“Self-forgetful: Forget of oneself or one's needs” (Oxford Dictionary). In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare has his readers consider: does worrying more about others than yourself cause an individual to fail or prevail in the face of adversity? Caesar shows his ambition by trying to do what is best for the Empire but becomes feared by some. Cassius believes Caesar is a dictator and quickly puts an end to it. Brutus, a great friend of Caesar, lets his worries of others ruin his life. Shakespeare explores the nature of altruism through Caesar's’ power-crazy ambition, Cassius’ letters of lies, and Brutus’ overly trusting attitude. Great introduction.
Caesar believes he is doing what is best for his empire but becomes (choose one of these words) overly ambitious and threatening. Caesar says to his peers that he is the best person to rule Rome because he is “unshaked of motion” meaning that he makes the right decision the first time and sticks with that decision no matter what (99). However, Caesar’s peers view this egotistical view as overly ambitious and threatening. While trying to
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Brutus says, “Am I entreated/ to speak and strike?” when faced with the decision of killing his best friend (53). Cassius only makes him answer such a hard question because he is thinking about the Empire. During the Battle of Philippi, Cassius sends Titinius towards the enemy. Hearing screams, Cassius believes Titinius is captured and decided to end his life. Before he has his slave stab him, Cassius says, “O, coward that I am to live so long/ To see my best friend ta’en before my face!” (193). During this time, Cassius believes he needs to kill himself as Caesar's “revenge”. He thinks Titinius is dead and blames himself for it. Cassius's altruistic attitude causes him to only worry about others.Unlike Caesar, both Cassius and Brutus commit suicide rather than being
In the Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Caesar was a person who would go against his friends not because he hated them, but because he loved his country more. Julius Caesar was a politically adept and popular leader of the Roman Republic who significantly transformed what became know as the Roman Empire by greatly expanding its geographic reach and establishing its imperial system. Caesar later betrayed his country and was stabbed 23 times. Martony volunteered to speak at Caesar's funeral and roused an angry mob with his speech. Brutus and Cassius quickly fled the city. Caesar's nephew Octavius arrived in Rome, where he formed a new triumvirate with Antony and Lepidus. In Greece, Brutus and Cassius with an army declared
In order to analyse Julius Caesar’s impact on the Republic, his background and furthermore his motives as a leader, must be deconstructed. Caesars ambition has been assumed to largely be the result of the accumulated events in which he underwent in his young life (Cunliffe, B. 1994:93). Caesar up during a time of social war and violence within Rome from which his perspective was presumably shaped by the chaos of the disintegrating Republic (Bradley, P. 1990:369). His determination to hold power was exhibited in several points of his life. One of which, includes his
Cassius, before his suicide, said that he was a "coward that I am to live so long to see my best friend ta'en before my face!" (Shakespeare 5.3.36-37). Cassius makes the decision to kill Caesar and also to deceive his fellow council members. Cassius "consciously frames the circumstances of his own death as a poetic justice" (Gil 91) to Caesar. Cassius gives Pindarus the duty of killing him, and Cassius, saying his final words, "Caesar, thou art revenged even with the sword that killed thee." (Shakespeare 5.3.50-51) dies. He did not have the courage to kill himself in the end, so he had to "beg his slave Pindarus for death" (Gil 91) Cassius feels guilty because of his acts against Caesar, so his suicide was an "act of friendship" (Blits). Even though Cassius kills Caesar for his own advantage in Rome, his guilt affects him to the point of killing
As the play goes on, the conspirators go to war. Cassius and Brutus have an argument before and say their proper goodbyes to each other in case any of them get killed in the battle. Cassius told Pindarus to stab him with the sword he killed Caesar with. Titinius then sees Cassius is dead and kills himself because he didn’t want to live without his best friend. After these two important deaths, Brutus then sees the Ghost of Caesar on the battlefield and is told that it is time for him to die. As he is sitting with the few remaining men who survived the battle, Brutus asks his men to hold his sword so he can run into it and die. As the play ends, Brutus dies as dishonorable, gullible, and unloyal. He is a dishonorable man who deserved to die after he killed his best friend Julius
In William Shaksphere play Julius Caesar Antony pleeds ''he hath brought many captiver home to Rome whos reasons did the general coffers fill: did this in Caesar seem ambitious''? Caesars lack of ambitious can be seen by Caesar acting in the best intrests of his community. They saw him as a superior solider.
Out of the many flaws that Julius Caesar had, one of the largest flaws that he had was his pride and his ambition. Having both of these attributes led to him being power hungry as well. For the most part Shakespeare’s play focuses on the idea of Julius being ‘power hungry’ for immortality. Despite his several flaws he is still able to be considered a hero for several different reasons. For one, he recognized his flaw, he was aware of what was thought of him because he saw it that way himself.
He compares Caesar to a serpent in an egg which he must kill before it hatches. Brutus knows that Caesar is gaining too much power too quickly and it must come to an end. He shows his belief in a republic government by saying, “We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar / And in the spirit of men there is no blood" (II.i. 180-181). Cassius is a character who is jealous of Caesar’s power and also wants it to end. He forms a group of conspirators who are against Julius Caesar. He persuades Brutus to help him and the other conspirators to kill Caesar during the ides of March. Brutus joins but only due to his love for Rome and its people. He proves this by saying "Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius." (II.i. 179). This also proves his love for Caesar because he wants to kill him with some sort of honor. Brutus wants the citizens to look at him not as a murderer but for someone who cares for his country. He expresses his ideas toward the stabbing by saying , “If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer-not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more" (III, ii, 17-19).
The definition of ambition is a strong desire to achieve something, usually requiring determination and hard work. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare based on true events from Roman history. This play demonstrates ambition through Caesar. Caesar is a highly successful but ambitious political leader of Rome. The people of Rome wanted him to become their king, and conspirators saw that as a threat. Many of the conspirators feel that he is too ambitious and going to become a tyrant, so they plot to murder him. Caesar’s ambition is also what worries Brutus, and ultimately leads to Brutus joining the conspiracy to murder Caesar. The conspirators along with Brutus successfully murder Caesar. Throughout the play there are multiple instances where Caesar’s overly ambitious character was detrimental and lead to his downfall. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar written by Shakespeare, through Caesar, demonstrates how ambition may be the force propelling one towards accomplishment, it can still lead to one’s downfall.
Brutus expresses honorable traits such as devotion to his companion Caesar as he emotionally expresses that “[he] [loves] him well” and he also “[loves] the name of honor more than [he] fears death” when speaking to Cassius regarding Caesar (1.2.89). Brutus illustrates the true extent of his intimate attachment for not only Caesar, but also for the people of Rome as he states a willingness to die in order to protect its democracy. As Brutus’s obsession with Caesar’s ever-growing power intensifies he confesses his fears to his friend, Cassius, who mirrors and supports his opinion. Instead of assuaging his fears, Cassius recklessly encourages Brutus to act. Nobody counters Cassius’s judgement, thus urging Brutus to take action. Brutus perfectly represents the unwritten code of mos maiorum of the early Roman Republic because, like his ancestors, he strives to preserve the democratic state. Although he loves Caesar, he realizes that his existence threatens Roman democracy. Cassius persistently manipulates Brutus however he refuses to budge unless it “aught toward the general good” for his beloved Rome (1.2.85). Rather than taking action for personal needs such as power the way Cassius performs, the selfless Brutus strictly operates for the general good of Rome, refusing to act for any other cause. Brutus reflects the Roman ideal leader since at this period most leaders act in selfishness. The reliable Brutus, now aware if Caesar’s impurities, only serves for good and keeps his honorable reputation of the general public. During act 2.1, the self-sacrificing Brutus convinces himself that action must occur to deliver the citizens’ freedom from Caesar’s threatening ambition which motivates him to conspire against and murder Caesar, consequentially making him a fugitive. Pushing
Julius Caesar is an egocentric leader without a drop of character or disposition in his
Sinister Ambition Ambition, in its most evil of states, has sent once virtuous leaders to certain doom, and in the case of Julius Caesar, ambition condemned him to his fate. In the end, it delivered him to his doom. Caesar performed multiple acts that deliberately showcased an ugly demon within him. This demon presents itself as the true entity of ambition. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, as written by William Shakespeare, reveals the dilemma that a group of senators have when they decide to save Rome from Caesar’s rule, as they fear he has become too ambitious and will slowly but surely destroy Rome.
A Noble Man vs the People In (I,iii,152)“ O, he sits high in the hearts of the people”. This is a quote from the tragic story of Julius Caesar and is relevant to this paper, because we will look at the characters of Brutus and Antony. This paper will go over two specific parts in the story. The speech of noble Brutus and why and how he justified the killing of Caesar.
“Even the noblest men can be seduced by power; it has the power to kill, to distort, and to corrupt” Through this passage, Matthew Sims captures in essence how individuals often turn to betrayal and deception in order to gain their heart’s desires. This characteristic is not only present in life, but can also be seen in modern and classical literature, including the well known work of Julius Caesar. In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the lust for power transcends any one individual and ultimately leads to death and corruption of not only Caesar, but also of Brutus and Cassius. The play begins with Caesar parading through the streets of Rome as he triumphs in his victory over Pompey. However, Brutus, Cassius, and many others hatch a plot to
Ever wondered what it takes to be a good king or ruler? Julius Caesar is one of the most famous rulers of all time. He was one of Rome’s greatest and most powerful leaders. His changes to the empire helped take Rome to new levels of success. The life of Caesar was short, yet great. It is important to learn about this great man and his many accomplishments.