How manipulation is used in Lord of the Flies and Othello

How manipulation is used in Lord of the Flies and Othello

Introduction

There are no perfect individuals in a world that are full of suffering, failure, and temptations. Given that all people have their weaknesses, it is probable that others might utilize such feeble points in manipulating the individual. In the Lord of the Flies and Othello, the principal antagonists, Jack and Othello, respectively use manipulation to attain their own goals. They are not only the centers of evil in the two plays but additionally manage to deceive the other characters through the display of honest facades. Jack and Othello use the weak points of their victims in manipulating them to carry out the actions that they (the antagonists) desire and this enable them to attain their goals. This paper has, therefore, been written with the aim of analyzing and comparing how manipulation has been used by a character to control others in both the Lord of the Flies and Othello.

Discussion

            Though the antagonists in the two narratives make use of manipulation to attain their evil objectives, the types of targets of their schemes tend to differ considerably. Thus, it can be seen that, in the Lord of the Flies, Jack mainly targets children to attain his evil objective by exploiting their loyalty to him. On the other hand, Iago, in Othello, exploits his friendship with Othello to manipulate him into killing his wife and Cassio.

            Nevertheless, there is also immense difference in the methods used in carrying out the manipulation by the antagonists of the two narratives. For instance, to attain his objectives, Jack makes most of emotion, and specifically fear and excitement. Thus, In the Lord of the Flies, Jack makes use of emotions in the manipulation of the boys. Piggy and Ralph are representative of reason in the story and make attempts at reasoning with the boys through the clarification of the truths as they perceive them including the issue on the unlikeliness of the beast and the significance of fire. Nevertheless, Jack being representative of instinct and emotions tends to be effectual in the end as observed in the civilization breakdown on the island.

Jack mainly concentrates on two fundamental emotions as his tools of manipulation, namely; fear and excitement. He initially makes use of excitement and is seen leading the boys who are members of his church choir into a hunting expedition. As such this is because hunting is both fun and exciting, over and above being primal given that it makes the heart to pump. The boys experience the adrenaline rush, and even Jack gets roped into the excitement frenzy. Upon spearing the pig, he becomes extremely excited and can be heard boasting that; “I hit him all right. The spear stuck in. I wounded him” (George, Jose, and Raju 174). In the end, the boys begin playing a hunting game in which Robert assumes the pig’s position. As such this tends to turn off Ralph as he realizes the desire in him to hurt Robert, who gets hurt and cries. Nevertheless, the boys enjoy the game, and this makes them increasingly loyal to Jack.

Still, back at the camp, Jack makes use of fear as a tool for manipulation. For instance, upon Ralph stressing on the need for a fire at the camp, jack makes use of the beast horror to stress on the need for focus on hunting as opposed to firing. He, therefore, scares the boys who become hysterical leading to Ralph losing control of the discussion, and thus enable him (Jack) to attain his objective.

Consequently, in Othello, it can be noted that all through the play Iago is portrayed as a master player who uses various tools to manipulate his victims. He makes use of his ability to twist information and develop a false sense of reality as tools for convincing Othello that Desdemona has been cheating on him even though he does not provide any evidence to prove the same. For instance, at a certain point in the play, Iago is seen manipulating the scene where Othello watches as Cassio and  Desdemona hold a discussion, the man Iago alleges her to be cheating with. Even though the discussion is guiltless, Iago makes attempts at manipulating Othello to believe that Desdemona and Cassio are openly flirting (Abuzahra and Rami 17).

Additionally, the other tool used by Iago to manipulate his victim is hesitation. Thus, in order to successfully plant the seed of doubt and jealousy in Othello, Iago makes use of hesitation in his speeches. In turn, this leads to Othello questioning Iago’s intent. And upon Othello’s insistence to know what Iago said, He (Iago) gives in and articulates his dislike of the fact that Desdemona and Cassio are talking.  However, Iago commences scheming and pretends to be hesitant thereby tactfully and cautiously making Othello believe that his wife and Cassio should not be holding any discussion. Upon realizing that Othello is approaching, Cassio runs away from the scene. Iago then uses the moment to make Othello believe that Cassio is guilty of cheating with his wife and that is the reason why he opts to leave. In the end, and as a result of Iago’s manipulation, Othello ends up killing his wife and Cassio. As such this enables Iago to attain his revenge goals.

Conclusion

The two characters, Jack and Iago, in The Lord of the Flies and Othello respectively, have made use of manipulation to control other characters into doing what they want. Iago manipulates Othello by making him believe that Desdemona his cheating on him with Cassio, and Othello ends up killing his wife and Cassio. On the other hand, Jack makes use of emotions, fear, and excitement, to control the boys and get them to do what he desires. He uses horror stories to instill fear in the boys who become hysterical. As such, one can conclude that Jack and Iago use the weak points of their victims in manipulating them to carry out the actions that they (the antagonists) desire and this enable them to attain their goals.