Because of his race, Othello is both in an insider and an outsider in the Venetian community. He's allowed to see what life is like on the inside because of his status as Christian and being a commanding general in the army. However, due to his race and his being a foreigner outside of Venice, Othello can feel like he isn't really a part of the community. So, even from the beginning of the play, Othello is trying to find his identity within in his surroundings, making him vulnerable at the hands of Iago, volatile to anything that could go wrong, and alone with his thoughts after his decision making. After reading Act I, the audience is left with a sense of innocence and goodness in Othello's character, however, it doesn't take an investigator to realize that the unstableness and malleability of his soul will be easy to manipulate by Iago.
It does not take long for the play to quickly shift gears from discussing how great and heroic Othello the warrior is into Othello being fully involved in Iago's plot for revenge. By Act III, the middle of the plays action, Iago has convinced Othello that his wife is having an affair with Michael Cassio, the lieutenant of the Venetian Army appointed by Othello himself. An important question to ask for this section of the play is, how could the good-hearted, brave Othello automatically assume his loving wife is cheating? The answer is simple, complete manipulation of his actions by Iago. Othello is proved to be an extremely gullible person, as Iago never offers Othello legitimate proof of the affair. Critics suggest that Othello had begun to give into the stereotypes of his racial status as stated above. It is argued that Othello began to believe that he wasn't able to satisfy the needs of his wife because of his race and that he wasn't fit to do his job in the Venetian court. By not trusting in himself, Othello fully rendered himself at the feet of Iago for the remainder of the play.
