Happily Ever After... NOT!

"'That is also my victim!' he exclaimed; 'in his murder my crimes are consummated; the miserable series of my being is wound to its close! Oh, Frankenstein! generous and self-devoted being! what does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me? I, who irretrievably destroyed thee by destroying all thou lovedst. Alas! he is cold, he cannot answer me'" (pg 163).

SURPRISE! The monster in which Frankenstein was in search of when he found his place on this ship had found him on that very ship...dead. His reaction to his creator's death was also shocking. He had done everything in his power to make Victor unhappy, killing all of his loved ones. However, when Victor actually died, he felt great sorrow and remourse. He asked for forgiveness. He even wanted to kill himself. I feel like the same thing would happen if Victor found the monster dead, because his only goal in life was to kill the monster, and if the monster were to be already dead, he would no longer have a point to live. No matter how much they despised each other, their lives were basically run by the other. They had so many connections that there was no escaping each other...until DEATH.

PARALLELISM

"My presesnt situation was one in which all voluntary thought was swalloed up and lost. I was hurried away by fury; revenge alone endowed me with strenth and composure; it moulded my feelings, and allowed me to be calculating and calm, at periods when otherwhise delirium or death would have been my portion" ( pg 149).

This chapter shows the unity of the story. The monster was able to bring his creator to his level. Now he can finally understand the loneliness and solidarity that the monster had to face. When being forced into this situation, both of them react in the same way. They seek revenge. The monster was trying to hurt Victor by hurting the ones dear to him, and Victor wanted to kill the monster because of this. It was quite suspenseful reading when wondering if Victor would ever actually catch him. I think that his desire to kill his creation matches the desire he had to create the monster. He wanted with everything in him to accomplish the goal, but once he found him, was he going to be able to overcome the monster's supernatural strength and kill him? It seems as though Victor is the type to not really think about his actions before he actually does things.

RACE OF DEVILS

"Even if they were to leave Europe, and inhabit the deserts of the new world, yet one of the first recults of those sympathies for which the daemon thirsted would be children, and a race of devils would be propagated upon the earth, who might make the very existence of the species od man a condition precarious and full of terror" (pg 121).

This was my first thought when Victor agreed to creating a female monster. I foreshadowed little (or possibly gigantic) baby monsters running around South America. Who says that these little monsters would listen to their parents and not harm anyone? Nobody. I felt that Victor would be endangering the lives of many South Americans by creating this monster. Then again, who says that the female monster would want to be with the male monster? She would be completely unsophistacated at the time of her "birth." Maybe the male would take her in and teach her and all would be well, but maybe she would reject him as well. What would he do then, if someone of his own race rejected him? I honestly think he would go on a killing spree and end with himself.

FAITH

"It moved every feeling of wonder and awe, that the picture of an omnipotent God warring with his creatures was capable of exciting. I often referred the several situations, as their similarity struck me, to my own. Like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence; but his state was far different than mine in every other respect" (pg 92).

This allusion to God and Adam further highlights the complexity of the creation's intelligence. Not only is he reading "Paradise Lost," but he is relating it to his life. It is a very true analogy as well; Monster is to Adam, as Victor is to God. It is true that both God and Victor created life, but Victor rejected his creation, while God loved and nurtured his. It truly must be miserable for the moster to be rejected by everyone. Being rejected by one person makes me terribly upset, especially if I care for them as deeply as the monster cared for the De Lacey's. That would have to be terribly heart breaking, so I feel for the monster in this respect. I feel that this sort of rejection can cause people (or monsters) to do crazy things that they normally would not do. He is an unstable emotional state, and, honestly, I feel bad for him.

COMPANIONSHIP

"But where are my friends and relations? No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses; or if they had, all my past life was now a blot, a blind vacancy in which distinguised nothing" (pg 86).

Saying that the creation desires companionship is an understatement. He takes it upon himself to help the De Lacey's without their knowledge. This shows the true compassion that he feels towards them. He wants nothing more than their approval and protection. He often refers to them as his "protectors," which I never really understood, because they don't even know he's there so there is no way that they are protecting them. He sets up a plan to get the blind man alone, which I believe to be a quite genius idea. Unfortunately when the younger people come home and see the monster with their father, he is immediately rejected AGAIN! Even after their cruelty he goes back for another chance, but they had moved out, because they feel that their father is in danger. This was the breaking point for the creation, and he blamed VICTOR!

MONSTER CAN SHOW AFFECTION?

"I saw no cause for their unhappiness; but I was deeply affected by it. If such lovely creatures were miserable, it was less strange that I, an imperfect solitary being, should be wretched" (pg 77). I was stunned by the maturity and affection that the monster showed. First when he becomes intrigued by this little family and their problems. He is a very considerate creature, because when he realizes that he is part of the cause of their unhappiness by stealing food, he decides to stop and to help them out. I feel like many humans wouldn't even do that. I was also extremely allured by the fact that he wanted to learn, and he acted upon this desire. He paid attention to what they did and how the words correlated to the actions. I think it's hard to learn another language in school; I can't imagine trying to teach myself my first language. Victor may be wrong in his belief that he created such a terrible being. From what the creature told Victor, the creature has a good heart. He cares about people and himself by furthering his own knowledge. However, I do find it kind of creepy that he just watched this family. Kind of stalkerish, but how was he supposed to know it was wrong?

Justine

"Justine shook her head mournfully. 'I do not fear to die,' she saod; 'that pang is past. God raises my weaknesses, and gives me courage to endure the worst. I leave a sad and bitter world; and if you remember me as of one unjustly condemned, I am resigned to the fate awaiting me. Learn from me, dear lady, to submit in patience to the will of heaven'" (pg 59). I think that Justine is a very powerful and amazing woman. To have the courage and faith in God to admit to a false accusation in order to reach heaven is astonishing. I don't think I know anyone like her today on a personal level at least. I don't quite understand why she would admit to something that is not true though, because she still would have gone to heaven if she lived a good life. She didn't have to leave at that time. I wonder if it was God's time for her to go, or if she just thought it was her time. It's almost like a form of mercy killing or euthanasia, because she is basically choosing to die. I don't know if it's because she doesn't want to live with the blame on her and everyone thinking she is a murderer. I guess I wouldn't want to live like that either, but I feel that it is kind of wrong for to take the blame when she is innocent.

It's ALIVE!

"Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of pearly whiteness; but these luxurances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips" (pg 35). It is shocking that Victor would be so disgusted by his creation after he spent so much time and effort on making it. However, the imagery the monster is quite frightening. If I were to see this creature come alive before my eyes, I would probably think about running away too, but I hope I would realize that would be the wrong thing to do. By running away and neglecting his responsibility of this creation, he puts the lives of many others (his brother!) in danger. It makes one question why he ever decided to make this monster. I wonder if it was because he never thought he could actually do it; it is defeating the laws of nature to be able to create life. I would never think I could accomplish such an astonishing feat. In class, we talked about how he only thought about, "Can I do it?" not "Should I do it?" I believe that it is kind of a mixture of both. He wanted to prove that he could do it, but he didn't know if he could, so when he accomplished his goal, he didn't know what to do with the product. He never thought about the consequences.

Cornelius Agrippa

"A new light seemed to dawn upon my mind, and, bounding with joy, I communicated my discovery to my father. My father looked carelessly at the title-page of my book and said, "Ah! Cornelius Agrippa! My dear Victor, do not waste your time upon this; it is sad trash" (pg 20). Victor's father goes as far as to use the metaphor of this book being trash, yet Victor still decides to read it and become fascinated by it. I was surprised that Victor called his father's response a "cursory glance," because, if my father said that to me, I would definitely think twice about becoming so intrigued by it. I feel like Victor is somewhat blaming his father for his later disaster. He says that if his father would have gone into more detail, then maybe Victor would not have made the big mistake that he did. I'm sure that his father would have been more thorough if he knew his response would have been disregarded and later been the cause of creating a monster. I also think that it is very interesting that this book of some sort of magic was the catalyst of his curiosity in science. Victor said that as soon as he returned home from the baths near Thonon, the place where he had found the book, he began putting Agrippa's words into actions. I wonder what these books said exactly to make him act the way that he did.

"Frankenstein" Mary Shelley

"And when, on the morrow, she presented Elizabeth as her promised gift, I, with childish seriousness, interpreted her words literally and looked upon Elizabeth as mine -- mine to protect, love, and cherish" (pg 18). As I read this first chapter, I felt that Elizabeth's role was a bit ambiguous. I could not tell if she was going to be his sister or Victor's wife or both... As strange as it may be, it turns out to be more of the third option. Victor's parents raise her as a child of their own, showing pride and love in her. On the other hand, his mother did pick her out, because she was so beautiful and told Victor that she had a "pretty present" for him before they brought her home. The hopes of his parents were that they would raise her and eventually Victor could marry her. That is really odd to me, because it's like they went to the store and hand picked a wife for their son, but oh well. I'm guessing that it was not that peculiar back then as it is today.

COINCIDENCE???

"A new point of view occured to me. Suppose Tom found out the Daisy had been driving. He might think he saw a connection in it--he might think anything" (pg 144). As soon as the black man said it was a yellow car, I was wondering if Daisy knew what Myrtle looked like and whether she would intentionally injure her or not. I didn't think that she would kill her on purpose, because then Tom might kill Gatsby in revenge. I also wondered whether it was Gatsby or Daisy driving. In my mind it would make more sense for Gatsby to kill Myrtle in an attempt to hurt Tom, after Tom had upset him so badly. It could have been a type of vengeance, like if Daisy can't have me, then you can't have Myrtle. I also wondered, like Nick, if Tom would make a connection, and if he would do anything about it if he did. Another thought running through my head was if Myrtle was trying to get hit or if she was trying to talk to Tom. I am still curious on that matter and whether Daisy tried to stop before she hit her, because I know she took off afterwards.

LONELY

"I found myself on Gatsby's side, and alone" (pg 164). I found this line to be depressing. This is probably weird, but sometimes I think about who would come to my funeral if I died, and if no one came I would be absolutely devestated. I find it incredibly sad that Gatsby has no friends. I would think that some of his platoon mates would come or something. It kind of makes sense that Wolfsheim and those fellows wouldn't show, because they could get in trouble for being in public. Daisy not making an appearance would be horrible in Gatsby's mind, but for her, it was probably better that she didn't know, because it would cause her internal conflict to grow even more. Having someone you love die is terrible, and if you ended on a bad note, it would be even worse! I grew to appreciate Nick more for being such a great friend.

IMAGERY

"There was a faint, barely perceptible movement of the water as the fresh flow from one end urged its way toward the drain at the other. With little ripples that were hardly the shadows of waves, the laden mattress moved irregularly fown the pool. A small gust of wind that scarcely corrugated the surface was enough to disturb its accidental course with accidental burden. The touch of a cluster of leaves revolved it slowly, tracing, like the leg of transit, a thin red circle in the water" (pg 162). When I was reading this paragraph I was so captivated by the realistic imagery. I felt as though I could have almost witnessed this catastrophe. My best friend and I have pools, so I know what it's like for leaves to bunch up if you don't skim frequently. Gatsby had recently been talking about how his pool didn't get much action, so a cluster of leaves is very plausible. I can also relate to the movement of the air mattress up and down the pool. Whenever I lay out on a raft, I don't stay still for a second, unless I'm holding onto something. Therefore, a small gust of wind could easilly disturb the mattress. As for the "thin red circle in the water," I am thoroughly disturbed by that, because I have never witnessed anything like that. However, I imagine it to look like the water you wash your paintbrush off in after you paint a red apple or something.

INTERNAL CONFLICT

"'Oh, you want too much!' she cried to Gatsby. 'I love you now--isn't that enough? I can't help what's past.' She began to sob helplessly. 'I did love him once--but I loved you too'" (pg 132). Daisy is possessed by great internal conflict. She fell in love with Gatsby before he left for war, but she wanted a normal life while he was gone and didn't know if he was ever going to come back. She fell in love with Tom and married him while Gatsby was away. Now that Gatsby has returned back into her life she doesn't know what to do! She knows it would be wrong for her to leave her husband, but he has an affair on the side; therefore, she feels like it is acceptable for her to do the same. That was going over fine for her until Tom starts to realize what is going on, and Gatsby just comes out and tells him that she doesn't love him. I feel like she doesn't know if she loves him or not, because of the bad things that he has done to her in the past, but she still really cares about him, feels a sense of loyalty towards him, and wouldn't want to hurt him. I hate how we don't get closure on their relationship at the end of the novel. I want to know if they end up happy together or if they have more affairs.

ALLUSION

"'I told her she might be able to fool me but she couldn't fool God. I took her to the window'--with an effort he got up and walked to the rear window and leaned with his face pressed against it--'and I said 'God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me, but you can't fool God!'' Standing behind him, Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, which had just emerged, pale and enormous, from the dissolving night" (pg 158).

The way that Doctor T.J. Eckleburg is constantly watching over the novel makes him seem like God. Wilson even goes as far as referring to Eckleburg as God. This allusion makes the novel seem more corrupt in my opinion, because they know that what they are doing is wrong, but the do it anyways under the eyes of God. I think that this is one of the reasons that this novel is so unversal, because we all sin. Most people do things wrong, even though they know they are wrong, and whether they realize that God is watching or not, He is. It also shows that at least some of the people in this novel have a faith. It is never established which denomination, but I think that also makes it universal, because many people can relate to a belief in God. It makes one think about their own lives and how they feel about God watching everything they do.

WHERE IS THE LOVE???

Daisy married Tom while Gatsby was off at war, because she constantly needs someone to be there for her. On the surface, their marriage looks nice and content; however, Tom is cheating on her. Even worse, he is cheating on her with a married woman, Myrtle. Myrtle's husband, George, seems to just accept the affair, as if there is nothing he can do about it. I feel really bad for Daisy in the beginning of the story, because she just puts up with it as well, but later she reunites with Gatsby, and it is obvious that she still loves him. It's sad because two wrongs don't make a right, but what is she supposed to do? Stay with her husband while he cheats on her? Cheat on him back with Gatsby? Or end her relationship with her husband for Gatsby? I would hope that she would pick choice C, but that is probably unrealistic.

SETTING

East Egg and West Egg are so close geographically, yet so far apart when it comes to lifestyle. They are both concerned with material goods and wealth, but the people from East Egg are newly rich. They are constantly trying to impress and show up others. They do not have connections like the people of West Egg do. I think it's strange that Nick lives in East Egg, because he does have connections after attending Yale. However, it is a good thing that he lives in East Egg or he might have never met Gatsby. Gatsby likes to show off his wealth by throwing lavish parties and inviting tons of people that he doesn't know. I think it would be very interesting and fun to attend one of the parties that Gatsby throws.

MEYER WOLFSHEIM

There is something very suspicious about Wolfsheim from the moment he is introduced to this novel. We are informed that he conducts under the counter business. This reminds me of the mafia. When I was reading this, I was thinking, "I wonder how many people he's killed in his life..." My family is Italian, so I've always had an interest in the mafia. Later we find out that he used to bootleg alcohol and that Gatsby was involved with the business. That is part of the reason that Gatsby is so wealthy now. Nick is curious as to whether Gatsby is still involved in the business, because he still has a good relationship with Wolfsheim. I doubt that Gatsby is fully involved anymore, but maybe he does it on the side sometimes when he needs some extra money.

IRONY

For some reason, Nick is strangely intrigued by Gatsby. He spends a lot of time thinking about him before he even knows him. Then, once he meets him, he tries to find out his background and the way that he earns his income. Ironically, this man that Nick is so interested in is in love with his cousin, Daisy. It's funny, because, even though he is related to Daisy and decently close with her, she failed to mention her past with Gatsby. It turns out that the reason he worked so hard all of his life was to win Daisy's attention. Once Gatsby went off to war and came back to find that Daisy had married while he was away, he had a goal to get her back. It just shows how small the world is when such a connection is uncovered in this novel.

"The Great Gatsby" F. Scott Fitzgerald

Although we do not formally meet Jay Gatsby until the 3rd chapter, he is the protagonist of the story. The narrator, Nick, is always curious about Gatsby, so we keep a close eye on him throughout the story. Gatsby always throws parties to show off his wealth, but nobody knows how he earned all of his money. Eventually, Nick comes to believe it may be through dishonest deeds. Under it all is his love for Daisy! He fell in love with her before the war, but when he was off fighting, she married Tom Buchanan. He has now done everything in his power to become rich and impress Daisy. I think that is dumb, because if she loves him like he supposedly loves her, then he wouldn't need material things to win her over. That fact is proven when she never attends any of his parties, but is enchanted during their reunion at Nick's house.

RIGHT OR WRONG???

I believe that, although it was the classic thing to do, it was probably the wrong decision for Walter to tell Mr. Linder that they still wanted to move into that house. He had just lost all of their families money, and that was the last bit that they could possibly get back. Obviously the neighbors did not want them there if they were willing to donate more money than the house actually cost for them to move somewhere else. Earlier in the play, they had read about someone setting fire to a black family's house. Why would anyone want to put themselves in those circumstances? They are trying to do the right thing so that Travis doesn't have to grow up and continue the same way they always have, but moving him into a white neighborhood may be dangerous. All in all, I think their family is too obsessed with pride, as many people are. They don't want to be intimidated by "the man," so they stick it to him, not letting him have his way.

MAMAAA

I believe that Mama is the protagonist of this play, because she is always trying to help people and influence them to make the right decision. When Ruth is considering abortion, she says that no one in her family would ever kill a child. When she can tell that Walter is really down on himself, she decides to give him most of her money so that he can follow his dreams, giving him back his masculinity and the position of head of the family. She is the classic grandmother as well. When Travis buys her a large hat as a present and everyone laughs, she tells him that it is the most beautiful hat she has ever owned. At the same time, she is realistic. She tells Beneatha that she can't just pick up and move to Africa and get married all of the sudden. She is all about family; she will do anything for her family and believes that they should all put their family first as well. Everyone can relate to the character of Mama as their own grandmother, mother, relative, etc., which is part of the reason this play is so universal.

"A Raisin in the Sun"

I believe that the stage direction is crucial to this play, because of the simple fact that there is so much. Not only does it tell what the character is doing or where they are going, it also reveals their thoughts to us. For instance, (After a second very long and thoughtful pause; she is seeing back to times that only she can see). This is in the first act when Mama is reminicing on her old life with her husband and telling Ruth about it. The stage direction is very descriptive, which allows us to picture what is happening, which is the point of a play, I guess... However, not all plays include this much description. There is stage direction almost every time a character talks. "A Raisin in the Sun" is pretty straightforward in the way it would like the actors to portray this play. Without the stage direction in this play, we would most likely be very lost throughout its entirety.

Intermission

The play is divided into seven scenes. If I were to produce it with one intermission, I would put it after Scene 5. I feel like that is the half-way point of the play (props to you, Mr. Costello, for having us read it in those two sections). It shows the audience the personalities and characteristics of the Wingfield family. They see how Laura is shy and uncomfortable, because of the "defect" that she was born with. They see that Tom is the provider for the family who wants nothing more than to get away, but feels trapped in his responsibility to his family. They see how Amanda lives in a dream world with great intentions for her children, always dwelling on the past ever since her husband left them. It allows the audience to see how excited Amanda is about Tom getting a gentleman caller for Laura, and it leaves us waiting to see what will happen when Jim comes. Then after the intermission, they see that Jim is the boy that Laura had a crush on in high school and how everything pans out.

Laura

Laura is the pivotal character of the play. She seems so simple on the surface, but I believe that she is very complex in her thoughts, feelings, and actions. She was born with a "defect," as her mother likes to call it, of one of her legs being shorter than the other. While that could be difficult to deal with at times, I don't think that it is anything that should make her feel so awful about herself. I think that Jim hits the nail on the head when he says that she feels inferior and needs to find something that she feels superior in. She brings up her glass collection, which is one thing that she has truly dedicated time and effort to. I also think that he is right when he says that she needs to realize that she is not the only person with problems; everyone has problems. I think that is one of the themes of the play- to realize that everyone struggles, so one shouldn't always be down on his/herself. I felt like Jim really brought Laura out of her shell, and it's really sad, to me, that he is already engaged to another woman, because he treated her in such a special way. Although I don't think he meant to, he really gave her the wrong impression, which is unfair to her.

"The Glass Menagerie" Tennessee Williams

In the first scene, the author says: "This is memory and is therefore nonrealistic." She is referring to Tom's memory, because he is narrating the story. A memory may be nonrealistic because it is how this person recounts a situation, and so we get a biased telling of the story from Tom's point of view. It doesn't make sense that he can tell of conversations between people that he wasn't present for. For example, he tells of the conversation between Jim and Laura after dinner with great detail. I just don't understand how he would know what they discussed when he was in the kitchen with his mother doing the dishes. If the story was told in the point of view of the mother or the sister then we might get a completely different recollection. At the very beginning of Scene 1, Tom says: "I give you the truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion." I think he is saying that, although it may seem unrealistic, this is how it happened in his eyes.

EMILIA

Emilia is my new hero. In the first few acts, I didn't really like her because I thought she was just obedient and did whatever Iago told her to, because she's his wife. However, in the final act, she sticks it to the man. First, she screams that Othello has killed Desdemona, even though there is a great possibility that she could be injured or killed in doing so. Then she figures out Iago's evil plan to trick Othello into believing that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair, and she confronts him about it in front of everyone else. She tells everyone how she found Desdemona's handkerchief that Othello had given to her, and Emilia gave it to Iago, because he had been asking her for it. She puts all the pieces of the puzzle together. If it weren't for Emilia, nobody would understand the true evil that Iago had planned. She is a dynamic character, because she goes from playing an insignificant role to being a key component of the resolution of the play.

STAGE DIRECTIONS

I believe that stage direction plays a key role in this play. If you're not paying close attention, it is easy to get confused. For example, when Iago is tricking Othello that he is talking to Cassio about Desdemona, but they are really talking about Bianca. Othello speaks during this scene, so it can be really confusing for someone to understand why Cassio isn't responding to him if you don't catch the line that says (OTHELLO retires). Although it is something quite small, it makes a world of a difference in the understanding. It was also essential to pay attention to stage direction in the final act when everyone was dying. It was important to know who was killing who. When we are expecting Roderigo to kill Cassio, it turns out to be the opposite. When Cassio "(stabs RODERIGO)", we see the play take a turn. All in all, if you don't pay attention to the stage directions in this play, you will most likely get completely lost and not have the correct understanding of what happened.

TRAGEDY

"Othello" is a tragedy, but, unlike many of Shakespeare's plays, nobody dies until the last act. That fact makes it difficult to know the classification of the play until it's over. There are, however, scenes in the play that allow us to foreshadow that death was in the near future. Iago's character, in general, has evil thoughts and makes people do and believe things that they would never ordinarily do/believe otherwise. He plants the seed in Othello's mind that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio, which leads people to believe that Othello might kill one of them or both. He also leads Roderigo to believe that Cassio is really the only thing standing in the way of his relationship with Desdemona, which may make some think that he will kill Cassio. In both cases, Cassio is dead, but, in the end, Cassio is really the only one who prevails. I'm glad that Cassio didn't die, because he didn't do anything wrong. I think that Iago needs to be tortured until no end.

Desdemona

This girl has got some guts!!! She goes against her own father to be with the man she loves. However, I wonder if she really does love him or is just infatuated by him. I have many theories on why she might have chosen to be with him. He's a war hero; it's kind of like how every girl wants to date the star running back of the football team. She might think that he is wise, because he is older than she is and has been to so many places. I think that it is also sort of the bad boy syndrome. She wants him, because she knows that her father wouldn't approve. Whatever it is, it takes a lot for a girl to choose a man over her father. I don't think I could ever marry a guy that my dad did not approve of.

REALISTIC

I believe that while this play is outdated, it is somewhat realistic. There are many people in the world today that manipulate others, just like Iago does. I feel like in every group of friends there is a person that puts a spell on everyone else in a way. The others just seem to follow that one person, thinking that they do no wrong. While, I believe this to be true, I believe that eventually the others may realize that this person isn't always right. I also think that while racism has died down in most of the world, it is still there, especially in older people that are stuck in their ways. Racism is a big part of the play, and while Othello is well respected by many, he is still looked down upon by many others because he is black. I think that many of Shakespeare's plays are universal, because he incorporates themes that are still felt today.

PROTAGONIST VS ANTAGONIST

Othello is the protagonist of the story. He is a highly respected general in the Venetian army. He seems to have a good heart and wants to believe the best in everybody. Iago is the antagonist of the story. He is mad that Othello does not make him his lieutenant, and this is the root of all of his evil plans. I would say that, while they both present themselves as wise, honest men, they are foil characters. Iago's appearance is nothing but an act. He tells people what they want to hear in order to get what he wants, and he is not afraid of hurting others in the process. He is a selfish character that brainwashes the other characters into thinking what he wants them to think, such as when he tells Roderigo he will help him win Desdemona, or when he plants the seed that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio in Othello's mind. He always makes them think that he is helping them, while it's the exact opposite in all reality.