The paranoia of the ideology that power completely corrupts has existed throughout centuries. This obsession can cause people to act in an irrational way or out of reasonings. So was the case with the senators in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. William Shakespeare centered his play around the Roman leader, Julius Caesar. Out of fear of his future political activities and his overconfident personality, the senators of Rome, including Caesar's best friend Brutus, created a conspiracy to assassinate him to stop him from obtaining absolute power over the Roman Empire. On the Ides of March, Julius Caesar was assassinated by Roman senators because of what they thought Caesar would do with his power. William Shakespeare illustrated an unjustified assassination …show more content…
He acted on greed, hatred, and jealousy instead of having the good of Rome in mind. Author, Donald Wasson, finds that several of the senators, including Cassius, who were involved in the conspiracy against Caesar were “friends and supporters of Pompey who sought both high office and profit” in his article The Murder of Julius Caesar (Wasson). Cassius did not care about what Caesar was doing or would do to Rome with his power, instead he only worried about having power over everyone else. He told Brutus about Julius Caesar’s disabilities and commented about his amazement that “a man of such a feeble temper should so get the start of the majestic world and bear the palm alone” (I.ii.131-133). Cassius never wanted to be below or feel less than anybody. Cassius believed that Caesar was too weak compared to him and that he was more worthy of having the power Caesar had. To make advancements in his personal agenda, Cassius manipulated several senators into thinking Julius Caesar was a threat to Rome’s …show more content…
The conspirators thought that the plebeians would understand their motives, but, instead,“the city was in shock, and people became increasingly more hostile” after the assassination (Wasson). The commoners sided with Anthony and Octavian, ignoring the lack of justifications that the conspirators and Brutus provided. They were angry that their beloved king had been assassinated by the senators who were supposed to be working and supporting him. The author of The Assassination of Julius Caesar. A People’s History of Ancient Rome and political scientist, Michael Parenti, stated that Caesar’s assassination “marked a turning point in the history of Rome. It set in motion a civil war and put an end to whatever democracy there had been” (Parenti 2). Caesar’s assassination harmed Rome and did not help their political situation at all. It confused and infuriated the working class because they had lost their beloved king to greedy senators without a real explanation. In Meller and McGee’s book they state that instead of supporting the conspiracy, the “assassination did help Caesar’s reputation” (Meller and McGee 78). The commoners loved Julius Caesar more than ever because they did not agree with the justifications that were given to them during Julius Caesar’s funeral. The conspirators never took in consideration
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show MoreJulius Caesar, going to be emperor of Rome, was assassinated by his dearest friends. His friends believed he was not right Rome and so they felt the need to assassinate him. King, on the contrary, was assassinated by an unknown who did not believe in what King was fighting for. These two assassinations reveal quite a lot about the human nature.
Why was Caesar Really Killed? Retrieved from https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/1643The author presents in this article that many felt threaten by Julius leadership. All the senators that surrounded him plotted against him, they thought what they were doing was something good. Julius Caesar did not stand a chance in his attack, the assassins had no mercy and it was the end and the beginning of something that would change many. It is helpful in describing the after effects after his death it was more like trying to overthrow one from government, the struggle between the wealthy and a leader that was more
In William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, Cassius is a foil to Marcus Brutus, for Brutus is consistently described as honorable and kind, contrasting the always clever and self-centered, Cassius. Cassius acts as a character who goes against the virtues and weaknesses of the main character. Brutus announces, “Why man, he doth bestride the narrow World like a Colossus, and we pretty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about To find ourselves dishonorable graves” (Shakespeare I. 2. 142-145). By appealing to Brutus' feeling of honor and loyalty to Rome, Cassius hopes to persuade him to join the conspiracy against Caesar.
Have you ever wondered who killed Julius Caesar? It was a dark day that day you know March 15Th 44 BC the day that Julius Caesar was brutally murdered at the meeting in the Senate building. The people who were responsible for the assassination of Julius Caesar were Brutus, Cassius, and other members of the Senate. The first member of the Senate that took part in Julius’s murder was his thought to be friend Brutus.
He would have rather watched himself die a thousand deaths than to watch his city in peril. Cassius helped talk Brutus into killing Caesar over jealousy. Brutus only went along with the idea because he knew that Caesar was an improper ruler for rome and its people. Brutus put his city and its people n front of him and that was his tragic flaw. Since brutus put his city before himself t stopped him from thinking what was the best himself.
Samantha Durand 27 October 2015 Dunipace 4th Julius Caesar Essay Brutus is the Tragic Hero William Shakespeare wrote “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” to tell the story of the tragedy that happened to him. When Caesar was going to become king, his own friends turned into conspirators against him. Since the conspirators said that Caesar would abuse the power of being king, they decided to murder him for the sake of the Roman people.
Cassius manipulates Brutus to the point of making him feel as if there are several people wanting Brutus to do something about Caesar. Cassius also wants to convince Brutus that “Caesar’s ambition shall be glanced at” so they can eliminate his power for fear that “worse days [may] endure”. Cassius is not the only senator wanting to eliminate Caesar’s growing
In the tragic play, Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, the audiences see the fall of a great man. Caesar is a powerful man during that time because he wins over Pompey’s sons during the war and many common people love him for what he did to them, his kindness and cares for his people, Caesar has also become a downfall at the end of the story by getting killed by one of his best friend and one of the people that he trust the most - Brutus, along with the conspirators. At first, the common people don’t feel like they need Caesar to be their new “king” and feel like they get betrayed by Caesar after hearing Brutus explains to them the reasons why he kills Caesar is because he doesn’t want the Roman people to become Caesar’s slaves, instead of Caesar,
Caesar is brought to the senate where he eventually is stabbed by the conspirators, his friends, his allies, and the people he trusted. The conspirators didn’t think of the reproductions of their actions and they have now started a war. They lose the battle against Mark Antony, some conspirators commit suicide, and some are executed. Shakespeare wanted us to develop sympathy for Julius Caesar through the betrayal of his friends, his overthrow of power, and the ultimate death of his once friends.
He could be manipulative and scheming, allowing his flesh to rule his heart. Cassius hated to be subservient to any man, and especially to Caesar. Upset by the rich and powerful who allowed Caesar to rule, he began to think of a way to remove Caesar from his throne. By using other men's good intentions, Cassius orchestrated and
In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, Marc Antony appears to be a strong advocate for Julius Caesar’s triumphs and increasing power. However, like Caesar, Antony is extremely manipulative and powerful. After Caesar’s death, Antony manipulated the conspirators into believing he was on their side before requesting to speak at Caesar’s funeral. While Brutus and the conspirators remained fooled by Antony’s innocence, Antony took the initiative to inform the Roman citizens of the conspirator’s horrendous actions towards their beloved leader, Julius Caesar. Caesar’s funeral was a time of reflection for the citizens of Rome, as Marc Antony caused them to question their allegiance to Brutus.
Cassius influenced Brutus to conspire against Caesar by stating, Caesar “is now become a god… and his name has been sounded more than [Brutus’s]” (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 118-145-6). Cassius’s arguments convinced Brutus in proving Caesar's murder would be just, but Caesar’s death is unjust because he is being murdered out of Brutus and Cassius’s jealousy. Both of the individuals are envious of the power that Caesar is being given by the people of Rome and want to end his life before they will lose their own power in the senate after Caesar becomes king. Brutus’ naive mind was easily convinced by Cassius that Caesar was not the best choice to assume the Roman throne because he would not listen to their political thoughts.
He ends up joining them for honor for Rome, not jealousy of Caesar’s power, and it ends up very badly for him. As you can see, manipulation is a major theme in this play and becomes very clear because of the way Cassius, Antony, and Decius manipulate the people of Rome. The way Cassius manipulates is very smart, and this is because of his interactions with Brutus. The fact that Brutus wanted to honor Rome so much that he is able to get manipulated by him makes Brutus ignorant and Cassius’ way of manipulating people to do what he wants is very clever and sly.
First of all he was motivated by envy over Caesar’s power. Cassius felt that Caesar did not deserve to rule Rome. Secondly, Cassius was upset because he had saved Caesar from drowning in the Tiber River. “But ere we could arrive the point proposed, Caesar cried, “Help me, Cassius, or I sink!” (Shakespeare 1.2.110-111).
One of the reasons why Caesar was exiled is because the conspirators believed he would abuse his power. Cassius had a bit more of a greedy reasoning. Cassius knew Caesar was still involved with Pompeii and he also just didn’t want Caesar to be acquainted ruler. So he knew the only way to get Caesar’s