In Othello, maintaining a positive reputation is of great importance to many characters. Othello among all of them is extremely obsessed with this as he has always had to work harder to be respected because of the color of his skin. When Desdemona's loyalty is questioned by Iago, Othello wants concrete proof of this accusation. In the end, all Othello really does is the reality-altering perceptions planted by Iago. These perceptions of situations, events, objects and people lead Othello to break with reality. This shows how reputation is vulnerable to the perception of others. In Act 3, Scene 3 of this play, Iago is able to convince Othello of Desdemona's unfaithful character through the way he carefully formulates his responses to Othello. Iago's reputation is that of an honest man and many people, as well as Othello, believe him to be trustworthy. Since Iago's perception is positive to the vast majority, he has influence in shaping the perception of others' reputations as his word is taken with little to no argument. Given that Desdemona is yet another character that many praise and trust, it may seem difficult at first to understand why Othello believes Iago rather than his wife (Cavell, p. 129), as at the beginning of the play he praises the his virtuous character. Since Othello was never aware of Desdemona's supposed infidelity until Iago tells him of his suspicions, Othello begins to place his trust in him. He was blind and lets Iago lead the way to enlighten him on the matter. She thinks of honest Iago as he is known to many and believes that he “sees and knows more, much more, than he reveals” (3.3.259) and that he “knows all the qualities, with an learned spirit, / Of human nature. .. middle of paper... rather than a crazed murderer, the problem of maintaining appearances or reputation is obvious if Iago's true intentions had been discovered earlier in the play, then Desdemona would still be alive The alteration of perceptions was a key element in convincing Othello of his wife's infidelity. Shakespeare's flawed tragic hero was deceived by a seemingly honest character but, as the play reveals, perception is not a true indicator of a person's true self. The power of perception is evident in the fact that a reputation can be improved or destroyed through the perception of others in certain situations. Othello's obsession with maintaining his reputation was his ultimate downfall as when he became blind holding it all together he forgot to think with reason and instead thought with an irrational mind full of jealousy..