Iago rightfully earns his reputation for honesty by being honest in the face of consequences …show more content…
Using his honesty as a weapon, Iago replies to Othello asking him what he meant by saying “Ha!” as he sees Cassio with Desdemona, by saying, “Nothing, my lord; or if—I know not what,” (III.III.39). By literally saying “nothing,” Iago casts doubt upon Cassio’s interaction with Desdemona almost forcing Othello, who has a very hard time trusting people, to ask his honest friend what he thinks is going on. Waiting until Othello thinks it is his own idea to ask Iago what is going on, Iago says, “Cassio, my lord! No, sure, I cannot think it/That he would steal away so guiltylike,/Seeing you coming,” (III.III.41-43). Through his candid diction, Iago enables himself to plant a seed of doubt in Othello’s mind by saying, “No, sure, I cannot think it” and then going on to say, “That he would steal away so guiltylike/Seeing you coming,” which is truth at its core as Iago does not believe this, but it casts doubt on Desdemona and Cassio. Cunningly, Iago uses his reputation for honesty, a synonym for morality, as means to achieve his manipulation and serves as a paradox because of