To be able to manipulate or control something, usually skillfully, is to manipulate. In other words, getting someone to do things that make them do what you want. The more control you have over a person, the more likely they are to do what you say. Every day, its inhabitants are manipulated, even controlled, without even knowing it. Our friends, family, and even our government do these things to us without even knowing it. In the play Othello there are characters who really show off these treats. Throughout the play, control and manipulation are illustrated by several characters and their relationships, such as Iago and Brabantio, Desdemona and Brabantio, and Roderick and Iago. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay At the beginning of the play, we are introduced to Iago, one of the characters who demonstrates control and manipulation. We learn that there are two characters in love named Desdemona and Othello. Iago will tell Desdemona's father: "Even though I hate him as I suffer from hell, yet for the necessity of this present life I must show a flag and a sign of love, which in reality is not just a sign. That you will surely find it.” In this line Iago tells us how much he hates Othello but because he works for him he must at least pretend to be loyal to him. So here in the first scene he already begins to plot against Othello. As act one, scene three, continues, we learn that Desdemona and Othello are going to get married even though her father is against her wanting to marry him. He also showed signs of control at the scene. After Desdemona told her father that they were going to get married, he said to her, “Come here, sweet mistress. Do you see in all this noble company to whom you owe the most obedience? He asks her where your loyalties lie. Trying to use her as her father as a way to control her and even manipulate her into not marrying Othello. Later in the play, at the end of act one, scene three, Roderigo comes and confesses his love for Desdemona to Iago. He later discovers that she is going to marry Othello, which plunges him into a depressing moment. He says “I’m going to drown incontinently”. He felt that if he couldn't have the woman he loved, he didn't want to be alive. Iago took advantage of this moment of weakness to take control and manipulate Roderigo. He said: “Follow the wars; they promote defeat with a usurped beard. I say, put some money in your purse. Desdemona must not continue her love for the moor.” This part he tells Roderigo that if you sell everything you have for money and she sees you, she will want you and not othello. In reality, he was making her do this so he could have money later, because he knew she wasn't going to leave Othello. However, he convinced him that all this was true and would take place. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In Othello there are many themes that manifest themselves however two of them. they appear more than others and they are, control and manipulation. Throughout the play Othello, many characters have been shown to possess both of these traits. There's a lot of control and manipulation and no one really notices. Just like in today's world. The government, our friends and family do the same things to us and we don't realize it until the end of the story. It's not just in plays and books that these things happen, but it happens..