Julius Caesar William Shakespeare has written many plays that touched millions of people throughout the centuries. His works are still the most controversial ones favored by many Literature critics because his plays generate spontaneous debates on issues such as friendship, revenge, human ambitions and moralities that lead to dynamic discussion among people. In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, friendship vs. duty is one of the major themes that is developed. One's struggle over the choice between friendship and duty is depicted through the main character, Brutus, as he battles himself to choose between his duty to carry out people's will and his own conscious hitting on his faithfulness to his best friend Caesar. Although …show more content…
Cassius, who does not want Caesar to have all the power in Rome, plans to form a conspiracy to kill Caesar, and other nobles, who believe that Caesar's death is the only way to save the Roman citizens from a tyrannical ruler and to retain republican government, were easily persuaded to join the conspiracy with Cassius. However, although Brutus agrees that Caesar should be killed for the better of the country, joining the conspiracy was extremely pressing and strenuous for him, because Caesar was his good friend. " Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dea, to live all free men? As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honor him; but as he was ambitious, I slew him" (Act 3, Scene 2, 25 - 27) As Brutus was struggling with his mind, (Cassius speaks of an idealized "Rome" of the past in which kingship was unthinkable. " Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods!... O, you and I have heard our fathers say, There was a Brutus once that would have brooked Th' eternal devil to keep his state in Rome As easily as a king" (Shakespear 1.2. 151 - 161) Cassius' reminder of an idealized "Rome" draws Brutus's heart toward joining the conspiracy with Cassius, because he realizes that while Cassius and he were
Caesar Augustus the man who found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble. Caesar Augustus, one of the strongest and most strategic leaders in roman history, but this was all much later in his life, he started off in a very poor state yet through hard work and determination he came out on top to be known throughout the generations.
Antony and Cassius, unlike Brutus, never separate their private affairs from their public actions while Brutus tries to prove himself by acting only with respect to honor and virtue, completely ignoring his personal concerns. For example, Cassius disliked the fact that Caesar became “godlike” in the eyes of the Romans, so he leads Brutus to believe that Caesar had become too powerful and must die by sending him forged letters claiming that the Roman people support the death of Caesar, ultimately converting Brutus to his cause. At last Brutus ends up murdering his good friend in an act he truly believed was honorable. Marc Antony, who also shares in Cassius’ selfish trait, persuaded the conspirators that he is on their side, therefore gaining their leniency. He proceeds to persuade the plebeians of the conspirators’ injustice and gains support of the masses.
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.
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).
In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, one must read the text closely to track the shifting motivations and loyalties of each character as the play progresses. An important factor that must be kept in mind while reading is the degree of loyalty, in other words, the degree to which characters act out of a motivation to help others. Throughout the play, each character's current degree of loyalty to others is clearly exhibited by words or behavior – this holds true for the characters of Brutus, Cassius, Antony, Portia, and Calpurnia. The focus on loyalty is critical because before the play ends an even-handed justice is meted out to a number of people who fail to live up to an expected standard of
Cassius explains to Brutus how they need to get rid of Caesar for good and that the only way is to kill him. Eventually, Brutus agrees with Cassius and they invite a couple more people to join them. Cassius was doing this for his own benefit, but not Brutus. Brutus was doing this, killing his closest friend who he loved dearly in his heart, because he thought he was
Cassius proves hisself The most important character by kick-starting this whole extravaganza. To start this process Cassius tell Brutus “Like a
The definition of tragic hero is a person of noble birth with heroic potential. In Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, Brutus is actually the tragic hero in this. Brutus is the tragic hero because Brutus would risk Brutus’ best friend Caesar for the people of Rome. Another reason Brutus is the tragic hero is because Brutus thinks more people is more important than one loved one. Brutus is the tragic hero because Brutus would do better as a political leader than what caesar did.
Jolynn Roberts In the beginning of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, your mind is completely blind to the fact that turning or even killing Caesar is possible. Though, you soon learn, not everyone is a fan of Caesar. And, well, let’s just say the people that don’t agree with him are pretty good at persuading others to join their evil plans. Brutus in specific, one of Caesar's best friends.
Furthermore, Cassius continues on playing into Brutus ego and feeding it more negative feelings and then points out the fact that he will make his father proud if he does something to help Rome take Caesar down from power, saying how his name Brutus is no less nor worse than the name of Caesar, to which Brutus replies to Cassius that he has made valid point, and at this point is where we get to observe how Brutus is being coerced by Cassius convincing Brutus to think about it, and he will consider his words, but he finishes that conversation with these words talking in the third person “Brutus will prefer to be a villager than to repute himself as son of Rome under this hard conditions that this times has led to us”, for what Cassius was proud that his words has made an impact to Brutus so he can be part of his conspiracy. Cassius continuous questioning of how unfair and unsafe it is that one person should tower over so many others. Brutus ends the conversation by saying that he is willing to consider Cassius ' words.
Brutus has logical intentions to kill Caesar for the future of Rome, but Cassius only wants him gone for personal gain. If Cassius
Cassius and Brutus both plan Caesar’s death. Cassius Uses disobedience in order to obtain a common goal that they all seek to have which is power. Cassius sees it as a way to gain more power for himself while destroying the king, who at the moment is Caesar. Cassius is portrayed as a greedy person who seeks all of the power and will try his best to do anything that would get him the power and allow him to keep the power. Although Cassius and Brutus seek the same goal which is gaining the power, they are two totally different people.
Cassius is aware of Brutus’ fear of Caesar becoming king of Rome. Cassius exploits Brutus’ willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of the Republic. He appeals to Brutus' sense of honor, nobility, and pride to persuade Brutus that he must betray Caesar and join the conspirators. Cassius says to Brutus, “Well, Brutus, thou art noble; yet, I see/ Thy honorable metal may be wrought/ From that it is disposed; Therefore it is meet/
Brutus’ reason for wanting to kill Caesar was not for his own good, but for the good of the people because he believed that having power would corrupt Caesar. After the murder, Brutus realized that he may not have done what was best after all and also that Cassius did not do it for the good of the people but for himself. In Cassius’ situation the lack of power is what caused all of his actions. He was so power hungry that he took someone else’s life to get the power he was looking for, and then he took his own life because he didn’t receive what he was after. The two characters show the reader that a possible theme for the play can be the power can often take over and bring out the worst in people. Cassius’ want of power did not only doom himself but also two others.