The theme of honor in Julius Caesar is portrayed as a mask that corrupt people hide behind. Brutus is the perfect role model for honor that all try to follow behind, “I love the name of honour more than I fear death” (I. ii. 36). Brutus would rather die than be unhonorable, and he lets this mask his decision making. He doesn’t want to kill Caesar because of his honor, then changes his mind and kills Caesar, because of honor. The reason Cassius and Cinna wanted Brutus involved with the plan was so people would take it seriously, and would be more prone to forgive the conspirators for killing Caesar. The conspirators realize the Romans would listen and forgive an honorable man, “O Cassius, if you could But win noble Brutus to our party-“ (I.
In Act I, Scene 2, the purpose of Cassis’ speech is to persuade Brutus to distrust Caesar, and to join him in a conspiracy against Caesar. In his speech to Brutus, Cassius uses a variety of persuasive and rhetorical devices to persuade Brutus to join his cause against Caesar. Cassius is desperate to have Brutus on his side because of his close relation to Caesar and great respect and trust from the people of Rome. The tone of Cassius’ speech to Brutus is introduced with Cassius appealing to Brutus’ sense of responsibility towards Rome. Cassius tells Brutus that he has, “Heard where many of the best respect in Rome, except immortal Caesar, speaking of Brutus and groaning underneath this age’s yoke, have wished that noble Brutus had his eyes” (I.ii.64-68). Cassius tells Brutus that he is admired by Rome, appealing to Brutus’ value of putting Rome ahead of himself. Cassius uses knowledge of this value to his advantage in his speech, insisting that killing Caesar will be for the good of Rome. Cassius also introduces his speech by persuading Brutus that he is honorable and can be trusted. Cassius tells Brutus that, “Honor is the subject of my story”(I.ii.99). This appeals to the speaker Cassius’ credibility and has an ethical appeal on Brutus, or ethos. This appeal is effective because it connects with something that Brutus values, honor. In Cassius’ speech to Brutus, he uses a comparison comparing Caesar to a Colossus saying, “Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus, and we petty men walk under his huge legs and peep about to find ourselves dishonorable graves”(I.ii.142-144). Cassius is using an analogy comparing Caesar to Colossus, which was a large statue. Cassius again uses Brutus’ value of honor to persuade when he tells Brutus that if Caesar is in power, he and Brutus will die dishonorable deaths. During the time period, an honorable death was very important to noble Romans, especially Brutus. When Cassius is comparing the two names Brutus and Caesar, he uses the strategy of asking rhetorical questions. “Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that ‘Caesar?’ Why should that name be sounded more than yours?(I.ii.149-151).” Cassius also asks, “Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed that he
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).
Through the tragedy of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare showed the importance of respect between couples. Through not found in primary manuscripts, Shakespeare effectively developed the perceptive and loyal personalities of the wives. Wedded to Portia, Brutus distanced Portia from his emotional battle. Aware of this, Portia spoke to Brutus showing great oratory skills as she emphasized three-points displaying why Brutus must consult her. Likewise, Calpurnia pushed persistently to convince her husband, Caesar, to remain in the safe confines of their villa, because she noticed the oddities occurring and knew the severity of her dream. Though in a worldly environment, the godly principles of listening to wise council, but also submitting to one’s spouse
In William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, many themes are developed. One character, Brutus, displays a significant theme that develops through the entire play. The theme that is supported most by this character is the idea that honor and respect are gained through performing works for the good of others instead of for personal gain.
Brutus is truly “an honorable man.” He was initially resistant to Cassius’ suggestion to betray Caesar. Also, Brutus says, “not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.”(3.2.22) This proves that he only does what he feels is necessary to protect the Rome. In act 4, Brutus sees the ghost of Caesar, and this tells us that he is regretting his actions. He never felt right about killing Caesar afterwards. In fact, when he realized that he was wrong, he used the knife that he stabbed Caesar to take his own
Respect is possessing a deep admiration for a certain person based on their behavior and abilities. When a character earns someone’s respect, it infers they have a healthy friendship or relationship. They know they can trust and also rely on the person. To gain this form of high regard, characters must first gain an understanding for them. Understanding is developing and processing the meaning of character’s words and actions. This helps characters learn about the person’s true nature. In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Brutus’ soldiers bravely go into battle for him and Antony honors the fallen Brutus. Shane is the novel by Jack Schaefer in which both Joe and Bob Starrett learn to see the true values Shane
While speaking to Cassius, he states how if it be aught toward the general good, set honor in one eye and death i' th' other, and I will look on both indifferently” (I.ii.87-89). This quote addresses the fact that Brutus would gladly die for the good of his country. One may analyze this in belief that he is an honorable man in this statement, as he would go to great lengths as to die for the people of Rome. However, it is also important to question his motives behind the will to die for his country. Why else would he be in constant search of actions and statements to make his public image look
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.
Brutus wanting to be very honorable is part of his tragic flaw. He will do crazy stuff just be honorable. While talking with Cassius about why he is not himself, Brutus said “For it let the gods so speed me as I love the name of honor than I fear the name of death” (I.II. 91-92). This quote shows that being honorable is a very big thing for Brutus since he would rather die with honor than die without honor. After talking with Lucius Brutus says, “It must be by his death, and for my part I know no personal cause to spurn at him but
The way Brutus saw in was his honor was that he killed Caesar for the greatness of Rome and not for a greedy purpose. Brutus believed what he was doing was the right thing for a place that he loved so much. He even told the people of rome that if he ever become that way to kill him with the same dagger that he used on Caesar. When Brutus speaks he actually believes everything he said but he repeats himself over and over. In today’s time when you repeat yourself over and over people start to get irritated.
Brutus believes nothing should be done without honor, which he illustrates by killing Caesar publicly. Some would say killing for political reasons, is more honorable than killing someone for pure revenge. He
Many people can agree that committing murder isn’t an honorable thing to do. The thought of killing Caesar eats Brutus up both consciously and subconsciously. Brutus said “From the time you decide to do something to the moment you actually do it, everything feels unreal, like a horrid dream” (II, i, 60-66). The realization of killing his best friend creates some turmoil inside Brutus. Even though Brutus claims he is still being honorable while he is in the conspiracy, his true underlying thoughts prove otherwise.
In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, an honorable man, Brutus, is planning to overthrow the soon to be king, Julius Caesar. Brutus is persuaded by Cassius that Caesar is a liar, too ambitious, weak, and not fit to be Rome’s king. Brutus soon believed Cassius, and they and the conspirators made a plan to kill Caesar. After Caesar’s death, Brutus planned to justify his actions of killing Caesar at his funeral in his speech to the people. After Brutus’s speech, the citizens of Rome were all in agreement that Brutus did the right thing for Rome. Brutus then decides to allow Caesar’s best friend, Antony, to speak in honor of Caesar. Antony speaks, and he convinces the citizens that Brutus’s actions were unjust and turned the people against Brutus.
The opinions of our conspirators on the main stage are highly varied as they both have two completely different ways of leading others. Brutus for one was a strong and honorable man, forcing himself to stand tall and do whatever the noble thing is no matter what the resulting consequence would be. If it was something that could have been deemed dishonorable then Brutus wouldn’t give it a second thought. Honor was Brutus’s selection of tactics, no matter which way the wind would blow. This is shown in the play when Brutus refuses the oath in act two, scene one. His honorable tactics were what paved his road when he said that they should head to Philippi to meet Octavius and Antony in act four scene three, rather than wait for them to wear themselves out. This shows his honorable nature by presenting us with the fact that he would rather meet his opponent half way and defeat them on equal grounds rather than wait for them to approach and to fight with them when they were at a
Brutus’ nobleness always came from good intentions even if they came out to be bad. “For Antony is but a limb of Caesar. Let’s be sacrificers, but not butchers.” (1. 2. 59-62). In this quotation Cassius is saying to Brutus that he has heard many romans speak good of him, Cassius is also saying that he overheard Romans saying that they wish Brutus could be in charge all the time. The reasoning behind their thinking, is because they think that Brutus can do something about the government to make it better. For Brutus is so noble this reveals that the people of Rome respect and honor Brutus, and want more of him. The people of Rome also think better of him than they do Caesar. The quote is led by the downfall of what Brutus had in mind for the killing of Caesar as a sacrificial and noble act, instead of brutally murdering him. “You shall not