FREE ESSAY ON OTHELLO

OTHELLO

"Friends"
A friendship is not always what it is made out to be. Sometimes, the perceived level of
security a friendship gives is false. This 'false friendship' is portrayed explicitly in
William Shakespeare's "Othello." Superficially, Roderigo and Iago are friends. In
reality, Iago is using Roderigo to seek revenge on Othello and they are in fact, not
friends. Iago's jealousy of power and love consumes him into using his apparent friend
for his own personal gain. In these relationships, there is always a stronger person who
uses a weaker person's need for a friend, to achieve their desired goals. It is evident
just by looking at the amount of lines Iago has, that he is much stronger, where Roderigo
only listens, and follows the shepherd.
By Act II, Scene iii, it is evident that Roderigo is inferior to Iago because he latches
onto Iago, who has a much stronger character. It is also evident that their friendship is
false. He does not realize that he is being used for Iago's personal gain. Roderigo
admits he is weaker than everyone and that he has lost all patience and motivation to go
on: "not like a hound that hunts…almost spent" (II, iii, 363-5). Iago immediately
turns Roderigo around by saying he is poor because he has no "patience" (II, iii, 370).
Roderigo feels as if he is being used but Iago always talks him into seeing a just cause
for his actions: "And thou by that small hurt…first will first be ripe" (II, iii,
375-7). Iago is using Roderigo's love for Desdemona to keep him motivated. He uses food
imagery to say that soon Roderigo's hunger for love will be fulfilled soon, and he only
needs to take hold of patience. He says that now that Cassio is out of the way, Roderigo
has a straight line to get to Desdemona. But what Iago really wants is for Cassio to be
removed of his rank and Iago can take his place and gain power, then becoming closer to
separating Othello and Desdemona: "Two things are to be done…coldness and delay"
(II, iii, 382-8). Without Iago, Roderigo is in fact stronger. Alone, he begins to walk
down the path towards the truth and loses strength to go on. But Iago always leads him
off into a direction away from what is known by all but Roderigo. "I have been tonight
exceedingly well cudgeled" (II, iii, 365-366): not only has Roderigo been physically
beaten, but also he is weakened every time he is turned around and lost on his way to the
truth.
Throughout the first act, hints of a false friendship appear, some more clearly than
others. In the opening lines, Roderigo states that Iago controls him: "That thou,
Iago…were thine," (I, I, 2-3). He says that Iago has his money, and is controlled
by strings, as if he were a puppet. But Iago easily sways Roderigo's view of their
friendship. He openly lies to Roderigo, telling him he is speaking nonsense: "If I
did…abhor me" (I, I, 3-4). Once he knows Roderigo will do anything for him, Iago
then explains his intentions to crush Othello. It is ironic that Iago says he would never
dream of controlling his buddy, and goes on to coerce Roderigo into working with him
against the Moor. Later in the act, Roderigo gets discouraged and depressed: "I will
incontinently drown myself" (I, iii, 300). It takes skillful planning on Iago's part to
keep Roderigo in his plans. A torn friend approaches him, and only the perfect wording
will give Roderigo strength again. "Put money in thy purse" (I, iii, 335): the extended
metaphor of money is brought up again, meaning patience and strength. Iago repeats at
least six times that Roderigo needs to make money, or take heed of patience and strength.
"Wilt thou be fast to my hopes, if I depend on the issue?" (I, iii, 358-9): Roderigo is
already swayed back into Iago's plan, and all he wants is Iago's word, which is
absolutely worthless. "I'll sell…sport and profit" (I, iii, 373-377): Roderigo has
received enough strength from his friend's words to equal the value of his land. But at
the same time, he has given up all of his land to Iago. Because of this, Iago admits for
the first time his true intentions for keeping Roderigo as a friend. He knows he controls
Roderigo, and openly states he is using him for his own profit. At this moment, the
friendship that had been seen throughout the play crumbles, and poor Roderigo is last to
know.
It is sad, because this idea of a false friendship appears commonly in everyone's life.
Whether in war, in politics, or simple high school kids, the weak suffer, and the strong
get their desired indulgences by stomping all over their apparent friends. In literature,
the false friendship is merely a takeoff of mistaken identity, where the weaker man
mistakes a stronger person as a friend, when he is far from it. Roderigo only wants to
have love, not the love Iago talks about, but true love. He is a moral man, and that is
why he is broken by Iago. Why must the immoral be the ones who rise above?