LOW SCORE

	In Shakespeare's Othello, Iago is portrayed as a character devoid of 
morals and human decency.  Concerned only with his own selfish desires, 
Iago will stop at nothing.  From his complex plots aimed at gaining the 
lieutenancy he felt he deserved, to his murderous acts upon his wife and 
Roderigo, Iago further epitomizes evil.  The full presentation of his character 
does in fact evoke sympathy from the reader, though not towards him.  As 
more and more of Iago's character is revealed, the reader further sympathizes 
with the other characters in the play.
	At the opening of Othello, Iago feels cheated out of the lieutenancy.  
He felt that Cassio was given the post because of friendship towards Othello, 
rather than deeds on the battlefield.  His jealousy sparks a plot which is the 
backbone of the play's action, in which Iago plans to have Cassio expelled 
from the lieutenancy and become his replacement.  Since Cassio has done 
nothing wrong or immoral, the reader will sympathize with him, rather than 
the devious Iago, who is power hungry.
	Iago knows what he wants, and is a genius in his own right in going 
about getting it.  He turns innocent characters against each other while earning 
the trust of each.  Othello is convinced that his wife Desdemona has cheated 
on him with his best friend Cassio, for Iago's intricate plot was able to 
persuade him.  Iago used his wife Emilia to obtain Desdemona's handkerchief 
before planting it upon Cassio.  Roderigo believes that Desdemona will soon 
break up with Othello, simply because Iago told him.  He is thus willing to 
plot with Iago to break up the new marriage.  The other characters are 
oblivious to Iago's plans, but the reader is not.  The reader reacts 
sympathetically towards the innocent.
	Iago's apparent lack of human feelings is what sets him apart from the 
other characters.  Othello and Roderigo were prepared to kill out of love.  Iago 
also killed, but for a much different reason.  Both Roderigo and Emilia were 
ready to expose Iago's plans when Iago killed them.  Iago felt no compunction 
about tearing apart a new couple in love because of his own desires.  He hates 
Othello not only because Cassio was given the lieutenancy, but because 
Othello is a Moor.
	While Iago's outward actions can be considered evil or immoral, they 
only tell half the story.  His inward motives and character traits are much 
more indecent and thus evoke sympathy from the reader towards the other 
characters.


This essay is well written, and chooses as its subject a character that is 
indisputably evil: Iago, from Shakespeare's Othello.  However, despite the 
writer's excellent description of Iago's immoral acts, he or she failed to 
consider that the other half of the question requires an explanation of how the 
readers of the play or novel feel sympathetic toward the character.  Although 
the essay does attempt to justify Iago's actions, it is still difficult to feel 
sympathy for him.  Ultimately, Iago was a poor choice of a character, 
primarily because the full portrayal of him in the play does not make him 
seem to be a better person; in fact, many of his speeches and soliloquies 
emphasize his manipulative nature.
	Since the essay did not completely answer the question, it could score 
at most a four, which was its final grade.  Although the student appears to 
have control of the language, his or her failure to choose an appropriate 
subject seriously affected the score.