Throughout, Act 1 & 2 in Julius Caesar, Shakespeare illustrates the effects of idealist versus realist point of view, using Brutus and Cassius’s view of Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire. Caesar returns from a victorious battle against Pompei. All of Rome is in love with Caesar, except Brutus and Cassius. Brutus is Caesar’s best friend, but he fears the Caesar wants to rule Rome absolutely. Brutus’s idealist view of Rome clouds his feelings for Caesar. Cassius is a jealous and vindictive person. Cassius’s realist view of the world, his mean and self serving nature leads Brutus and a group of other men down a vengeful path. During Act 1 Cassius notices that Brutus is acting differently. Cassius asks, Brutus what is troubling me. Brutus
In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the character Cassius wishes to convince Brutus to join him in conspiring against Caesar because he and his co-conspirators believe Caesar is unfit to rule Rome. In this passage, Cassius persuades Brutus through his pathos, ethos, and logos. Cassius exploits Brutus’s pathos in that he compliments Brutus to inflate his ego, as shown when Cassius says Brutus has “hidden worthiness” (1,2,57) and his worthiness earns him “many of the best respect in Rome” (1,2,59). Cassius utilizes these compliments in order to make Brutus see himself as a chosen one to aid Cassius in removing Caesar from the throne. Moreover, Cassius attempts to sway Brutus through his pathos by capitalizing Brutus’s fear for the future of Rome,
In their introductory scene a discussion is taking place about Caesar's claim to the throne. Through this discussion the audience learns a lot about Cassius and Brutus’s values . It is revealed that Brutus is an honorable man who believes in the general good of mankind. He states, (1.2 84-89)“ What is it that you would impart to me?/ If it be aught toward the general good, / Set honour in one eye and death
Overall, Brutus believes that the government should be guided by the votes of the senators. Throughout the play, Brutus displays fear and mistrust in Caesar. To this, Brutus says, “I do fear the people choose Caesar for their king” (1.2.78-79). In this quote, Brutus is telling Cassius that he is afraid that Caesar will be crowned king. Further in the play, Brutus is pulled into the conspiracy plot to kill Caesar.
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.
Although Caesar, as the upcoming ruler of Rome in Julius Caesar, should be portrayed as the ideal leader of the play, he actually has too arrogant of a character to be so. Therefore, Shakespeare places honor in Brutus and allows Brutus to have the role of the idealistic leader of the story. Although Shakespeare writes this play in a controversial time period during England’s political turmoil, he allows the audience to be able to choose the true ruler of loyalty to the crown or the honor of a noble man through the understanding of the two contrasting character
While Brutus maintains noble intentions, Cassius goes into this scheme with every intention of leaving everyone else behind to claim the power for himself, as he has been compelled by their society to do. Cassius tells Brutus that Caesar “doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus” while convincing him that Caesar is accumulating too much power for one man, despite harboring the belief that all of that power should be his (JC I.ii.142-143). To further prove his point to Brutus, Cassius gives Brutus fake letters telling him that the common people would rather have Brutus in charge than Caesar. While this is just Cassius himself manipulating Brutus, Cassius is motivated by the pressures of their society and Brutus, motivated by the belief that his society wants him to, joins the conspirators in their plot to kill Caesar and take power for themselves. Caught in a vicious cycle of societal pressure, these men continue to fight for power even after they achieve their original goal as evidenced by the civil war that breaks out following the assassination of Julius
In “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”, Caesar’s main flaw is his arrogance and ambition, which both led to his doom. His overconfidence and self-love blinded him of the sharp thorns growing from his sides which were masked with loyalty and care. Viciously assassinated by the closest people in his heart, Julius Caesar had been known for centuries as the blind conceited man. On the other hand, loyalty conflicted Brutus, who is argued to be the protagonist of the tragedy. Although he was loyal to Caesar, he was loyal to his nation too and thought that the death of Caesar would be for the best for the nation.
Brutus fled his country where he eventually killed himself. While Brutus experiences an impactful turning point, Cassius ' actions and personality remain fairly constant within the negative traits. He represents gloominess from the beginning of the play; he is jealous, manipulative and pessimistic. “O coward that I am, to live so long to see my best friend ta 'en before my face.” (V.III.34-35).
Unfortunately, Cassius uses Brutus’ altruistic characteristic and devout loyalty against him by sending fake letters with concerns regarding the crowning of Caesar for Brutus to read and be persuaded to join the conspirators. Cassius’ manipulation of Brutus serves as an example of how Shakespeare
Cassius saves the life of Caesar, sees him beg for water, and witnesses his epileptic seizure. From these weaknesses, Cassius finds himself to be just as worthy of the crown as is Caesar. His reasons are emotionally tied to getting rid of Caesar, Brutus chooses to become a conspirator for the good of Rome. He does not know how Caesar will use his power.
Brutus and Cassius are two prominent conspirators in the play Julius Caesar; one of these two fits Aristotle's depiction of a tragic hero. The difference between a normal hero and a tragic hero is that the latter will have a tragic flaw that keeps them from succeeding. These characters are often sympathetic and will cleave to the reader's pity. Firstly, we shall discuss Cassius. He was a man of questionable character.
Cassius wants Brutus to think that if Throughout the play Julius Caesar, written by William shakespeare, Cassius uses manipulation to form his group of conspirators and make them perform his biddings. Most importantly, Cassius turns Brutus, one of Caesar’s greatest friends, to his side through various creative tactics. Body 1: During the Feast of Lupercal, Cassius pulls Brutus aside to begin his manipulative plan. Cassius explains to Brutus that “Men are sometimes masters of their fates”. They have the potential to change their future.
Brutus is without a doubt the most noble character in this play. Nonetheless, his impeccable sense of morality also blindfolds him to other people’s sordid motives and makes him easy to be manipulated. Indeed, Brutus is easily manipulated by Cassius in Act 1, Scene 2. In hope to convince Brutus to join the conspirators, Cassius says “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” (1.2.150-152). As a result, Brutus starts to believes that it is his job to murder Caesar, as he says in Act 2, Scene 1: “It must be by his death: and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general” (2.1.14-16).
Early in the play, Cassius states that Brutus does not seem to see him as a
He is losing all of his honorable traits, including the ones he earned in his political position as senator, by going against his fellow senator, Caesar. This affects the work as a whole because of the themes of the play, ambition, and conflict, have a strong impact on what Shakespeare is ultimately trying to express between the main characters. Ambition has an effect on the plot because Caesar is a very ambitious man. This alone and the numerous letters Brutus has been receiving leads him to think that he is no good for Rome, Caesar’s ambition worries Brutus. Cassius is a man of great ambition also.