Use Of Manipulation And Spin In Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar'

Brutus is shown as being easily manipulated in the play. This trait is shown a few times in the play. At the beginning, Brutus is tricked by Cassius into believing that killing Julius Caesar would be for the better of Rome (1, 2, ll. 32-321). Cassius is able to deviously influence Brutus into thinking that Caesar is no different from Brutus. He says, “Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that Caesar?/ Why should that name be

Ex. 2: “Although Cassius was a great manipulator, especially towards Brutus, he dug himself too deep into the Caesar situations. There were many moments in the play that Cassius was manipulative. He convinced Brutus to kill Caesar out of revenge, persuaded Brutus that he could be king, and then led them to war.”

William Shakespeare displays the theme of Manipulation through the skill of the characters in his play Julius Caesar. Cassius is one of the main manipulators in the play. In Act 1 Cassius successfully manipulates Brutus into joining the conspirators through two methods: firstly, by making Brutus question Caesar whilst flattering him at the same time “'Brutus' and 'Caesar'—what should be in that 'Caesar'? Why should that name be sounded more than yours?”(Act1 Scene2 Line150-154) Secondly, by placing fake letters under his door in order for Brutus to “shake” Caesar.(Act 1 Scene2 Line315) Although Cassius is extremely skilled at manipulation, Mark Antony has Cassius cut out for his work through his own

William Shakespeare's tragic play portraying the life in ancient Rome is one that closely follows many elements that make a drama interesting. The murders and the conspiracies behind the killings add to the plot of jealousy and patriotism. Within Julius Caesar also

Cassius is a very tactful person when it comes to manipulating people to join his cause. Brutus’ fear that Caesar will be crowned as king opens a gate for Cassius to convince Brutus to join the conspiracy. Cassius talks about how Caesar considers himself a god although he is only a man “How he did shake: 'tis true, this god did shake;” (1, 2, 211), showing that Caesar is not strong enough to be a king. Cassius is a tactful person as well as a very persuasive one. When Cassius notices that Brutus is still in doubt about joining his conspiracy, Cassius decides to use flattering terms that would bring Brutus towards his cause “Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that 'Caesar'?

While Brutus is a very powerful man, he is persuaded by Cassius to make decisions. For example, Jeffrey J Yu writes,” Cassius offers to serve as Brutus’s mirror…” (Yu 5). This means that Cassius can help Brutus make decisions and serve as his other half. Cassius tells Brutus that they need to get rid of Caesar and do what is right for Rome. Cassius is seducing Brutus into doing what Cassius wants. This quote is definitely in support that Brutus

Throughout act 1 and 2 Cassius is motivated by his ambitions and is slowly drawn towards his own desires rather than the bettering of Rome. As senator he should be trying to better Rom, but he is instead focused on his ambition of eliminating Caesar. While Cassius and Brutus are talking about Caesar, Cassius says to Brutus, “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” (1.2.135-138). Cassius is already in a seat of power as a senator and shows his fear of losing it and becoming powerless. This is a selfish desire of Cassius because with Caesar comes stability and happiness to the citizens so by killing him he also eliminates the benefits Caesar brought. His ambitions have caused Cassius to protect his position rather than doing the right thing and seeking the best solution so that Rome stays strong. Because of Cassius’s selfishness he tends to negatively affect those around him. One of the times this is shown is when Cassius gives letters from “the people” to Cinna and says, “take this paper and look you lay it in the praetor’s chair, where Brutus may find it” (1.3.142-144). Cassius is so focused on his plan to eliminate Caesar that he either doesn’t care or doesn’t think about how others will be affected. By giving letters that claim to be civilians to Brutus he is affecting him by tainting his public image. This not only hurts the citizens trust, but it hurts Brutus because he is an honorable man that puts the people before himself and will do what they require of him. The ambitions Cassius are selfish and don’t help better Rome or those around him, but instead make him corrupt.

(Scene 1. Act 2. Lines 70-73) Though Cassius is very manipulative, Brutus was said to have been a loyal man and should have been loyal to

Manipulation influences decisions and changes others’ thoughts. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, manipulative language acts prominently between the characters. Brutus struggles to decide if the safety of the Roman Republic appears more important than his friendship with Julius Caesar. Cassius tries to persuade him to join the conspiracy that decides to kill Caesar. Envious of Julius Caesar’s power, the Senators believes that when Caesar becomes ruler, the change of government forever affects Rome. Brutus agrees that it seems for the best of Rome for Caesar never to become dictator, but he never wishes to change his opinion on his death. In a persuasive manner, Cassius sends anonymous letters to Brutus to convince him to join the

Cassius continually persuades and put ideas into Brutus’s head for example Act I Scene 2. “Since you know you cannot see yourself so well as by reflection, I, you glass, will modestly discover to yourself that of yourself which you yet know not of”. Brutus comes across as naïve and Cassius will help him decide how to think. Cassius does not like that Caesar has become “godlike” in the eyes of Romans.

For example, he does not like Caesar and wants him gone. He then takes action and forms the conspirators. Cassius and the other conspirators know they want Brutus because he is powerful, well-respected, and liked by Caesar. Cassius convinces Brutus in a way that makes Brutus think he thought of it himself. He does this by telling Brutus he is better than Caesar, and Caesar would not make a good ruler.

Cassius uses rhetoric successfully to persuade Brutus to come over to his cause—killing Julius Caesar. Cassius is a sharp minded politician whose motivations are personal and not always in the interest of the state of Rome. He uses rhetoric as his means of convincing others to help him reach his cause and goal. Cassius uses many tactics

In Cassius’ speech to Brutus, he explains that Caesar, the man he despises greatly, is weak, mortal, arrogant, and is not fit to be king. Caesar has been known to push passed the ones who have tried to help him in his life and be selfish. Not only is Cassius trying to get his opinion out in his speech, but he also trying to persuade Brutus that Caesar is not fit for the job. Although Brutus and Caesar are great acquaintance's, Brutus may not believe he may be the best man either to rule Rome.

In the beginning of Julius Caesar, Julius Caesar the new ruler of Rome, is loved by many of the Roman people for Caesar’s courageous acts and positive contributions to the community. Even though many of the Romans support and love Caesar, there is a distinct group of people that hate and dread Caesar. The evil men plan to kill Caesar and take over power, and they do so by manipulation. These evil men are not known for being evil or terrible, a few of the men were actually manipulated to join the group and to plan Caesar's assassination. One of the head members of the evil group is Cassius. Cassius is very distraught about Caesars election to be ruler and plans to kill Caesar with the other men in the group. Cassius turns to Brutus, a man loved

Imagine a world where no one can be trusted. Everyone is seeking to manipulate everyone else into helping them achieve their own twisted goals. Very rarely will one man be seen being truly loyal. Most are all “in it” for themselves. Now, picture a woman that has no control over these decisions and the outcomes. She must sit and wait for her husband to, hopefully, return from a day of betrayal. This woman is Julius Caesar's Portia, the wife of Brutus. He was Caesar’s trustworthy ally before Cassius got ahold of him, turning him against a man he pledged his loyalty to. Together they, with the help of a few other men, end Caesar's reign before it could truly begin. This being the basic plot of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. It takes an ironic turn when, towards the end, both Brutus and Cassius committed suicide. Brutus’ acts caused his wife to ultimately end herself as well before he even got the chance to kill himself. Everything was out of her control, this drove her to insanity so, she swallowed fire.