Othello--Protagonist and Antagonist

Othello is the protagonist of this play, or the hero. He is respected by lots of people, including the Duke (I.ii), and he has Desdemona. Desdemona is what Roderigo wants, so it can be said that Othello is who people want to be. His major flaw,or hubris, is how gullible and jealous he gets. By falling into the traps of Iago, he sets himself up for disaster. In Act IV, he slaps Desdemona as a result of the jealous ensued by Iago (IV.i.224). It shows that this is his flaw when Lodovico says "is this the noble Moor whom our full Senate call all-in-all sufficient?"(IV.i.249-250). This statement shows that Othello is not who he truly is after he gets jealous. He is not the person that the others know. The antagonist in the play is Iago. He is the evil one, and the character initiating all of the problems. He wants to bring down Othello because he thinks that he has slept with his wife, even though Emilia says that she did not(IV.ii.147). Also, he wants to bring down every other character until he gets what he wants. A set of foil characters would be Desdemona and Emilia. Emilia does not speak out against Iago's view of women while Desdemona does. Another would be Iago and Cassio because Cassio is seen as poliet since he treats women with respect while Iago does not. Lastly, I think that minor characters play an important role. They reveal things to the audience. I said above how Lodovico brings to attention that Othello really is respected, so it enhances the fact that he changed. Lastly, Roderigo plays an important role in the plan of Iago (V.i.23).