Merriam-Webster defines jealousy as “hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage.” Cassius is a main character in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. His tragic flaw is jealousy. His jealousy caused him to rope Brutus into a plot to assassinate Caesar, the “ruler of Rome.” Brutus and Cassius rope others into their plot, ultimately creating their group of conspirators. The Conspirators eventually kill Caesar in Act III and set Rome into turmoil. Marc Antony, Caesar’s second in command, and Octavius, Caesar’s son, go to war with Cassius and Brutus. The war comes to an end with Brutus and Cassius killing themselves. In William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Cassius’s tragic flaw of jealousy leads to his downfall …show more content…
He also believes this will bring him power. His downfall is shown in this quote because it shows what he’s going to do to no longer feel this way. It is also shown because the plot is based on his jealousy of Caesar.
Cassius’s jealousy caused all the events in the play to be set in motion, and thus led to his downfall. A prominent example of this would be when Brutus and Cassius are speaking and Cassius is trying to convince Brutus to join his plot by telling a story of how Caesar had to ask for Cassius’s help because he was too weak and tired to continue swimming. This leads Cassius to say, “Did I the tired Caesar. And this a man / Is now become a god, and Cassius / A wretched creature and must bend his body / If Caesar carelessly but nod on him” (I.ii.115-118). This quote in modern times would say, “Caesar was tired. And this man is supposed to be a god, and I am a wretched creature who has to kneel to Caesar.” Cassius is implying that Caesar is supposed to be this strong god and Cassius a wretched creature, yet Cassius had to save Caesar from drowning. This quote leads to Cassius’s downfall because it shows his jealousy through what he is feeling towards Caesar. His downfall is also shown because this scene is Cassius trying to convince Brutus to join his plot. Another quote that proves Cassius’s tragic flaw occurs after Brutus has died. Messala is asking
He repeatedly appeals to Brutus’ anger and ego, making Caesar out to be a power hungry maniac. In one of his speeches, he says “He doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus, and we petty men walk
Even on the trip to the Senate, he had an opportunity to see the exact plan for his death. But his patriotism, or possibly his false humility, propelled him to say “What touches us ourself shall be last served” (III. i. 8). Through all of these times where his free will could have helped Caesar avoid his fate, he instead chose to ignore them, ultimately leading to his downfall.
There are many different emotions like sadness, happiness, and joyfulness just to name a few that people can experience. One of the most powerful and sometimes dangerous emotions is Jealousy. Jealousy is a powerful emotion that most people experience at some point in their life. However, not everyone is affected in the same way. Some people are filled with insecurity. While others are filled with fear. Most people experience anger. In William Shakespeare’s Othello the audience learns through the characterization of Othello and Iago, the symbolism of the handkerchief, and through Othello denying that he is jealous we learn that jealousy can make people behave irrationally in certain circumstances.
He states that Brutus is just as noble and worthy as Caesar. (Act 1, scene ii). He says that Brutus cannot see what everyone else does and recognize his worthiness. Cassius and the other senators do not want Caesar to be king because they would lose all their power. Cassius is slowly luring Brutus in to do his dirty work. He builds Brutus’s confidence up to make him thing that killing Caesar is the right thing to do. Cassius is basically playing with Brutus’s head because he knows Brutus will listen. So, Brutus joins the conspirators in killing Caesar. Cassius tells Brutus that it is for the good of Rome, and that he is saving them from a dictatorship. Cassius is going for Brutus’s weakest point, his care and concern for Rome. He knows that if Brutus believes the people distrust Caesar, then he will be convinced that Caesar must be thwarted. Brutus knew that if Caesar was crowned, he would never have a chance, and he was power hungry. This is what ultimately leads to the tragedy of Julius Caesar. After Brutus kills Caesar off, he starts to feel guilty for killing his friend, thus creating an internal conflict. Brutus was so confident that the plan would go exactly as planned that he fell apart when they encountered problems. If Brutus and the other conspirators had taken more time to think things through, they probably would have been more prepared for the situation that was handed to them.
Jealousy is a big theme in the book Julius Caesar, it is present throughout the book. Jealousy is shown by the conspirators, they are jealous of Caesar because many people of Rome favor him as a leader and he is respected by many noble Romans. Since the beginning of the book Cassius is always showing jealousy and resentment towards Caesar, even though Caesar is not a bad man and treats his people
Cassius is a senator in Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar.” He is jealous of Julius Caesar because of all the power and love he gets, as shown in the quote "Why man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus and we petty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about."(Shakespeare 7) This quote basically states that Cassius is tired of Julius being better and that he thinks they should not be beneath him. Cassius also seeks to get his own power. To achieve this he manipulates Brutus as shown by this quote, “Well, Brutus, thou art noble I see, thy honourable metal may be wrought From that it is disposed: therefore it is meet That noble minds keep ever with their likes For who so firm that cannot be seduced?” (Shakespeare 12) This
Caesar’s weaknesses exhibits that he is not fit to rule the Roman empire, and therefore should not have
In Act I, Scene ii, Lines 97-99, Cassius says, “I was born free as Caesar; so were you. We both have fed as well, and we can both endure the winter cold as well as he” (Anderson et al. 783). Cassius is jealous because Caesar has all the power and he thinks he does not deserve it all. Caesar is not any more special than anyone else. He should not have been treated differently until he proved himself worthy. Even though Cassius was jealous, he should not have stabbed Caesar because of it. Cassius appears to think Caesar is weak because he mentions a time where they were swimming and Caesar got tired and asked him to rescue him
William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a story of envy, downfall, dishonesty, and true loyalty. The story begins with a celebration of Julius Caesar’s return home from a victorious battle. The people of Rome are excited for Caesar’s return, as they value and respect him as a potential leader, but there are also a handful of people that express their unhappiness with all of the attention surrounding Caesar. Caius Cassius is among those handful of individuals unhappy with Caesar’s popularity. Cassius is envious of Caesar and does not understand why he has gained so much power over the people of Rome, which brings him to the conclusion that he needs to bring about the fall of Caesar. Cassius expresses the issue to his brother-in-law
Jealousy is described as someone who is feeling or showing envy of someone because of their achievements and advantages. Jealousy plays a major role in Shakespeare’s play Othello. There are many instances throughout the play that show jealousy between the characters. Throughout the play, jealousy is used for destructive purposes only. I believe that Iago longed to get revenge on Othello for previous issues. This only results in a long line of accusations and disputes between the characters in Othello.
Brutus, the "noblest Roman of them all" (Julius Caesar,5.5.68) is the only innocent conspirator, according to Marcus Antonius. This tragedy presents the epitome of jealousy, along with envy, greed, and avarice. It is a true story based on Plutarch's "Life of Julius Caesar." Several of the major players are struck by jealousy and greed -- certainly Cassius, who begins this evil conspiracy to assassinate Caesar out of personal jealousy, but needs Brutus' credibility to make it happen. We eventually see Mark Antony gloat in his new-found influence and power over the mass of citizenry when he pronounces their interest in Caesar's will.
father, a man of authority, does not approve of. He consciously decides to run away and marry her despite this, demonstrating that he rebels against authority. Another similarity between the two novels is within the characters Cassius and Helena obtaining motivation for their respective betrayals through jealousy. As Cassius notices the praise that the common citizens of Rome heap upon Caesar when he merely walks down a road, he becomes angry and jealous, and wonders “why “[Caesar’s] name [is] sounded more than” his own, and when it is, why his is not respected as highly as Caesar’s (Julius Caesar 1.2.142-143). Cassius, alike to Brutus, believes that Caesar’s rule will do more harm than good to their beloved city of Rome, and feels that he
At the start of the timelessly classic play, Julius Caesar was in the final stages of parlaying his military prowess and growing cult of personality into enthronement as the long absent autocrat of Rome. His brother-in-arms, Marcus Brutus, after fighting at Caesar’s side for so long, was forced to weigh his loyalty to Caesar against his loyalty to Rome, setting the stage for the troubling events to come. As Caesar’s divine right to rule and infallibility were trumpeted throughout Rome, others were not so convinced of his purity and worthiness. Cassius, a dissident Senator, opened Brutus’ eyes to the circumstances unfolding before them and to what could be lost should Caesar take the throne. Cassius voiced his opposition strongly, saying:
As one of Shakespeare’s amazing and archetypical tragically written, it is most definitely a dramatic work with a serious theme. The play being about Caesar being betrayed by one of his bestest of friends and the aftermath of his assassination. Although at the time Rome is supposed to be anti-monarchy, Caesar sees himself as an ambitious and an all too powerful king. He is extremely arrogant and finds himself awe-inspiring, which would end up being his tragic flaw.
Jealousy is the sensation to envy someone and have the desire to avenge someone. The infamous play Othello portrays the consequences of jealousy. Throughout the play, Othello tragic flaw is his own jealousy. Othello jealousy causes a transition of character. Othello was once the charming noble gentleman and it is now turned into a vicious callous monster. Othello’s jealousy was his downfall that cost the deaths of multiple lives.