Vanessa Miller. Ms. Milliner. Ees21Qh-05. January, 2017.

Vanessa Miller Ms. Milliner EES21QH-05 January, 2017 Mindset and Grit in Othello Mindset is the ability to either motivate yourself,or hold yourself back. Mindset can be broken down into two categories: fixed and growth. People with a fixed mindset believe the only intelligence they have is what they are born with. They don’t believe that you can keep learning more and more to become more intelligent. People with fixed mindsets are constantly trying to prove their worth, which is why they tend to take it hard if they fail. They put themselves down because they feel that they aren’t good enough. People with growth mindsets, however, are the complete opposite. They don’t get discouraged when they fail, they simply see it as a way of†¦show more content†¦Iago also has a fixed mindset. His whole plan to destroy Othello started because Othello appointed Cassio lieutenant instead of him. He believes he is too good and too experienced to simply be Othello’s ensign, he believes he deserves to be lieutenant. In Mindset: The New Psych ology of Success, author Carol Dweck says, â€Å"If you only have a certain amount of intelligence, a certain personality, and a certain moral character - well, then you’d better prove that you have a healthy dose of them.† Iago is basically trying to â€Å"prove† himself throughout the whole play. People with a fixed mindset feel that they’re stuck on whatever level of intelligence they’re born on. In Iago’s mind, he’s stuck on the level of being a lieutenant, and spends the entire play trying to prove that he deserves to be lieutenant over Cassio. He doesn’t accept the fact that he didn’t get the position and instead of trying harder to get a better position, he tries to destroy his competition. The way Othello is spoken highly of in regards to his achievements on the battlefield, his ableness to lead men and stay calm even in the middle of bombs being blown up, it would appear that he has grit. But throughout the play itself, he hasn’t shown much grit. He married Brabantio’s daughter, Desdemona, behind Brabantio’s back, and showed some grit when Brabantio accused him of using witchcraft to steal his daughter away. But despite that, he