Examples Of Perception In Julius Caesar

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Good or bad? Happy or angry? These are ways people can view themselves or other people in the world. When looking at viewing life in different ways it can affect everyday decisions or even life threatening decisions like the one Brutus made. Brutus and the other conspirators feel that they have done good, because of how they saw Caesar and themselves, by committing an awful crime. Caesar’s ego gets in the way of his safety when Decius Brutus tells him that the people love him instead of hate him. Lastly, the reader learns that the townspeople can easily be persuaded into looking at events in different ways. In Julius Caesar the author, Shakespeare, utilizes perception as a way for the characters to go about their lives.
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When many different events take place they always switching their opinions about other characters. For instance, When Mark Antony was giving his speech after Caesar’s death, he was talking about how great Brutus and the others were. In is speech he proclaims “But Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man” (III.ii.95-96). At this point in the speech the crowd had listened to Brutus about the event felt the same way as Mark Antony did, one person said “ Give him a statue with his ancestors”(III.ii.52). However, just moments later they are swayed into thinking he and the other conspirators are terrible people. Mark Antony uses ethos and turns the crowd against Brutus and the others when he states he can’t not read the will because “ I fear I wrong the honorable men whose daggers have stabbed Caesar”(III.ii.163-164). At this moment the crowd showed how fickle they are and they switch sides, one person says “They were traitors. Honorable men?” (III.ii.165). With Mark Antony’s power and trust with the townspeople, he shows them where they stand in this battle and how the choices they make will affect Rome in the future. Shakespeare writes this moment into Julius Caesar because he is teaching his audience that the split second decisions that a person can make, like the townspeople, will affect the rest of the events to

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