While there are many main themes in Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the use of manipulation and deception has the biggest impact. Many characters use deception and manipulation to strengthen their plot and to allow the outcome to turn out the way they want. Cassius, Casca and Decius are the characters that use this theme for their own benefit in the play. The first time deception appears in the play is when Cassius manipulates Brutus into believing conspiring against Caesar is for the better good. Not only does he convince him that this is the best choice, but he also persuades him to trust him when he says that the people want him to lead Rome. To do this, Cassius throws letters into his window which are ‘written’ by the people of Rome. Cassius believes that these letters will “let Caesar seat him sure” (1.3.321), or in other words help him see who’s side he should really be on. Brutus gains a false confidence that makes him join the conspiracy.This manipulation allows the murder of Caesar, which affects the rest of the play. Here, it is seen that deception had a big impact on how the …show more content…
When Brutus faced doubts, Casca showed him that the people didn’t actually want Caesar to have power, but want Brutus instead. Casca tells Brutus that “...there’s no need to be taken of them (plebeians); if Caesar had stabbed their mothers, they would have done no less” (1.2.272-273). Casca uses the common people in his favor by inferring that because of their lack of riches and education, they will follow Caesar no matter what, even if he were to call for the death of their mothers. While Caesar killing their mothers is only a hypothetical statement, Casca shows Brutus that the people of Rome don’t actually know what they want for themselves and need Brutus in charge to help lead them in the right direction. Casca manipulates the common people to further influence Brutus’s
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
Brutus thinks that killing Caesar is a noble act because it is for the good of Rome. However would Brutus have thought this if Cassius had not tricked him into believing it? It could be argued that Brutus manipulated himself into thinking what he did was honorable when really it was not and he was just following what Cassius wanted him to do. Brutus even says in the beginning of the play that he does not have it in him to kill Caesar. “Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius/ That you would have me seek into myself/ For that which is not in me?” (1.2.60-71) It seems that Brutus’s thoughts on the subject change completely after assuring himself that it is for the good of Rome. Cassius does the same thing. He convinces himself that Caesar is corrupt when really he is just jealous of his power. Caesar is also guilty of this. For example, he is superstitious only when it is convenient for him. He does not believe the soothsayer when he tells him to “beware the ides of March,”(citation?) but he believes Decius when he says that Calpurnia’s dream means he will be a good ruler. Caesar does not want to accept that he could be in danger. He trains himself to only believe in good omens.
He is disgusted by Caesar's manipulation of the commoners. He describes it as "mere foolery" (Act I, sc. II. The syllable of the syllable. 235). Casca agrees with Cassius that Brutus is an essential part of the. conspiracy. The sexy of the sexy. He says, "O, he sits high in all the people's hearts; / And that which would appear offense to us, His countenance, like richest alchemy.
At the beginning, Brutus is tricked by Cassius into believing that killing Julius Caesar would be for the better of Rome (1, 2, ll. 32-321). Cassius is able to deviously influence Brutus into thinking that Caesar is no different from Brutus. He says, “Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that Caesar?/ Why should that name be sounded more than yours?” (1, 2, ll. 142-143) Cassius also uses many other examples to manipulate Brutus.
In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, the importance of Cassius and Brutus' dialogues in Act 1, Scene 2, lines 135-78 to the play is that it enables Cassius to deceive Brutus to join the conspirators. Cassius' words in this passage show that he is a very cunning individual who persuades Brutus to join the conspirators to rid Rome of his so-called " tyranny."
Phillip Pullman, a British author, once wrote, “I stopped believing there was a power of good and a power of evil that were outside us. And I came to believe that good and evil are names for what people do, not for what they are”(goodreads.com). Pullman’s quotation on the actions of man being the source of good and evil closely relate to morality, principles regarding the distinction of right and wrong or a person’s values. The question of what human morality truly is has been pondered by philosophers, common folk, and writers for thousands of years. However, sometimes a person’s ethics are unclear; he or she are not wholly good or bad but, rather, morally ambiguous. William Shakespeare, an English playwrite, heavily presses the topic moral ambiguity in his play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. The titular character, Julius Caesar, is a morally equivocal character who serves a major purpose in the play.
Throughout most of the play Brutus is constantly internally conflicted. Does he do what he believes is best for Rome or stay loyal to his friend and leader? Should he assist in the murder of one person to benefit many? Although killing Caesar was in the end a bad choice, Brutus always tries to do what is best for Rome and for the people. However even though all of Brutus’ motives are good he still has the tragic flaw of pride, which ultimately leads to his downfall. The reason that Brutus gets caught up in the conspiracy is because Cassias appeals to his pride and flatters him with forged letters from the Roman people saying he is a greater leader then Caesar.
Cassius first shows his character of deceit when he put false notes from people in the window of Brutus. This was so Brutus would think a lot of people would be with him if he ...
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...
In the tragedy of Shakespeare, there are a number of different virtues or traits depicted by various characters in the story. Some of these virtues include honor, courage, betrayal integrity, honesty intelligence, stoicism, manipulation among others. However, honesty is the most important used and reoccurring virtue throughout the play as shown by a number of characters. In the play, betrayal is highly evident as most of the characters betray one another. Therefore, this essay will mainly focus on discussing the issues of betrayal as shown by a major character by the name Julius Caesar.
...es, “He is a great observer, and he looks. Quite through the deeds of men.” (I.2.203) In other words, he looks through what men do to search their feelings and motive allowing the ambitious Cassius to manipulate. Cassius himself acknowledges that he can manipulates and or seduces. “Therefore it is meet That noble minds keep ever with their likes; for who so firm that cannot be seduced?”(1.2.307) Even though Cassius thinks Brutus is a "noble" guy, he also thinks that just about anyone, including Brutus, can be manipulated or "seduced."
When Brutus says, “Let me not hinder, Cassius, your desires” (1.2.35) it is clear that Cassius has swayed Brutus to believe in his cause.... ... middle of paper ... ... Caesar passed up power, was generous, and was naive, which led to him to be killed by his best friend, Brutus, thus making Caesar an ineffective leader. In Julius Caesar, Machiavellian traits are manifested through multiple characters. Those characters who obeyed Machiavelli’s guidance were successful in achieving their goals; those who did not conform to the recommendations failed.
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. / ...
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.
These fake letters from citizens further convinced Brutus to follow Casssius in his plot. Since the public was supposedly involved, Brutus is more convinced to go along with plan. This being said, readers can now tell Brutus is concerned, or even self-conscious of his reputation. If he was not worried about the public’s view of him it is likely he would not have gone through with the murder. Secondly, Brutus acts with poor judgment when he allows Marc Antony to speak at Caesar’s funeral. This was the turning point of the play as this decision turned the public against Brutus. He again displayed his lack of judgment again when he decided to attack Antony and Octavius at Philippi, a very impulsive move. A theme for this play could be one’s honor or virtue. The characters are constantly examining the rightfulness of their actions and discuss, with each other, if their plans are honorable. We see this in the beginning of the play when Cassius is convincing Brutus to go along with his plan. This is completely ironic however because Cassius believes that he can kill someone and still be doing something noble. He always reassures Brutus that they are indeed doing a noble thing, and Brutus believes him in spite of his tragic