In Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, the conspirator’s jealousy and greed motivated them to make the poor decision of killing Caesar. Once Caesar murdered Pompey, a group of men began discussing their disapproval of Caesar’s leadership. They were jealous of his new success and wanted Rome to be governed by Brutus, Caesar’s best friend. The conspirator’s jealousy of Caesar’s power, greed for recognition, and desire for strength all lead to their assassination of Caesar. Caesar’s swift overtake of the Roman empire was highly favored by the public, but hated by the conspirators. After finding workers celebrating in the streets, Flavius ordered them to allow “no images be hung with Caesar’s trophies. I’ll about and drive away the vulgar from the streets; So do you too, where you …show more content…
Although he was a strong military leader and had some potential, Decius’ plan of telling him that “he hates flatterers, he says he does, being then most flattered...For I can give his humor the true bent, and I will bring him to the Capitol” (II.i.224-228). Desire is an important contributor to the overall hate of Caesar. Since he could be conceded and still win the public’s affection, become aggravating to the conspirators. It was not until he died that Brutus and the others began recognizing Caesar’s strength. Brutus spoke at the funeral, and says that Caesar was “valiant, I honor him. But, as he was ambitious, I slew him. There is tears for his love, joy for his fortune, honor for his valor, and death for his ambition” (III.ii.27-30). This admiration towards Caesar is shown throughout this speech. He seems to contradict what he has said in the previous scenes where he has said that Caesar is unfit for the Roman crown. Too much strength will lead to jealousy, which also leads to desire. All of these added up make the conspirators more motivated to make Caesar their next
“Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (3.2.24) This quote reflects the motive of Brutus for the assassination of his friend, Caesar. I believe Brutus killed him not out of disrespect, but in a selfless act to protect Rome from the decree of Caesar yet to come. I also believe that he did this out of force from the manipulation from his “friend” Cassius. In Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar”, Brutus’ two most significant characteristics are virtue and unconscious hypocrisy. In order to fully understand these characteristics, it is necessary to analyze all other contributing characteristics, the manipulation of friendship that Cassius uses against him, and the motivations for
Honor and power is what drives the conspirators to assassinate Julius Caesar in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. Caesar is now the single leader of Rome, and members of the Senate have concerns that he will abuse his sole power. Therefore, they plot and accomplish the assassination of Caesar in an attempt to rebuild the balance of Rome. Rome falls into chaos with an unknown future with no central leader for the people to follow. In Act I, Scene 2, Cassius, a member of the Senate, explains to his friend, Brutus, that Caesar is not the god he makes himself out to be. Instead, he argues both he and Brutus are equal to Caesar and are just as deserving of the throne. Cassius’ speech to Brutus diminishes Caesar’s godly demeanor through
Jealousy in Julius Caesar & nbsp; Jealousy causes many of the characters in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar to commit dangerous and foolish acts. Cassius' jealousy drives him to kill. Caesar. All the conspirators, except the noble Brutus, kill Caesar because they feel threatened by his power. Brutus is the only conspirator who murders Caesar. for more honorable reasons. Jealousy is a very important theme in this play. & nbsp; Cassius feels very threatened by Caesar's power. He remembers when he was an equal to Caesar, and doesn't think that Caesar deserves this much power. He comments to Brutus, "I was born free as Caesar; so were you." fed as well, and we can both endure the cold winter as well as he" (Act I, p. 1).
Envy and selfishness are two of the many emotions that motivate the conspirators in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to murder Caesar. All the conspirators, except Brutus, crave Caesar’s death solely for selfish reasons. Brutus is the only conspirator who can overcome basic human nature. The citizens of Rome fawn over Julius Caesar and grant him respect, which stirs envy within the conspirators. The conspirators deny that envy is the main factor behind Caesar’s brutal murder, choosing to convince themselves and everyone else that they were stopping a tyrant. Human nature can cause people to do tremendous feats, but some natural tendencies like selfishness can also compel people to commit murder.
Although some believe that Brutus conspires against Caesar out of jealousy, Brutus actually plots against Caesar for the good of Rome. To demonstrate, when Brutus justifies his motives for the conspiracy, Brutus claims, “Not that I loved
Brutus was one of many Romans with noble bloodlines. Although Brutus was noble, he never used it to get ahead. There are many times when Brutus could have used the fact that he is truly noble but he didn’t. Many people argue that a noble man wouldn’t have killed Caesar. In some ways that is true, but Brutus’ case was different. A noble man would only for the good of others and that is what Brutus did. He killed Caesar because 7he was afraid of how powerful he could become. Even then he had a hard time doing it, and that is what separates Brutus from the other conspirators. Every other conspirator had little or no reason to kill Caesar. Brutus was willing to do anything for Rome. During his speech about Caesar’s murder Brutus stated “I have the same dagger for myself when it shall please my country to need my death” (III.ii.45-46). This shows how Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more” (III.ii.20-22). He was too passionate about his country to let Caesar turn it into a dictatorship. Mark Antony and Octavius recognized that Brutus was the one noble roman. In his final speech mark Antony said “This was the noblest roman of them all. / All the conspirators save only he/ Did that they did i...
The senators believe that anything they do to Caesar will look bad in the eyes of the people, but Brutus, whom the plebeians love, will make their actions appear honorable. In order to achieve this, Cassius creates a plan in order to prod Brutus in favor of the assassination: In several hands, in at his windows throw, As if they came from several citizens, Writings all tending to the great opinion That Rome holds in his name, and wherein obscurely Caesar’s ambition shall be glanced at. (I,ii,312-316) By deceiving Brutus into believing that the Roman people, who respect him, think that Caesar is becoming too ambitious, Cassius is able to convince Brutus, a noble Roman, to join the plot against Caesar. Because he only wants to do what is best for the people, Brutus joins the conspiracy.
The conspirators and Brutus believed that Caesar would be too ambitious, he would become a tyrant, and the Roman Republic would collapse under his rule. The conspirators did the logical thing by killing Caesar. First, he was a very ambitious man and would do anything to get his way. For instance, Julius believes that he doesn’t obtain any flaws and blames everyone for his actions.
If then that friend demands why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." (3.2.19-24). His concentration on honor and nobility ends up being used against him by Cassius, who instigates him to kill his best friend. Cassius knows how naive and how moral Brutus is and he uses this information into making him help kill Caesar. Being naive and over trusting causes his first mistake and helps with his downfall when he refuses to listen to Cassius, who wants Antony to be also killed because he knows that he will seek revenge for Caesar. However, Brutus code of honor won 't let him approve the killing of Antony "Our plan will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius. We cut off the head and then hack the limbs, seem to kill Caesar in anger and then vent malice on his friends, for Antony is only a branch of Caesar."(2.1.169-172), he doesn 't want to be seen by the Roman people as a killer, but someone who 's doing what 's right for the people of
Brutus’ leadership and compassion for others make him a popular figure amongst the Roman people, and it is his reputation that establishes him as an influential individual. For example, despite the fact that Brutus loves Caesar like a brother, he warily joins the conspiracy to assassinate him. He does this because he believes that Caesar’s ambition would become tyranny and that Caesar’s death is a necessary evil in order to preserve the liberties of the Roman people. In his own words Brutus claims, “It must be by his death; and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general.”(Act 2, Scene 1, Page 1116). In addition, Brutus takes the reins of authority from Cassius and becomes the leader of the conspiracy. He gains this prerogative because of his convincing tongue and powerful influence. His leadership is evidenced when he begins to challenge Cassius’ ideas. When Cassius asks the conspirators to “swear our resolution”(Act 2...
In this play, Cassius’ motivation is completely inspired by evil and hatred. His jealousy of Caesar and greed for power drives him to create the conspiracy and start plotting the death of Caesar. While talking to Casca, he says, “What trash is Rome, / What rubbish and what offal, when is serves / For the bas matter to illuminate / So vile a thing as Caesar!” (I.iii.109-112). This shows some of the true feelings Cassius has about Caesar. He believes that Caesar is not worthy of his power and does not want anyone to hold more power than him. Although he justifies the killing of Caesar as an act for freedom from tyranny, his motivation is full of bad intent. In an attempt to disguise his true motives, Cassius convinces Brutus, an honorable and well-respected man, to join the conspiracy. He tells Brutus, “Brutus and Caesar-what should be in that “Caesar”? / Why should that name be sounded more than yours? / Write them together, yours is as fair a name. / Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well. / ...
Greed can disrupt a family, town, or even a country. The play "Julius Caesar" was a great example of the power of greed. In the play "Julius Caesar" the driving forces were Cassius, Brutus, Marc Antony, and Octavius Caesar. Cassius was the brother in-law of Brutus and was also the creator of the group of conspirators. Cassius was also a senator of Rome. Cassius's greed for power, good reputation, and his jealousy lead to Caesars death. Cassius had the most honorable man in Rome to help in his plot to kill Caesar. Brutus was the honorable roman which Cassius took control of. Brutus loved Rome and all of the Roman people. Brutus was actually the true leader of the conspirators because he made the important decisions. Brutus had a different motivation for killing Caesar. The conspirators killed Julius Caesar because they were worried that if Caesar had succeeded in becoming king all the conspirators would lose their power. Brutus's motive for killing Julius Caesar was his fear of Caesar destroying the city of Rome. Mark Antony was a regular Roman citizen, who was good friends with Julius Caesar. After Julius Caesar's death, Marc Antony recited a speech at Julius Caesar's funeral to all the people of Rome. The speech caused the plebeians to destroy everything in sight. It was by his speech that Marc Antony got his revenge towards Brutus and Cassius. Octavius Caesar was the nephew of Julius Caesar. When he got to Rome he and Marc Antony teamed up to fight against the forces of Brutus and Cassius. It was at Brutus and Cassius's last battle where Octavius and Marc Antony succeeded in their plan.
The motif of ambition runs continuously throughout Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, which originates in Ancient Rome and highlights the power struggles, politics and deceit of those vying for power. Ambition leads many of the characters such as Caesar, Cassius, and Brutus to a fate different from what they expected. The play revolves around Caesar, his ascent to power and his eventual loss of everything. Although ambition may lead these public officials to power, it is the same ambition that will be their downfall, ultimately resulting in the death of Julius Caesar, Cassius, and Brutus.
The conspirators had already decided how and when they would kill Caesar, and Brutus, Cassius, along with Decius, knew they had to lure Caesar close. They had an advantage at this because they knew that all they would have to do was prove to Caesar that they had a good, solid friendship, and this would help their situation and leave Caesar completely sightless to the fact that his situation had grown dire. So they decided to use their friendship with Caesar in a horribly deceptive manner, effectively, in order to kill him. Decius managed to start this off well by using flattery and quick wit in order to trick Caesar into going to the senate house, despite the fact that Caesars wife, Calpurnia had dreams of Caesars murder the night before.
Decius uses flattery and persuasion to form a strong union with Caesar. Decius is an active member of the Conspirators, so he is very motivated into getting Caesar to go to the Senate House. The first thing that Decius says when he walks into Caesar's house is "Caesar, all hail! Good morrow, worthy Caesar." Decius would also refer to Caesar as "most mighty". This would only make Caesar grow comfortable with Decius. Julius had lost all feelings of doubt and did not presume any caste of dire plot against him. Decius would deceive Julius into thinking that they had a resilient friendship by using his devious words. Caesar was not able to foresee his true faithful friends, such as Antony. He would grieve the killing of Julius and try to justify his murder by killing Brutus and Cassius. Antony was one of Julius's true and trustworthy friends.