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Julius Caesar Ambition Analysis

Decent Essays

“We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community… Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.” These words, compiled by American labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, perfectly convey the topic of ambition. A good portrayal of ambition can be seen through historical figure Julius Caesar, a famous leader of ancient Rome in the forties BCE. Caesar completed many conquests during his reign of power and expanded the Roman territory. His great success was followed by his appointment of dictator by the Romans, which destroyed the Republic and aggravated many Senators. Through their love of Rome, a group of conspirators killed Caesar in forty-four BCE by stabbing him in the chest twenty-three times. This historic tragedy has since then been interpreted by renowned playwright Shakespeare. Shakespeare uses the character Caesar in his play, Julius Caesar, to skillfully convey the idea that ambition is a force that can both hurt and help one’s reputation.
Caesar’s ambition gains him great admiration from the Romans, for he has gone on many conquests and won many battles in the name of Rome. After Pompey’s defeat, many follow Caesar as he parades through Rome. Of the matter, a Cobbler explains to Flavius, a tribune, “But indeed, sir, we make holiday, to see / Caesar and to rejoice in his triumph,” (I. I. 32-33). The Cobbler reveals the common

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