The Fall of Othello and CassioIn Shakespeare's Othello, the characters Othello and Cassio contribute greatly to their own downfalls. Iago sets a treacherous trap and they fall into it. Both are innocent characters, guilty only of having too much faith in Iago. Othello and Cassio arouse the sympathy of readers. However, our sympathy for them sometimes diminishes, because they are very gullible. However, it is still restored. Iago longs to hurt Othello. He is Othello's foot soldier, an elder, his right-hand man and a long-time friend. Iago was furious when Othello did not promote him to lieutenant, choosing the handsome, young, and wealthy Cassio instead. Iago felt he was more entitled to the position than Cassio. Cassio was a brilliant strategist, but he had very little experience on the battlefield. Iago, on the other hand, had extensive combat experience and felt ignored purely for the sake of appearances. This idea could very well be true. Othello needed someone who would make him look better in the eyes of high-ranking state officials and high-ranking people in the community. The Moor was a black man, a fact which is often brought up in the play and which also causes much insecurity for Othello. He viewed his race as a disadvantage and something that could prevent him from achieving further success. Michael Cassio was therefore the ideal “face” to take to state functions; the perfect white face. He was a very presentable, educated and handsome man from a middle class background. To take revenge on the Moor, Iago decides to poison his mind against his wife and against Michael Cassio, conjuring up images of an illicit sexual relationship between the two.In Sha...... middle of paper. ...He is by no means the tragic hero, he is certainly not the villain of Othello. Iago chooses Cassio as his prey because he is the one who benefited from Othello's neglect of Iago. Who better to take down? Cassio got the job Iago wanted and felt entitled to. Cassio was also everything Iago was not. Cassio came from a financially well-off background, Iago did not. Cassipo had a good education, Iago did not. Cassio's promotion to lieutenant was the final straw. Othello and Cassio's faults, naivety and gullibility, led to their downfall. Both characters were innocent of malice, but guilty of choosing to trust the wrong person. If they had tried to communicate with the people they should have, Othello with Desdemona and Cassio with Othello, Othello would not have been a Shakespearean tragedy..