Cassius states, “Caesar doth bear me hard; but he loves Brutus.” Cassius sees that Brutus can be manipulated both in spite of and because of his nobility. Cassius flatters Brutus and appeals to his perception of equality. Brutus justifies murdering his closest friend, Ceaser, harming both himself and the people of Rome. Brutus is the most complex of the characters in this play. He is proud of his reputation for honor and nobleness, but he sometimes is not the most practical man, and is often naive. He is the only major character in the play dedicated to make his behavior fit a strict moral and ethical code. One of the themes that Shakespeare uses to develop ways that Brutus involves his attempt to perform the assassination of Caesar. He cannot …show more content…
After the killing of Caesar, Brutus realized that it did not make him any happy, but more depressed. Brutus says goodbye to his friends and all the conspirators. He tells Strato to stay by and hold to sword out for Brutus, who says that it would be a good idea. Brutus’s last words to Octavius were, “Farewell, good Strato--Caesar, now be still; / I killed not thee with half so good will” (V.v.50-51). Brutus says goodbye to Strato and that he is a god man. Brutus tells him to turn his head and Brutus runs right into the sword and falls to the ground. Brutus commits suicide because he would rather be seen as a honorable man than a honorable man being dragged through the streets of Rome. Brutus loved the people and Rome and did not want to embarass himself by being dragged through the streets of Rome. This leads him to decide that he would be better just to kill himself. After the killing of Brutus, Antony and Octavius go into the room where Brutus lay dead. Antony, Caesar's best friend told Octavius Brutus did not want to kill Caesar, but was manipulated into doing it by the conspirators. Just like Antony all of Brutus’s friends become more friendly and liked Brutus’s much more when it is dead than alive. “This was the noblest Roman of them all. / All the conspirators save only he / did that they did in envy of great Caesar; / he, only in a general honest thought / and common good to all, made one of them. / His life was gentle, and the elements / so mixed in him that Nature might stand up / and say to all the world, This was a Man” (V.v.68-71)! Antony states that Brutus was the noblest man and the conspirators acted out of jealousy of Caesar. Brutus was the only man to be himself and do what he thought was right for the people of Rome. Antony states Brutus’ weak nature as to the reason for his nobleness. Out of all the conspirator Brutus was the only one to believe Caesar's death was for the good of
Shakespeare uses Cassius’ characterization in Julius Caesar to prove that Caesar is justified in his concerns about Cassius. Through means of indirect characterization, it is presented that Cassius is willing to act somewhat sycophantic to acquire what he finds necessary. When Cassius is speaking to Brutus in an attempt to sway his opinion concerning his loyalty to Caesar, he compares Brutus to Caesar and praises his equivalent status, stating that Brutus’ name is “as fair a name,” “it is as heavy,” and “will start a spirit as soon as ‘Caesar’,” and even rhetorically asks “upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed that he has grown so great?¨ (Shakespeare I. ii. 144-150). By providing reasoning behind his belief that Brutus is “as fair a name”
Considers killing Caesar but also does not want to. Finally decides that it is the best
Every person has their own individual beliefs and values that they live by. There is a line that one believes they will never cross. However, people can also be easily persuaded to abandon these values if the reasoning is fair enough. This is human nature. To manipulate someone is to use or change them for a specific purpose. In Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, he illustrates how easily people can change their minds through manipulation. He conveys how people can be manipulated, how they manipulate themselves, and how they manipulate others.
In William Shakespeare’s play “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar,” the character Marcus Brutus fits the role of Shakespeare’s tragic hero. In this play, Brutus is a perfect example of a tragic hero. He fits all of Shakespeare’s characteristics of a tragic hero entirely. Brutus could easily be used as an example of a tragic hero in a lesson or a written work.
Both were respected men amongst the commoners of Rome, especially Brutus, and both held much power, as they were both senators. As that power came into question, however, the revelation of the complex components of friendship began to occur. As Cassius began to fear the loss of his own power, Brutus became a pawn in Cassius’ scheme to uphold his authority. This is directly shown during Brutus and Cassius’ private conversation when Cassius states, “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” (JC 1.2.148-150). Although not explicitly stated, Cassius in attempting to persuade Brutus into rising to power. By complimenting and praising his name, Cassius is directly trying to influence Brutus He figures that if Brutus is in power, then he will keep his power because they are both friends, unlike if Caesar was in power. Although, Cassius is the main contributor to the situation, this situation directly shows one of the many aspects of friendship prevalent in the daily interactions of Brutus, which is the idea that in a friendship, one can be used in order for the other to achieve what it is they want. In this situation, Brutus is being used by Cassius in order to gain what he wants, which is power. Within human connection, this idea is very common, as friends are taken advantage of quite often. This is no different from Brutus’ relationship with Cassius, which shows a relevant and frequent element of companionship. Another aspect of friendship prevalent within the the relationship between Brutus and Cassius is the aspect of argument and resolution. While the two are hidden from public view far away from the city, Brutus becomes trapped in an argument with Cassius over his questionable actions, and it quickly escalates into potentially violent situation involving
Brutus put his trust in Antony to not turn on him at the funeral. He was lead to believe that Antony would only speak good of the conspirators and defend them for the actions they have made. He trusted Antony when he told him he would not express such hate and talk of the bad they did and then later turned against them for the vengeance of Caesar. Brutus told Antony, “You shall not in your funeral speech blame us, But speak all good you can devise of Caesar” (III.i.245-246). He told him that the only way he is going to be able to speak at Caesar’s funeral is if he speaks good of the conspirators. After Antony said his speech, the whole crowd immediately switched and sided with him against them. They wanted nothing more than for Brutus, Cassius and the other contributors to be dead. This reveals that Brutus is shameful for putting his trust in someone who was so close to Caesar. Brutus trusted that Antony wouldn't do anything and just imagined he would be to scared to step up and speak out. This leads to Brutus losing the trust he had for Antony and starting a war between the people and the conspirators. As the war was about to proceed, they all prepped for what was about to happen. Antony and his army completely dominated Brutus’ and lead to many of them fleeing for their lives. Many people died by genocide while other committed suicide. Brutus was among the ones of suicide. He no longer wanted to be alive and felt that he had lived and fulfill what he had wanted. People were dead and he knew he was going to be one of them. Brutus’ last words were, “Caesar, now be still; I killed not thee with half so good a will” (V.v.50-51). He wanted Caesar to know that he can now be at rest because the vengeance he was looking for has been given. Because of all the trust he put in the people that were taking advantage of him, he ended up finishing his life. This reveals that Brutus really did
Considers killing Caesar but has mixed feelings. Finally decides that it is the best option after he reads the fake letters.
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...
Brutus’ ignorance creates an expectation that develops a path which leads him awry. When Brutus mentions,“ I would not Cassius; yet I love him well” (1.2.81-88 ), he portrays his internal conflict. Brutus depicts the rendering struggle between Cassius’ acquisitions and Caesar’s actions. His oblivion toward the truth and goodwill concerning the greater health of Rome prompt him astray. He acts with the innocence of a child, deceive and swindle by Cassius, Brutus is an
Both Cassius and Brutus play major roles in the play Julius Caesar. Cassius and Brutus both plan Caesar’s death. Although they are working towards a common goal, Cassius and Brutus have very different motivations for doing this. On the one hand, Cassius sees it as a way to gain more power for himself while destroying the king and all his power. On the other hand, Brutus believes that in killing Caesar he is preserving peace for the Romans’ future years. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses different techniques to create biased characterizations of the two men so that readers and viewers develop identical attitudes towards each of them. In Julius Caesar, Cassius is portrayed as a greedy villain while Brutus is depicted as an honorable hero.
As the play opens, Brutus is known as a Roman nobleman and a member of one of the most illustrious families in Rome. He is first seen in Act I, scene ii, as one of Caesar’s “close friends” who is part of his entourage. But while alone with Cassius he is persuaded into taking a part in the assassination of Caesar. He is weary at first, and it seems as though it took Cassius some time to talk him into agreeing, yet Brutus looked at Caesar as some type of threat as well.
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...
He is so motivated by ambition that he decides to kill Caesar, the leader of Rome. Although dedication can be a good quality, in Cassius, it blinds him to all other things and makes him ruthless in his quest to rule Rome. Cassius’s desire for power is evident when he states, "Men at some time are masters of their fates. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings" (1.2.146-148). Cassius’ ambition leads him to go as far as to convince a dear friend with manipulation and false notes to help him plot to kill Caesar. His ambition makes him power hungry and he lacks the honor to back up his overzealous behavior. Cassius envies Caesar and because of this he resorts to bribery, assassinations, and imposing taxes for personal
In the play Julius Caesar, written and preformed by William Shakespeare, there are many characters, but two, Brutus and Cassius, stood out. The play begins in Rome where a celebration of Julius Caesar's victory over the former ruler of Rome, Pompeii. The victory leads to Caesar's betrayal by his jealous companions. Senators and other high status figures are jealous of Caesar's new and growing power, while others, like Brutus, fear the tyrannical rule Caesar could enforce. The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius being the most important, assassinate Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, better known as Antony, and Octavius Caesar, Caesar's heir to the thrown, revenge Caesar's death. Antony convinces the Roman populous to destroy the conspirators and eventually begins a war with Cassius and Brutus' armies. Both Cassius and Brutus commit suicide to save their honor and Antony and Octavius win the war. The characterizations of Brutus and Cassius show a distinct contrast in their character traits and motives for the assassination of Julius Caesar.