Theme Of Manipulation In Julius Caesar

Brutus keeps his concerns to himself until Cassius states that the most respected Romans “wished that noble Brutus had his eyes” (Shakespeare 2.1.64), or paid attention to the terrible government they have. Cassius furthermore manipulates Brutus with forged letters from the Roman citizens. These things give Brutus the belief that he has the power to save Rome. This shows how power harshly escalates his thoughts and intensifies who Brutus already was; it caused his lonesome worries to turn, or intensify, into the decision to murder Caesar.

Brutus was very naive and got influenced by Cassius very easily. Cassius was very smart and manipulated Brutus to make him agree with him. Cassius said, “If I were Brutus now, and he were Cassius, He should not humour me.” (Shakespeare, p.13). Brutus believed that his friend, Caesar had a negative impact on Rome decided to join the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. Even though Caesar was his friend, Brutus always showed loyalty towards Rome. Brutus' tragic flaw is that he is not good at figuring out other’s intentions, and trusted Cassius. If Brutus never listened to Cassius in the first place, he would not have joined the conspiracy, and might not have had a tragic end.

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.

In the play Julius Caesar written by the whimsical, sophisticated William Shakespeare both beloved Brutus and noble Antony deliver their most thorough attempts to win over the delicate citizens of Rome into what they believed was correct. Brutus gave it a valiant effort in trying to convince the citizens that murdering the noble Caesar was the best thing to do for the people. In the end Brutus’ effort was not enough because Antony was able to turn every Roman against Brutus and the other deceitful conspirators during his speech with his extraordinary use of logos, pathos, and ethos.

Tricking him into doing “what's good for the people” . The next way they try to manipulate Brutus is by flattering him. In the play Brutus is a very self conscious character. He might be the same as Caesar but he doesn't see this. “I have heard Where many of the best respect in Rome, Except Immortal Caesar speaking of Brutus and groaning underneath his age’s yoke Have wish'd that noble Brutus had his eyes” (I.ii.60). Cassius is convincing Brutus into believing he really is a brave and noble man. By doing this Brutus will be more offended by Caesar's remarks and want to join the conspiracy. To wrap up, Brutus is in fact manipulated into killing Caesar.

“It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” -Mark Twain. Brutus would of never believed that he has been manipulated into his actions. Brutus was always blinded at the fact that his actions towards people were wrong. Brutus was one of Caesar's good and trusted friends. Cassius, not a huge fan of Caesar, did not like the idea of Caesar as king, for his weaknesses and had a plan to assassinate Caesar. As the leader, he believed Brutus would be a good member for the group for being respected and well-liked by the citizens of Rome. Cassius was able to manipulate him into joining the conspirators. After the assassination of Caesar all his respect from the citizens started to fade away. Antony, a very good friend of Caesar, was able to turn Rome against Brutus. Due to all the hatred from the citizens, he had to flee town and fight a war against Antony and Rome. After losing the war, his wife , and everything he once had, he committed suicide to avoid being killed by an enemy. In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, Brutus tragic flaw of being gullible and patriotic caused him to murder a devoted friend and betrayed Rome's trust.

Cassius flatters Brutus by saying that “[he] know[s] that virtue to be in ... Brutus,/ As well as [he does] know [his] outward favor”(Act.I.ii.97-98). Brutus is so immensely honorable that you can literally see it. Cassius lays down this foundation knowing that Brutus would want to cling to this fact. Subconsciously, he won’t go against what he was praised for since it had a positive effect on him and accentuated his feelings about his honor and pride. This pours into guilt, showing that if Brutus doesn’t join this Conspiracy, then he will lose his dignity and

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

Manipulation, the ability to alter one’s position, is almost seen as a professional sport in the play Julius Caesar. The play constantly conveys the emphasis on manipulation to the readers, and displays persuasion as the main rhetorical device. Many characters, such as Brutus, Caesar, and even the people of Rome, are influenced heavily by sources such as their close friends, or even skilled politicians. Throughout Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, the theme of manipulation is revealed through several instances, leading to detrimental occurrences in the story’s plot and clashes among the characters.

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

Michael Ende once said, “When it comes to controlling human beings, there is no better instrument than lies. Because you see, humans live by beliefs. And beliefs can be manipulated. The power to manipulate beliefs is the only thing that counts.” This quote describes Cassius down to a T. Once people shared their susceptible beliefs, they were able to be molded like putty to his liking. He is a liar, but an excellent one at that; he always knows how to use half-truths to get him exactly what he wants. In this case, he wants to be a person of a higher ranking. He is jealous that Caesar had more power, and his envy leads him to manipulate people in order to get what Caesar has. Manipulation is his strength and no one else has the savvy for deception quite like he does. It leads him to a tragic end, but not before he is able to take down others with his manipulative attribute. The play begins with Cassius manipulating Brutus to join the conspiracy, in which he is conspiring to kill Caesar, and ends with him dying in order to right his wrongs. Everything in between is manipulation after manipulation. Whether he is convincing himself of one thing, or persuading someone else of another, Cassius digs his own grave from the start. He convinces himself that he is nothing, and Caesar is everything, but he wants their names to have equal value. Cassius has every reason to kill him, and every plan laid out perfectly. What he does not count on are the repercussions of his actions. In William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Cassius’s manipulative trait is his tragic flaw that eventually leads to his downfall, because his jealousy motivates him to manipulate.

Brutus and Caesar were once best friends but had differing views on the best future for Rome. This not only drove them apart, but led Brutus to participate in Caesar’s assassination. Caesar was going to be crowned dictator for life and Brutus knew that he would “rather be a villager/ Than to repute himself a son of Rome/Under these hard conditions at this time /Is like to lay upon us” (I.ii.180-184). Brutus knows that if Caesar receives that amount of political power that comes with being a dictator, he will become even more power-hungry and egotistical. This causes Brutus to make the very difficult decision to join in the conspiracy of Senators that were planning to kill Caesar. His decision also marks a point of no return, Brutus would

Brutus is a very well respected person who was driven down the wrong path. Cassius who is a manipulative, power hungry person guided Brutus down that path. Cassius manipulates Brutus into believing that his closest friend Caesar, a prideful person, was going to destroy his home, Rome, and made him believe they had to be the ones to stop him from “destroying Rome.”

Throughout the play Julius Caesar, Shakespeare examines themes of power throughout, as well as letting your true colors show. Towards the end of the play, Brutus is able to show this theme perfectly while in the beginning, Brutus is thought as someone who is unsure and insecure. He is also an exception to this ongoing theme. But as the play progresses and Brutus becomes true to himself, giving in to the tempting power that appears to be reachable, he becomes the epitome of this theme. It becomes clear to Brutus that Caesar is not what’s best for Rome, in fact, he is the reason that it is falling apart. However, because it is already embedded into his mind by his good friend Cassius, he believes that the only way to fix this situation is to kill Caesar. This pivot into a more narcissistic version of himself is gradual, while him agreeing with killing Caesar is sudden. In the beginning of Julius Caesar, Brutus is insecure, but as the play progresses and he gives in to Cassius’ manipulation and his own hidden thirst for power, Brutus

Antony’s manipulation of the plebeians makes him stronger but it also makes Brutus, who had just as much of a chance as Antony did at latching them onto his army, weaker. Brutus’ speech is rather weak because he doesn’t go that extra mile when trying to engrave his points in the plebeian’s brain. His speech is very basic, and because the plebeians are so easy to sway, he is able to initially grab hold of their minds. After this, Antony comes up and uses many tactics for a more effective process of manipulation. First, he shoots down any positive points that Brutus made by counteracting them, and although Brutus went first, he could have tried to cover himself better, for he had to have some kind of idea where Antony would be coming from. For example, Antony mocks Brutus by saying “But Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man,” (Act III Scene II 95-96) and this, as well as his points counteracting Caesar’s ambitiousness, voids out Brutus’ idea of the common good in the plebeians’ minds. Antony also uses visualization as a tactic when he picks up Caesar’s mantle to show just how violent Caesar’s murder was, which again reiterates the fact that it couldn’t have been done completely for the common