The many themes and symbols found in Shakespeare's books are numerous and very deep. Some of them stand for a little part of his plays, and others can almost be called the play themselves. In Othello, reputation is one of the play's most under-riding themes. Iago, well-known as an "honest" man, gains all the trust from the good reputation that he masks himself with. Cassio, who realizes the value of his name, struggles to gain it back as quickly as possible. Finally, one of the few qualities that Desdemona owns and is trusted for would be her honor. Though the types of reputation may vary between men and women, it is nevertheless a powerful force that determines the fate of every single character in Othello.
The audience and the readers are the only people who recognize Iago's full characteristics because Iago's soliloquys, which reveal his true image, are only shown to the audience. Due to his "good" reputation, which established him as an honest person, Iago is in a position where manipulating people is easy, since his words are more believable than others". Iago knows this theme very well - for example, when Iago states, " I am not what I am." in the beginning of the play, he already shows how he has managed to found favor among people based on lying and deceit, and not by actually being a true, honest person (Shakespeare 1.1.71). Iago knows and acknowledges his solid honor and takes advantage of it. As an "honest" person, Iago toys with all the characters in the play. He effectively unfolds all of his evil plans, but when problems arise, all he needs to do is turn and smile, and the blame will be put on someone else's head. The following passage shows how he uses wit and deception to fool everyone into believing that he is protecting Cassio as a friend, yet at the very same time, he is destroying Cassio, "IAGO - "I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth//Than it should do offense to Michael Cassio.