Social awkwardness: how war claims

not only lives, but social skills

Because othello is separated from
society by war, the moor is never
able to develop social skills and is
therefore easily manipulated.
 Desdemona too good to
Soc O go ry
ial thello be true
y
I a
to milita
sep outca lt
ara Loya use of
tion st due a
by w to bec
ar
 How am I then a villain?
Lack of social skills not only makes one feel isolated but also
increases insecurities

“In Shakespeare's non-circular Othello the non-singular Iago is

both victim and trickster who creates switcheroos which
perpetuate the displacement of unacknowledged forbidden
desire” (Escher).

iago tries to make othello feel separated. He

knows that the moor loves Desdemona
completely and by “taking her away” he
successfully makes Othello doubt his marriage
and himself.
People trust what
they know. The Handkerchief
“Othello must also struggle between two opposing representations of
his wife; the virtuous image that she projects and the impure
adulteress of Iago’s slanders” (Evans).
Desdemona, from William Shakespeare's Othello , has been a
problematic character, vacillating between virtue and vice, morality
and transgression, purity and prurience”(guevara).
Othello is alone in a society that is foreign to him. All war has taught
othello is to only trust your own men. Iago, being a military man, is
perceived by othello as being trustworthy. Iago only further proves
his reliability when Desdemona is unable to show othello the
handkerchief. This reinforces his doubts in Desdemona and his trust
in Iago.
 if a person defines themselves
You’re Too good through another person. Object,
to be true or idea, when that is threatened,
it is. a direct threat to ones soul
“Desdemona gives othello the foundation for his identity: she
provides a place and a home for a man whose life narrative is on
of wandering both inside and outside the social order of Venice”
(Leung).
Othello already thinks of his
wife as too good to be true
which is why he so easily
believes iago when offers an
explanation. This is why he
reacts with anger when he
realizes what he might lose
 Because othello has been on the battlefield for most
of his life, he does not understand society. This causes
him to become a social outcast and can be seen by
looking through the lens of sociocultural theory. This
act of “othering” and separation causes him to easily
trust iago and easily doubt Desdemona. War destroys
othello by failing to teach him social skills.
 Bibliography
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