Although Cassius and Brutus play significant roles in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, both men differ in their rank, views of justice, and possess contrasting personalities. Both men knew Caesar but differed in their motives to kill him. For example, the reader may view Brutus as a hero who desires fair treatment in Rome. Cassius may be looked upon as a manipulative and jealous man seeking to fulfill his own agenda. Despite Brutus’ decision to kill Caesar, it can be argued that he is a man of virtue while Cassius is a man of vice.
In Shakespeare 's “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”, Brutus is presented as the tragic hero. He fits all of the criteria and requirements of a tragic hero. He is presented as the protagonist who has a tragic flaw that causes him to make decisions that lead to his death. Brutus is given several opportunities to turn back from mistakes but he never does. Brutus understands his inevitable fate of death when it is brought upon him.
Cassius is a foil to Brutus due to their reasons for killing Caesar. Cassius's reasons goes more towards fear and jealousy, and hs more of a selfish reason to end Caesar's life. While Brutus's motive is, wholeheartedly, for the good of Rome, and his loyalty towards Rome is greater than his of Caesars. An example for Cassius being selfish and fearful is when he sent forged letter to Brutus just to get him to help him kill Caesar. Brutus's every action in this play is for the good of Rome, he was hesitant at first because he did not believe he was a threat to Rome and the citizens until Cassius sent the forged letters. So, they both wanted to kill Caesar but have completely different
First, Cassius uses ethos, pathos and logos to manipulate Brutus into joining the conspirators. When Cassius first mentions joining the conspirators Brutus is sceptical and asks him “into what
Brutus believes that Caesar will do more harm than good to the people, and reap benefits for himself. Brutus has already said this, but had said it in his own words, (II, i, 12-14). He has no clue if Caesar will use his power for the good and betterment for the people, or use it for his own needs and other
Cassius wants Brutus to believe that their futures need to be changed because Caesar is leading them into tyranny. Cassius then uses flattery to show Brutus that he is equal in power to Caesar. “Brutus and Caesar… Write them together, yours is a fair a name”. Cassius explains this to Brutus that he is just as capable of reaching the height of power Caesar possesses. Following this conversation Cassius develops a plan to further manipulate Brutus.
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).
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. 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
This rational method of comparing Brutus and Caesar serves to emphasize Cassius’s argument through a logical method of persuasion. As evidenced by the techniques of pathos, rhetorical questions, and compare and contrast, Cassius uses persuasion in a skillful way in order to convince Brutus to overthrow
There are a lot of different themes that could be used to describe the play of Julius Caesar. Power is a big part of the play and is probably the best theme of it. Throughout the play, power has a big impact on the story line and the way the story goes. It is evident to the conspirators that Julius Caesar is headed for absolute power; he becomes a threat to the ideals and values of the Roman Republic. They assassinate Caesar before he can be crowned king. The irony is that Caesar's death results in civil war. As two people with questionable motives try to get power, chaos ensues and the Republic is never the same again.
Brutus, According to Shakespeare The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, a Shakespearean play and representation of the assassination of Caesar, is a well written and developed story in which the build up of the characters is very well done. As a matter of fact, the developing of Brutus, the tragic hero on the play, is one of the most important characters and therefore one of the better explained and exposed. Brutus is a character that is marked with three traits that allow him to be the one responsible for Caesar's assassination. Indeed, Brutus is naive, well-intended and hypocrite, as seen when the conspirators convince him to be part of it, and be one of the most important figures in it.
A critical component of this line are the phrases, “coin my heart”, “drop my blood”, and “vile trash” because it infers that Brutus would put his life on the line, and do nothing lower than expected of him for the benefit of the army. He is able to shape his self-image, by showing he is an ethical man to make it apparent to Cassius that he is a credible individual. Brutus creates a didactic tone, which exemplifies he is an honest man whom Cassius can trust, as Brutus stays true to his moral
This is powerful in manipulating Brutus, because Brutus is an honorable man, and he is always concerned with what the most honorable decision is. Moreover, Cassius distorts Brutus' view of Caesar by telling Brutus that, "[Caesar has] become a god," and that Cassius "is a wretched creature," that if, "Caesar... [nods at] him," he, "must bend his
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.
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