Manipulation In Homer's Odyssey And Julius Caesar

In almost all works of literature, people have used the concept of themes to further deepen the meaning of stories. Themes give stories dimension and allow the stories to have some sort of deep and philosophical lesson. If you look at Homer’s Odyssey and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, you will find that there are many relatable features concerning the two. Both of these works give themes about life and death to keep the main point of each passage interesting to the readers. One of the major life lessons and themes we see numerous of times throughout each of the texts is the rules of manipulation. Manipulation is very crucial to the survival of the characters in both the Odyssey and play, Julius Caesar. In this essay, I will use evidence from both works to demonstrate how manipulation is used within these texts and why it is used as a strength and a weakness.

Manipulation involves luring people into a situation that pleases the person who is responsible for the action. We see this act of deception happen frequently throughout the Odyssey. In the Odyssey, for example, Odysseus uses his rhetorical skills to try and outsmart the one-eyed

In any situation regarding manipulation, including these two stories, this point is always taken as the main reason why manipulation even happens in the first place. If manipulation is used sufficiently, the entire plan is made clear and everything is played out correctly, though it may still be detrimental to the character. In Julius Caesar, the characters make it clear that their plan was successful and they are quite impressed with the outcome. Cinna and Casca scream out, “Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead! Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets. Some to the common pulpits, and cry out 80 'Liberty, freedom, and enfranchisement!” They both seem to be pleased with their plan, which shows that their “good” work actually did pay