Manipulation

Manipulation: Shrewd or devious management, especially for one's own advantage.

Why Are People so Easily Manipulated?

"Manipulation exists, because it works." (Braiker)

Manipulation is one of, if not it is the ugliest characteristic a person can have. Manipulation comes in many different forms and sizes. Some people don't know when they're being manipulative or manipulated and others know that they are being manipulative and use it to their advantage. Some may know they are being manipulated but are either too scared to do something about it or don't know how to react to it so they choose to ignore and deny it.

Manipulation works on people who are self conscious, gullible, vulnerable, naive, stupid etc... They find excuses to prove to themselves that they are not being manipulated. They keep denying the obvious and find themselves at the manipulators mercy. They may lack self respect or self esteem and feel like they deserve to be punished or they may feel quite lonely and so they feel a bond of some sort to the manipulator, ironically though, people who are being manipulated feel even more alone than before. They're like puppets being controlled. They don't know how to get out of being manipulated. They feel trapped.

The Manipulator is like the ultimate puppet master. They are cruel, controlling, clever, greedy, selfish etc... they would do whatever it takes for their advantage. They like to boost their own ego and use the victim in doing so. They play with the victim's mind and brainwash them into believing that they care about them and that they are trying to help them when in reality they'll throw you away the minute that you become of no use to them. The minute that you have done everything they wanted you to do and they milked every use that you had to them, you're on your own. However, manipulation is like a cycle that just keeps going. There are many manipulators that "can easily shift their focus from one victim to another." (Fattah) Once they're done with one victim, they go find another to brainwash and do their dirty laundry. 

A person that can manipulate knows your weaknesses and uses them against you. Whether it's being too nice or that you trust too easily, they will use your weak point to their advantage. I for one, know what it feels like to have my kindness be taken advantage of.  My weakness is my niceness and people are quick to notice so they take advantage of it. They would keep asking for things from me or errands that I can do for them, knowing that it would be hard for me to say no. Two letters can make a very strong word. If I were to say them, the people would be in shock and question why I was being mean which annoys me a great deal because they obviously have no respect for me and are just using me. Once they learn that I won't do everything they want me to do, they throw me off and find a new puppet or "servant" to obey them. Manipulators don't show mercy. They show satisfaction for your downfall. It's like a the perfect movie for them with their perfect happy ending. 

Manipulation in the Real World:

The scary thing about manipulation is that it can come from the closest person you know. Someone that you love and trust, can use it against you for their needs. Many people can suffer from being in a manipulative relationship. Your partner, the man or women that is supposed to love and care for you, can find a way to make you their pawn.

There are different ways to show manipulation in a relationship such as:

Lying: Normally the lies are hard to detect and more so the truth comes out when it's too late. Over time you start to notice certain signs that tells you that they're lying such as fidgeting, 
 too much or too little eye contact etc..

Guilt Trip: The manipulator will try to convince their partner that they do not care for them much and accuse them of being selfish. This would cause the victim to become guilty, anxious and start to doubt themselves.

Seduction: The manipulator tries to use flattery, charm and overly praise the victim to get them to give their loyalty and trust to the manipulator. In other words, they'd have "the disease to please" (Anand).

There are so many other ways to show manipulation in a relationship. Most of the time the victim doesn't realize that he/she is being manipulated and when they do realize it, they don't know how to react out of fear and so they deny it to themselves.

Othello and Manipulation

"'Tis a notorious villain." (A.5, S.2, L.279) 
The mastermind behind everyone's downfall: Iago. Iago is an everyday manipulator. He plays with people's feelings. He doesn't care for anyone else but himself. He is like the ultimate puppet master, playing with everyone's feelings and using it against themselves and others. He made people turn their back on each other, he made people lose their jobs , he made people lose the love in a relationship. He is cruel, selfish, greedy, evil, jealous etc... Iago is so good at being manipulative, that he was able to manipulate himself. He was able to convince himself that Othello slept with Emilia and that is why he should hate him.He shows no respect for anyone. Iago is scary manipulative because he knows how to make people reach their breaking point and worse, he enjoys it. These are some of the people that got manipulated by Iago:

“The Moor is of a free and open nature, That thinks men honest that but seem to be so,” (A.1, S.3,L.391)
Othello is man who sees the good in people. He's blinded by their honesty that he doesn't think they can possess an evil side to them.  He sees what he wants to see. He is a man with pride and honor which is why he makes a good commander. Othello is self conscious because of his dark skin. Him being self conscious makes him doubt himself himself thus makes him get jealous very easily. These are some of the reasons that led to Othello's downfall. He didn't see past the "loyalty" of Iago. His self consciousness made it easy for Iago to convince him that Desdemona was in fact cheating on him. His stupidity made him believe every lie Iago was feeding him without one trace of doubt. He didn't need much proof to believe that Iago was telling the truth. His pride got in the way. When he thought that his pride was being wounded he lost his mind. How could he be losing his property? Desdemona was his, he was her owner and she dared turn her back on him?! He wouldn't have it and lost his mind. His overreaction was feeding Iago for more manipulation. Outside of the battlefield (where he is brave, smart and on point) Othello is a stupid, gullible man who doesn't need much proof to confirm his suspicions.

"It is silliness to live when to live is torment"  (A.1, S.3, L.332) 
Roderigo was the bait in Iago's plan. He was the one who would do all of Iago's dirty laundry. Iago played and twisted with poor Roderigo's feelings for Desdemona. He used Desdemona as a prize that he promised Roderigo were to win if he did everything he said. Roderigo's passion for Desdemona blinded him. Roderigo's vulnerability made him an easy target for Iago, it didn't take much for him to listen and obey. Roderigo wasn't the most respected of men and Iago's acceptance made him feel worthy. He had a "fear of rejection, failure, embarrassment," (Benedetto) he was embarrassed because he had no women to accompany him like all the other strong, leading men. He kept getting rejected by Brabantio and Desdemona, Iago was the only one who accepted him and made him feel like he was worthy. He was scared that if he failed Iago he would get rejected once more and truly be alone.

"I know thou didst not, thou'rt not such a villain."  (A.5, S.2, L.205)                     
Iago was so good at manipulating people that he was able to manipulate his own wife. He made her believe that he was a good man (in his own way), despite him treating her with disrespect. She never suspected him to be pure evil in all their years of marriage. You can tell how cruel and mean Iago is just by looking at the way he treats Emilia. He insults her at any given chance he gets, even when she does something good and to his advantage he calls her a "good wench" (A.3, S.3, L.349).

"I'll have our Michael Cassio on the hip" (A.2, S.2, L.303)                               Cassio was also fooled by the front that Iago pulled. He thought that Iago was helping him but instead he was bringing him down. Cassio was too blinded by his own problems of losing his title as lieutenant that he didn't see that Iago was the cause of all his problems. He grew vulnerable and desperate. He was grasping at straws and wasn't paying attention to Iago's sneakiness. 

"It is my wretched fortune" (A.4, S.2, L.146) 
Iago was able to manipulate Desdemona by using Othello's feelings against her. He was able to convince her that since he is close to Othello, he can find out what's bothering him and help fix their relationship. Desdemona was too gullible and vulnerable to actually see that he was the one that was behind her doomed relationship.

Every character was different, everyone had different personalities and different problems. They all had different weaknesses. Iago was able to link each problem with one another to cause one big catastrophe. He made them his puppets. He "successfully uses the weaknesses to ultimately gain vengeance through humiliation" (Chuck). Iago proved to be the ultimate villain by being the ultimate puppet master. 

References

Shakespeare, William. Othello. Thomas Walkley, 1622. Print.

Benedetto, Gene. "Why Are We So Easily Manipulated?" 6 January 2013. Benhaven Counseling, LLC.
     < http://sanclemente.patch.com/blog_posts/why-are-we-so-easily-manipulated >

Braiker, Harriet. "How you get manipulated by others and how to avoid it." 24 April 2011. Targeted   
     Individuals Europe. <http://targetedindividualseurope.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/how-you-get-manipulated-by-others-and-how-to-avoid-it/ >

Fattah, Sabry. "How People Are Manipulated Emotionally and Why?" 3 March 2011.        
     <http://ezinearticles.com/?How-People-Are-Manipulated-Emotionally-and-Why?&id=6032897>

Anand, Anita. "Personal Growth - The Manipulation Trap: Are you a victim?"  
     <http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/Personal_Growth/The_Manipulation_Trap92010.asp>

Chuck. "An Analysis of Manipulation Through Weakness in Shakespeare's Othello". 5 December 2006.
        Clemson University. <http://voices.yahoo.com/an-analysis-manipulation-through-weakness-shakespeares-126292.html?cat=38>

Greaves, Daniel. "Manipulation". YouTube.com. 27 October 2007. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYPv4ttwYXg>