Julius Caesar Brutus Foil Essay

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. When Cassius says this, he is using his cunning ways to exhort Brutus to act against Caesar before he subdues them with

Cassius prevails, “Hear me, good brother” (Shakespeare IV. 3. 2223). Cassius is expressing the hope with careful word choice appealing to Brutus’ loyalty, that the reader would understand his love for Brutus and manipulation. He desires that the reader experience his feelings. Cassius makes a telling soliloquy early on in the play after feeling as though he has almost convinced Brutus to serve as the head of the plot against Caesar. People often evaluate others based solely on themselves. When Antony visits the conspirators after Caesar's murder, Brutus greets him kindly and with trust because, erroneously, he believes Antony to be an honest and reliable person. On the other side, Cassius evaluates Antony by himself and surmises that he is equally shrewd and treacherous. Cassius tries to have him slain alongside Caesar, but Brutus overrides him with his customary charity and kindness. Brutus says, “By them shall make a fuller number up, Come on refresh'd, new-added, and encouraged;From which advantage shall we cut him off” (Shakespeare IV. 3. 2218-2221). We can see that Brutus is speaking in terms of logos because he is preparing to travel to Philippi. His strategy relies heavily on