Theme Of Manipulation In Julius Caesar

708 Words3 Pages

Sarah Cullen
Mr. Riskind
Caesar Final Essay
12/18/14
Deception and Manipulation (question #6)

No matter how hard a person tries, they will never be able to avoid being manipulated or tricked by someone in their life. Most people want to assume the best and trust others, but unfortunately the world is full of manipulative and deceiving people. William Shakespeare’s, “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar,” shows the worst characteristics of Ancient Rome such as betrayal, conspiracies, and gory battles resulting in countless deaths and suicides (THESIS). However, none of these characteristics are as crucial for the development of the story as the power of manipulation and deception, which Shakespeare uses with characters like Cassius and Antony, to move the plot forward and let key events take place (THESIS).
Cassius was the first person to use deception and manipulation in the play in order to get Brutus to join the conspiracy(TS). Cassius started this manipulation at the Feast of Luprical in Act One when he tried to persuade Brutus to join the conspiracy by telling him that Caesar was no more worthy of being emperor than Brutus himself (CD). He described Caesars many physical weaknesses, such as his falling sickness or his inability to swim for distances (CD). Cassius had hoped that Brutus would agree to help kill Caesar by explaining to him how bad of a leader Caesar would be to Rome (CM). After Cassius’ manipulative words, Brutus began to second guess himself and

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