Have you ever wanted something so bad that you would do anything to get it? I know I have. There are many problems behind wanting something too desperately. You might become so attached to something that once it’s gone you feel empty. Or wanting something done and once it does happen, nothing changes. We are going to dive into the problems of wanting something too desperately in both Othello and the Mojave Phone Booth. 

Similar to the phone booth that Superman changes in, Godfrey Daniels found a phone booth in the Mojave Desert. This made no sense because in the age of cell phones, “Who would use a phone booth?” Daniels thought.  He had no idea where it was in the vast Mojave Desert, or why it was there, but he had the phone number. Danierls held this 10-digit number in his clutches. He was so invested in this phone booth that he called it every day and eventually went on a road trip to find the lonesome booth. After he found the phone booth, it became the center of his life for the next year, even leading him to create a web page specifically for this oddity. He became so focused on the booth he felt his life was pointless after it was demolished for being on the grounds of the Mojave National Preserve. This is a problem of wanting something too desperately because he was addicted to finding an answer, but after getting the long sought answer, it was disappointing and not as important as expected.

Likewise in Othello, Rodrigo had problems with wanting something too desperately. From the start of the play, we see Rodrigo has a crush on Desdemona, who is Othello’s wife. The trickster Iago convinces Rodrigo that if he gives him money, he will buy gems for Desdemona. Iago notes to Rodrigo, “Put money in thy purse. Follow thou the wars; defeat thy favor with an usurped beard. I say, put money in thy purse. It cannot be that Desdemona should long continue”. Rodrigo gladly does it as Iago repeats “Put money in thy purse” which translates to “Give me your money”. Rodrigo wanted Desdemona’s love so badly that he paid large sums of money to Iago thinking that she would receive gifts from him. Iago ended up using the money for his spending and not gifts for Desdemona.

  As seen above, there are many problems with wanting something too desperately. In Godfrey’s case, he wanted an answer and once he got one he was left unfulfilled. Also in Rodrigo’s case, he wanted to win Desdemona’s love and was blinded by his desire. He paid to shower her with gifts, but this focus was taken advantage of by Iago and it was not used for the purpose wanted.  I too have been so singularly focused on something I wanted, but missed many warning signs in the process.  Maybe you’ve realized something that you offered anything for. I know I have.