Manipulation and Weakness in Literature People often use the power of words to manipulate others by preying on their weaknesses. As pessimistic as it sounds, Speak, Of Mice and Men, and The Tragedy of Julius Caesar all demonstrate that people use the power of words to take advantage of weaknesses in others. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men, Crooks, the stable hand, notices a weakness in the character Lennie and uses it for his own amusement. When Crooks realizes Lennie has a deep fear of losing George, he begins talking about George leaving Lennie: “His voice grew soft and persuasive. ‘S'pose George don't come back no more’... Well, s'pose, jus' s'pose he don't come back. What'll you do then?’” (35) Once Crooks discovered this weakness in Lennie, he bore in on him and made Lennie believe that perhaps George wouldn’t come back, showing how people …show more content…
In WIlliam Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Cassius manipulates Brutus’s propensity for nobility and honor to his advantage. When Cassius speaks to Brutus, he repeats words like honor, virtue, and noble countless times, and he tells Brutus that “honor is the subject of my story./I cannot tell what you and other men/Think of this life, but, for my single self,/I had as lief not be as live to be/In awe of such a thing as I myself” (1.2.94-98). Cassius convinces Brutus that killing Caesar is a noble thing to do, taking advantage of Brutus’s need to act honorably, something that turns out to be Brutus’s weakness. In Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, Andy Evans lured Melinda in by playing on a weakness possessed by almost every young girl. When Melinda was remembering the night she was raped, she explained that she felt like “such a little kid”, but later Andy
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”
William Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar, has a heavy focus on honor. The characters in the play have a tendency to refer back to honor and the honor of Rome, but are they really as honorable as they say? Honor is a very abstract concept that is widely applicable in many situations, but what is it? To honor someone is to show them respect, and to be honorable is to act in a way that deserves respect and admiration. The characters of Julius Caesar, for the most part, are all seeking some form of honor, but do they achieve it? Three of the best examples of honor in Julius Caesar are Brutus, Cassius, and Portia. With varying levels of honor, these characters display the spectrum well.
Although Lennie was unattractive and has the tendency of accidental violence, compassion was still something readers had for him. Steinbeck constantly reminded us that he has a mental disability which automatically makes someone feel pity for him. Additionally he was ignored and made fun of by other characters, “Blubberin’ like a baby! Jesus Christ! A big guy like you”(Steinbeck 10). Him getting in trouble was beyond his control because of his mental disability which is something else that makes a reader feel sympathetic for him. Also, the readers are solicitous towards Lennie because of how much he looks up to George. This is portrayed when Crooks asks Lennie what he would do if George never came back, “Well, s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then?”(Steinbeck 70). Because of his inability to comprehend information, he got extremely defensive and said, “George is careful. He won’t get hurt” (Steinbeck 70). This scene is crafted in such a way that it automatically
Lennie is depicted in a very childlike manner throughout Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Accordingly, he acts in a manner that is persistent with a child in that his motivations precisely lead to his actions. He does not act in a pure sense of dishonesty, reflective of the purity that is peculiar to someone who is like a kid at heart.
Additionally, Cassius shouldn’t be commended for saving Caesar from drowning because he remembrances 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 behavior toward the commoners.
“Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (3.2.24) This quote reflects the motive of Brutus for the assassination of his friend, Caesar. I believe Brutus killed him not out of disrespect, but in a selfless act to protect Rome from the decree of Caesar yet to come. I also believe that he did this out of force from the manipulation from his “friend” Cassius. In Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar”, Brutus’ two most significant characteristics are virtue and unconscious hypocrisy. In order to fully understand these characteristics, it is necessary to analyze all other contributing characteristics, the manipulation of friendship that Cassius uses against him, and the motivations for
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
Crooks was excluded from the group and had his own barn which was his only freedom. When Crooks said “Maybe you can see now. You got George. You know he’s goin’ to come back. S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and play rummy ’cause you was black. How’d you like that? ” (Steinbeck 72), he wants to seek someone’s company like Lennie has George’s. Crooks threatened Lennie into the fact that George might not come back because he wanted Lennie to feel loneliness, but to his disappointment he was in vain. Crooks also conveys through his body language and the way he speaks that he doesn’t want to be excluded from the others and wants to participate in all the activities with them.
For example, when he addresses the crowd in his funeral speech, Brutus states, “Believe me/for mine honor and have respect to mine honor/that you may believe” (3.2.15-17). Brutus appeals to ethos and establishes his credibility by repeating “honor”. The public now believes that he does indeed have “honor”. He also convinces the public that he is trustworthy by appealing to ethos. Similarly after Brutus’ death Antony states, “This was the noblest Roman…/All of the conspirators, save only he/did that they did in envy of great Caesar” (5.5.74-76). Antony is the enemy of Brutus and yet he still refers to Brutus as the “noblest Roman”, which verifies that Brutus is actually honorable. Antony is stating that while all the other senators kill Caesar out of “envy”, Brutus’ intentions to kill Caesar was for the good of Rome and its citizens. This reveals that Brutus has no other hidden agenda for wanting to execute Caesar, and therefore Brutus has the most purest intentions out of all the other conspirators. This confirms that he is the most noble Roman because he is not thinking about what he wants. Instead, he is thinking about the people and how they would feel if Caesar becomes a dictator. Brutus possesses nobility and honor. Those two qualities are vital to being an effective leader because the people can then
Lennie to take care of. The next day George convinces the farm boss to hire
Weakness takes many structures scholarly, budgetary, societal and Steinbeck addresses them all. Despite the fact that Lennie is physically solid and would thus appear to speak to somebody of energy, the main power Lennie has is physical. As a result of his mental cripple and his kid like methods for seeing the world, he is weak against his inclinations and the powers that attack him. For instance, he comprehends what it is to be great, and he wouldn't like to be awful, yet he does not have the mental sharpness that would enable him to comprehend and, along these lines, maintain a strategic distance from the perils that unfurl before him. Henceforth, he should depend on George to secure him.
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 ...
Throughout the play, Brutus speaks about honor and his loyalty to his country. These two concepts become major conflicts for him when it comes to his friendship and loyalty to Caesar. Brutus life is based on the concept of honor. He constantly throughout the play speaks of how honorable he is and how honorable men should live. He is very proud of how Romans view him as a noble and honorable man, who fights for what is right and is always following the moral and ethical code.
Greed, ambition, and the possibility of self-gain are always constant in their efforts to influence people’s actions. In Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus, a venerable politician, becomes a victim of the perpetual conflict between power-hungry politicians and ignorant commoners. He is a man of honor and good intentions who sacrifices his own happiness for the benefit of others. Unfortunately, his honor is strung into a fine balance between oblivion and belief and it is ultimately the cause of his downfall. His apparent obliviousness leads him to his grave as his merciful sparing of Mark Antony’s life, much like Julius Caesar’s ghost, comes back to haunt him. Overall, Brutus is an honest, sincere man who holds the lives of others in high regard while he himself acts as a servant to Rome.