By the definition of a true tragedy bestowed upon us by the philosophical studies of Aristotle, the main character's weakness in a tragedy is the direct cause of his or her downfall. "Othello" and " A Doll's House" are two good examples of classic and modern tragedies. The protagonist usually has some "tragic flaw" which leads him over the edge and to his doom. It is also important that the protagonist overcome his fate by learning from his mistakes, by overcoming his tragic flaw. Othello and Nora are two tragic figures in different senses. Othello's flaw is being easily manipulated, which leads to his tragic fate by believing the lies of Iago. Nora's flaw is her ignorance to reality and the sacrificing of "herself" to please her father and husband in a male-dominant society. .
Othello being of high character is a tragic hero that rises to great heights and then fall to equally great depths. This is a Classic tragedy according to Aristotle poetics. Othello puts all his trust in Iago, during times of war and during Othello's marriage to Desdemona. This wasn't very bright of Othello; even if he weren't trusting or more corrupt he still wouldn't realize Iago was lying. Everyone considered Iago as honest, and would be out of character for Othello to believe any different. Othello was jealous. He was told his wife was cheating on him and he thought he was killing for justice. He even said he loved not wisely but too well. When he did kill it was not very smart of him to believe another man about something he should know more about. .
After realizing Othello had been tricked into believing, the lies of Iago. He couldn't handle the anguish of knowing he had murdered in jealousy rather for justice. This devastation in Othello's character brought the strong warrior back into the scene. Where he transformed into his own judge, jury, and sentenced himself. He took a knife and killed himself.