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).

Plot and Structure Blog #2

"How I Met My Husband" #7

The rols of Alice Kelling is important to the story because her arrival initiates the obastacle and struggle for Edie. It causes Edie to reevaluate her feelings towards Chris Watters somewhat, and it makes her want him even more. Alic also adavances the plot by being the one to initiate the entire climax of the story by questioning Edie about Chris' whereabouts on page 143. Then, her accusation of Edie being the type of girl "men despise" (page 144). Her anger and reel of derogatory statements directed toward Edie inevitably cause Edie to crack and have a breakdown. The presence of Alice is what makes this all happen. She seems to be an antagonist because she is engaged to Chris, which is what Edie wants. Edie feels threatened by Alice. We see this when she says that that Alice is "nothing in the least bit pretty"(page 138). In addition, Alice is an antagonist because she has a much more mature mindset than the innocent Edie. On page 144, Edie's misunderstanding of the phrase "intimate with him"(page 144) proves that Alice has much more 'street smarts' than Edie. It emphasizes the sheltered life of Edie and the innocence of her.