Othello’s final assignment synthesizes
Topic: How to identify a sociopath
(disclaimer: if you do think that you do have APD please seek professional help for it to be properly diagnosed and treated I’m not a professional just a teenager who thought this topic would be fun to explore for a writing assignment. Also spoiler warning for those who haven’t read or seen the play)
Antisocial personality disorder is a mental health condition where people disregard what is right and what is wrong and right and have no empathy for others in other words it’s the professional terms used by people who work in the mental health field to classify a sociopath’s behavior. An example of this behavior is in the play Othello, we meet Othello’s right-hand man and best friend Iago, and see how he disregards what is right and wrong and his wife’s feelings along with others to see the main character of the play which is Othello suffer and blame it all on him. In this writing, you’ll see the signs of what defines someone with antisocial personality disorder and how to identify them along with making comparisons to Iago or other characters from different fandoms.
The first sign of someone having an antisocial personality disorder is if the person is overly charming take, for example, the antagonist of the manga “I Can’t Stop Cursing You” Mikiya Nojima even though he is a psychopath when reading the first chapter of the manga you see his behavior before the next chapter, the first chapter shows us how kind Nojima is and how he can easily charm the girls compared to the deuteragonist Kanta at there junior high and is the title the prince, though, after the first chapter, it’s revealed that he is a manipulative psychopath who puts careful craft in the mask he wears throughout the first volume we see the contrast between what Nojima is actually like and him with his prince persona on up until the end of the volume when he get found out and dies in the end of the story. The second sign of sociopaths is they are easier to anger an example of this is Iago who hates Othello for not giving him the lieutenant rank and hates Cassio for having the lieutenant rank and begins to plan their downfall which is another thing about the sociopaths they will be ruthless with their planning as well as pursuing their goals as well as Iago who plans the downfall takes advantage of Othello’s wife Desdemona’s kindness, Roderigo’s obsession for Desdemona, Emilia’s loyalty to her husband, sabotage’s Cassio opportunity, and take advantage of the trust that Othello has for Iago. The fourth sign could be that they don’t have a moral compass or they do it’s just that it’s a tiny one just like how Iago and Nojima don’t have a moral compass I mean one of them plans the entire downfall of a general that they supposed to be great friends with all because he didn’t get the promotion while the other has the persona of the prince but sends out curses to kill people that he knows all because he finds them entertaining. The last one is the sign that everyone tells you that they have no empathy you can see it with Iago when he is manipulating Othello talking about his wife possibly cheating on him “ I do beseech you, Though I perchance am vicious in my guess— As I confess, it is my nature’s plague To spy into abuses, and oft my jealousy Shapes faults that are not—that your wisdom From one that so imperfectly conceits Would take no notice, nor build yourself a trouble Out of his scattering and unsure observance. It were not for your quiet nor your good Nor for my manhood, honesty, and wisdom, To let you know my thoughts.” In this quote you see that Iago is dropping hints to Othello that his wife Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio even though it’s actually far from it and it’s just her helping Cassio get his job back Iago knows this yet telling him otherwise because he knows that it’ll kill Othello a little on the inside thinking that his wife is cheating on him after they just got married and he does not care about it because not only does Iago find it entertaining to see Othello be reduced to nothing more than just a man with anger, sadness, and suffering it’ll help him follow through with his plan which is why sociopaths have no empathy because they take pleasure in seeing other people in pain.
Sources
Write Our World 