Julius Caesar Betrayal Analysis

“And you shall speak/ in the same pulpit whereto I am going. / After my speech is ended” (945). This is a bad decision on his part because by allowing Antony to speak last, he has allowed Antony to use his words against him. As seen in the text, it is much easier to persuade when speaking last than when speaking first. After being chased out of Rome alongside Cassius, another misfortune is his fight with him over money problems. Brutus claims that Cassius has become greedy. He is furious that Cassius is not helping him even though they are allies. However, the money that Brutus wants is actually the money that Cassius is taking from the soldiers who buy their ranks. While he could just as easily do the same, he defines himself as too noble a person to do such a thing. “Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself/ Are much condemned to have an itching palm” (966). Cassius is offended, and tells Brutus that he should be glad that they are allies. Brutus’ enlightenment occurs around the time he commits suicide. Right before his demise, with his final dying breath, he mentions Caesar to put him at ease. “Farewell, good Strato – Caesar, now be still; / I killed thee with half so good a will” (997).

According to dictionary.com, a betrayer is defined as a person who is unfaithful in guarding or fulfilling a promise, or committing treachery, against another person. This is a flawless characterization of Brutus in William Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar”. Brutus was a senator of Rome who assassinated the future monarch, Julius Caesar. However, Brutus killed Caesar out of the love he had for his country’s wellbeing and to prevent the spread of tyranny. Conversely, the senator misleads his king into believing that he could be trusted. Brutus betrayed Caesar by deceiving him with false loyalty until he had a chance to kill the monarch, thus breaking the sacred vow of trust that came with their friendship.

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

     In the play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare shows how friends often betray each other. Julius Caesar is about to be crowned king of Rome, when some well-known Romans decide that it is not a good idea for this to happen. They form a conspiracy and kill Caesar. Brutus, an honorable Roman and a very good friend of Caesar’s, betrays Caesar by killing him for the good of Rome. Antony, Caesar’s best friend and another honorable Roman, betrays Brutus by turning against the conspirators. Cassius, a respected Roman, and Brutus betray each other by arguing and destroying their friendship. All this betraying lead to many deaths in the play.

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.

They both share long conversation together that shows Brutus’ gullibility. Brutus is gullible for having a strong stance to be on Caesar’s side in the beginning of their conversation; however, throughout of the process of them talking, he falls into Cassius’ trap of plotting against Caesar. This first starts off with Brutus stating “I love him well” when is asked by Cassius how he feels about Caesar (I, ii, 82). Here Brutus is clearing taking a stand for Caesar in front of Cassius. This is only at the beginning of the speech where one will find Brutus being on the side of Caesar since after this Cassius will sway him adrift. Cassius is first able to do this by saying “ ‘Brutus,’ and ‘Caesar.’ What should be in that ‘Caesar’/Why should that name be sounded more than yours” (I, ii,142). Here Cassius is comparing their names. He trying to get Brutus to see himself has the same as Caesar by also following with “write them together; your is as fair a name” (I, ii,143). This gets Brutus listening to Cassius and considering why he is not as valued as Caesar. Consequently, Brutus’ walls are being taken down on how he originally felt on Caesar. Yet, Cassius takes it a step forward into trapping Brutus with his words by bringing up his ancestors. Cassius builds confidence in him by saying “There was a Brutus once that would have brooked/ the eternal devil to keep his state in Rome/ As easily as a king” (I, ii, 195-161). Here he states a story of Brutus’ ancestor who took care of and protected Rome. At this point in their conversation, Brutus as goon from being on Caesars side to being on plan to take Ceasar down; nevertheless, Brutus’ change has been sparked by Cassius comparing them along with boosting his confidence. This showing how gullibly Brutus is. This gullibility then translates to a bad potential leader since it often puts much pressure on others that

While proving a point, Cassius brings up the analogy that they’re walking under Caesar like he's a giant and the nobles are being treated as if they’re slaves. He starts playing with Brutus’ emotions by saying, “Brutus and Caesar: What should be in that “Caesar”?/ Why should that name be sounded more than yours”(828)? Expressing the fact that their names are voiced with the same geniality, share the same weight, and share the same power he is making Brutus feel as if he is just as good as Caesar which he did not feel before. Using Brutus’ emotion Cassius executes

Brutus’ flaws that he has as a character made it easy for Cassius to convince Brutus. Since Cassius knows Brutus will not believe him right away and join the conspiracy, he decided to write fake letters and forge other citizens names to trick Brutus into thinking that this is what the people of Rome wanted. "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 outselves dishonorable graves. Men at some point are masters of their fates. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves, that we are underlings (Act 1 scene 2).” Cassius is making Brutus seem like they are Caesar's slaves when in reality they are two well respected and wealthy Senators in

Cassius manipulating Brutus is the start of tragedy for Brutus due to Cassius being the catalyst of Brutus’ death. Cassius shows this by influencing Brutus to join him and the other conspirators in killing Caesar. “And it is very much lamented, Brutus,/That you have no such mirrors as will turn/Your hidden worthiness into your eye,/That you might see your shadow. I have heard/Where many of the best respect in Rome” (Shakespeare, Julius Caesar I.ii.54-60). Cassius attempts to manipulate Brutus into killing Caesar with him by saying the people of Rome need him to. Cassius is fueling Brutus’ ego. Brutus takes the bait because of his aspiration to be the hero of Rome and his love for his country. Brutus does not realize he is being manipulated, which is what makes Cassius succeed at controlling him. Brutus does not realize he is being manipulated because he is oblivious to the outside world. He can only see and hear what Cassiuse is telling him about. This is what inevitably causes Brutus’ demise. Brutus’ death was impacted by his inability to see that Cassius was manipulated him. He is too blindsided by Cassius telling him he’ll be a hero to pay attention to the hidden meaning of his words. Cassius’ hunger for power leads him

Brutus is starting to change his mind about certain ideas and here’s why, Cassius is starting to tell Brutus how Caesar isn’t good and how he is so weak. Cassius told Brutus a story about how he saved his life before and how all the town people love Brutus so much more than Caesar. Now Brutus is putting all of those thoughts together and consideration and now is staring to believe him. This just shows that Cassius is malice and he has a certain plan coming up and also he will do anything to make his way happen. Cassius is trying so hard to make Brutus believe everything he is saying he is going out of his way to make it happen, and maybe Brutus might start to believe him after it all.

A betrayal is an act of disloyalty to oneself or another. In Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, it is one of the major themes portrayed throughout the story. It is shown blatantly, such as Cassius plotting to assassinate Caesar, but also in a subtler light, such as the neglection of one’s private values and concerns in favor of public image by many of the characters.

Breaking the band of trust or confidence in a relationship and fooling others are forms of betrayal. In Julius Caesar, betrayal is the “backbone” of the whole play and also throughout the play between other characters. Because of Cassius’ anger, the entire play is formed around Cassius betraying Caesar; there are examples of this deception before and after his homicide. The first time Caesar is betrayed, at the beginning of the play, when Marcillus and Flavius told the common people to leave, then they proceeded to take off the scarves from the statues of Caesar.

Is betrayal moral or immoral? In the Passage Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, both Brutus and Cassius betrays their best friend Caesar. Even though they both planned the death of Caesar, they both did it for a different reason. This could be one of the reasons why they both died in a different way. William Shakespeare uses the downfall of Brutus and Cassius to how that betrayal is immoral.

There are many different themes for the play Julius Caesar, but the most pronounced theme would be betrayal. Betrayal is going behind someone’s back and turning on them, or in this play even killing someone who you once looked up to. The conspirators claimed they had many reasons to kill Caesar, but that does not change how they once felt about him. Betrayal is a dark and horrible thing that people do to those whom they “loved.”

Throughout the duration of the tragedy, Brutus has received numerous comments about his personality and how good of a human being he is. In Scene II of Act I, Brutus is caught in a conversation with Cassius, in which Cassius off-handedly mentions, “Brutus, I do observe you now of late, I have not from your eyes that gentleness and show of love as I was wont to have” (I.ii.34-36). Cassius speaks up and tells Brutus he hasn’t been himself recently. Where-as normally he is “good-natured and affectionate”, something is bothering him and has steered him away from these normal emotions. Brutus states,