead, his jealousy drives him to turn against a truly honest and virtuous woman who loved him against all odds.
Moreover, he is controlled by jealousy, which further obscures his view of reality throughout this time, until he reaches a point where he cannot reverse his tragic downfall. Iago traps the heart of Othello with a false story of betrayal, claiming that his beautiful and supposed virtuous wife cheats on him with his friend Cassio. By convincing Othello that Desdemona is unfaithful; Iago successfully appeals to these negative traits and makes him begin to trample his own noble traits (Mukhtar, et al. 1256). Out of jealousy, he treats his wife with contempt and finally oppresses her to death. Othello only recognizes his terrible error when Iago’s setup is finally exposed. The realization of the truth stretches Othello’s emotions beyond the limit. With his heartbroken and his mind a completely distraught state, Othello kills himself; bringing his heroic story to a sad end.
In conclusion, Othello is a hero because has many noble qualities but he has many flaws which eventually lead to his downfall and tragic death. He is considered a tragic hero because he unknowingly commits the mistakes that cost him his heroic status, marriage and very life. Othello comes out a confused individual lacking skills as basic as the ability to tell right from wrong. His gullibility and jealousy made him trust his enemy and hate his wife and Cassio who faithfully loved him to his own detriment. It is for his possession of all these noble traits and simplistic flaws at the same time that Othello remains one of the greatest tragic heroes of all time.
