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Analysis of caesar character in shakespeare's play julius caesar
Character analysis of julius caesar
Julius caesar character analysis
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Most people would lay down their life for their family, but it takes an honorable man to risk his life for the sake of his country. Honorable men risk their lives for other people, and to improve other people’s lives. Honorable People are the foundation of a strong country and good friendships. Specific characters show these qualities in the play Julius Caesar. THe way men are honorable and dishonorable are portrayed in this essay. During the time period of the play Julius Caesar there is a ruler that many people believe will become a ruthless tyrant. Some of the senators will fight back and show whether they have honorable traits. The characters that could be honorable are Brutus, Caesar, and Cassius. In the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, …show more content…
To begin with, Caesar shows he is honorable because he recognizes he must die. Caesar was just stabbed by Brutus and he says, “Et tu, Brute? Then fall Caesar” (II.i.77). Caesar was saying that even Brutus was part of his murder so he must die because Brutus was one of his most trusted advisors. If Brutus is against Caesar’s ways than Caesar knows the reason he must die is legitimate. Caesar proves honorable because it would take a honorable man to realize he must die. Also, Caesar proves he is honorable by standing by his choices. Caesar is talking to some senators about a person he banished when Caesar says, “If I could pray to move, prayer would move me;/ But I am as constant as the Northern Star” (III.i.59-60). Caesar tells the senators that he will not change his mind because he never has before. Caesar being constant on his decisions proves he is honorable because he cannot be swayed. An honorable man stands by his choices. Caesar is one of the most honorable characters in the play, but Cassius is the …show more content…
In particular, Cassius is not honorable because he is a coward in the face of danger. Cassius just saw Titinius, another conspirator, get killed. In response to this Cassius says, “O, coward that I am, to live so long,/ To see my best friend ta’en before my face!... Guide thou sword - Caesar thou art revenged./ Even with the sword that killed thee” (V.iii. 34-35,45-46). Cassius is saying that he cannot live with the fact that he watched his friend die, so he kills himself. Cassius is not honorable because if he was than he would have avenged his friend and kept fighting. Instead, he went in the opposite direction and took the coward’s way out. Furthermore, Cassius is also dishonorable because he tricked Brutus into joining the conspiracy. Cassius is giving another senator instructions after talking to Brutus about the conspiracy when he says, “Be content. Good Cinna, take this paper,/ And look you lay it in the praetor’s chair,/ Where Brutus may find it,” (I.iii.142-144). Cassius just told Cinna to take a paper he wrote that praises Brutus and says it is from several Roman citizens. This makes Cassius dishonorable because he tricked his friend to join his cause which is not trustworthy. An honorable friend would not stoop to this type of betrayal. Out of all of the main characters, Cassius is the one that is proven to be
Brutus, Honorable Man Brutus, an honorable conspirator? Honorable is defined as genuine, truthful and displaying integrity, while a conspirator is defined as one that engages in an agreement to commit an illegal or wrongful act. Anyone can clearly see that these two words do not belong together. There are also other reasons why Brutus should not be considered honorable. In the play, three distinct acts can be recalled.
In addition to this characteristic of Cassius, he also has a devious nature. This attribute allows him to invent informed manipulative plans to eliminate his opponents. For instance, after saying his farewells to Brutus, he gives a soliloquy that reveals his idea of throwing writings of different handwritings in Brutus’ windows “as if they came from several citizens” all of which “tending to the great opinion that Rome holds of his name, wherein obscurely Caesar’s ambition shall be glancéd at” (Shakespeare I. ii. 306-309). Since Brutus and Cassius have been friends for a long period of time, Cassius holds an abundance of knowledge pertaining to his values--in this case being his honor and desire to please Rome’s citizens. This undermining plot Cassius has devised is based on an informed opinion of the most effective way to subvert Caesar’s authority, and because of the valid observations made of Brutus by Cassius, the likelihood that this clever scheme will be carried out successfully should make Caesar concerned about the intentions of his judicial
In the end, the characters of Julius Caesar all have more complicated relationships with honor than they appear at first glance. Brutus, while well intentioned and seemingly honorable, cannot see the line that separates honor from murder, Cassius who appears dishonorable in every way aims, at least in part, to protect rome and its people and Portia who appears dedicated loyal and honorable, commits suicide and believes the lies she is told about her self, beneath the surface of these characters, lies complex motives and twisted logic, which makes singling them out as honorable or dishonorable, nearly impossible, as they are very human, and humans are rarely one or the
Cassius truly believes Caesar has a frail state of mind and is unfit to have any form of authority in Rome. At first glance, his words and ideology seem to strive for the end of tyranny and become the savior of Romans, but it is clear he puts more emphasis on his rank rather than the well-being of others. When he states that their ranks were not their fault and should be taken into their own hands he intends to take his place by force with no regards for the Roman people or government. Additionally, Cassius shouldn’t be commended for saving Caesar from drowning because he remembrances on that deed to convince others that Caesar is feeble than most, yet he is treated like a god. Cassius’s greed for power motivates his murderous motivations but his ability to manipulate others to his will is also evident in his words. He refers to Caesar’s overwhelming power similar to a Colossus while he and the others “…walk under his huge legs… ” or are hidden in his glory. In reality though, the senators are more esteemed than despised. Another way Cassius misleads others is by faking Caesar’s fascist behaviors toward the commoners. He does so by forging negative letters about “Caesar’s Ambition” for Brutus to be pressured into joining his cause. Consumed by envy, he convinces Brutus to assassinate Caesar for the righteousness of the people but his incentive has
Throughout the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the audience constantly sees Brutus, an honorable man, go against his own beliefs because of men filled with hatred and jealousy. Brutus
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
He ruined an entire empire with his quick and stupid decisions. Many, many people died that did not need to. How can a person be considered honorable when they are responsible for so many lost lives and the loss of an empire? Brutus was not a very good military leader. His action when his army first arrived in Phillipi was to march down from the mountains.
Julius Caesar is a moral, ethical man. He is a selfless man who puts others before himself. When Artemidorus gets word of the conspirator’s plans, he writes a letter to Caesar to warn him of his impending fate and rushes to the Capitol to give him word. Upon telling Caesar the letter is concerning him, Caesar simply brushes it off and responds, “What touches oneself shall be served last”(III,I, 8). Caesar altruistically puts aside an urgent manner concerning him to accept the offer of becoming King of Rome, which is the reason he went to the Capitol in the first place, which shows he is a benevolent, thoughtful person. In
For instance, Julius Caesar was a great general, but he only cared about ruling Rome. Cassius was a smart and wise man, but he wanted Caesar’s death out of envy and jealousy. Many of the senators, who were involved in Caesars assassination, hated watching him take over Rome, and many Romans thought of him as their rival. Except for one noble senator named Brutus, who was different from the other senators and fought only for Rome and not himself. Shakespeare, in his play Julius Caesar, shows readers what it means to be noble using government, politics and Brutuss experience and constant effort to bring democracy to Rome.
In the beginning of the Book Cassius uses anecdotes of Caesar’s weakness and faults, argumentum ad antiquatum, and ethos on Brutus to persuade him to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar, this works on Brutus and shows that anyone, even people as stoic as Brutus, can be persuaded by appealing to their motivations. Cassius, a very suspicious character thru ought the play tells Brutus to “be not jealous on me” (827), in the quote he tells Brutus to not be suspicious of him because he is just a friend who genuinely cares. Cassius does this to put himself on Brutus’ side and not seem like a distant person, this allows him to criticize Caesar and suggest that he is a bad influence on Rome which appeals to Brutus’ desire to keeping Rome safe. After setting himself up as a friend to Brutus, Cassius uses harsh anecdotes on the weakness of Caesar to show that he isn’t fit to rule Rome. Cassius recollects on a time when he and Caesar went swimming in the river Tiber and Caesar screamed “Help me, Cassius or I sink” (828) to de...
An honorable person can be defined as someone who rarely commits a sin and someone who is right and just throughout their whole entire life. There is a dispute going on about whether Marcus Brutus is an honorable man or not an honorable man. Most of the people that form the conspirators kill Caesar because of jealousy. However, Brutus kills him because of what is the best for Rome. Marcus Brutus is the hero in the play Julius Caesar because he is loyal to Rome, he is respectful to his people, and humble to those who are less fortunate than him.
Written one year apart from the other, one cannot fail to recognize the parallels between William Shakespeare's tragedies Julius Caesar and Hamlet. To begin, they are both stories of assassinations gone horribly wrong. Although the details of the plays are different, the two assassins (Brutus and Hamlet) provide interesting comparison. Through these two killers, Shakespeare reveals the different levels of justice; one’s personal sense of justice; others’ perception of justice; the justice of the monarchy that supports Shakespeare’s craft. Through this, the audience realizes that a just person is not always a humble one, a condition that may turn out to be a fatal flaw in the end. When a man decides to play God by taking justice into his own hands, the world can unravel much more quickly than he had ever imagined.
Cassius is a talented general, and does not like the fact that Caesar has become `god-like' in the Roman people's minds (see above quote Act I, Scene ii). Cassius can be seen as a great man because of his standing and title; however, his role as conspirator is much larger, and shows his power over others. Thus, in the eyes of the audience, he is perceived as great. However, he has a flaw, as all tragic heroes do: it is obvious from where his power is situated that he lacks integrity. He is impulsive and unscrupulous; this is...
Both Cassius and Brutus conspire against Caesar, yet Shakespeare depicts Brutus as doing a noble job compared to Cassius as doing a greedy and envious task. Cassius believes that he is stronger than Caesar. Therefore, Cassius does not understand why Caesar is in power and he is not. Cassius is also envious of Caesar. In Act I Scene II, Cassius describes to Brutus the time he had to save Caesar in a swimming race. Since then, Cassius feels superior to Caesar. In Cassius’ mind, kings’ right to rule should be based off of strength, not intelligence or virtue. On the other hand, Brutus knows that although a king should be strong, he must also be virtuous. Brutus always elaborates on the topic of honor. In fact, his first priority is to keep his own honor intact and Brutus fears that Caesar will change when he is crowned. Brutus says, “He would be crowned: How that might change his nature, there’s the question.” (Act II, Scene I, Page 49, lines 12-14) He senses Caesar’s greed for power, and ...
Two powerful leaders, one power hungry whose ambitious ideas lead to his downfall, the other mindful of people who deserve their higher positions. A true leader is someone who has a vision, a drive and commitment to achieve what's best. In the play written by William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Brutus and Caesar are one of the main characters. They demonstrate leadership qualities that are still relevant to today. They are both very ambitious characters; however, they do so for different reasons and differ in their openness to others. There are many similarities and differences that lie between them. Both are noble and great men with loyal followers and neither man questions the rightness of his own path. Both made crucial mistakes that resulted in their death. However, Caesar acts out of love for for himself, his country, and to retain his power as ruler of Rome. Brutus on the other hand acts out of love for freedom of Rome. This essay will discuss and compare their qualities as leaders as well as their styles and how they are effective/ineffective in the play.