The tragedy of Julius Caesar (1599) is regarded as an archetypal pattern of crime and punishment in that it handles the crime of the assassination of Caesar and the entailing consequences of such a horrible deed, through the punishment of the conspirators. Certainly Caesar is a good man who rightly deserves ascending the throne of Rome on the evidence that the people of Rome love and respect him to the extent that they acclaim him as king over them. although, he has his own personal flaw which unconsciously move him towards implant the seeds of his own destruction. There are, moreover, two tragic heroes in this play, Brutus and Caesar, although the one is treated more fully than the other. Each brings about his own destruction, simply because …show more content…
Cassius is the co-hero of the play. Cassius, in fact, is a lot of flaming jealousy consuming him to destroy Caesar. The reason for his hatred is simply jealousy. Brutus is also disturbed by Caesar's growing ambition and is ready for Cassius's hints. (O’Dair,1993:6). As an initial step, Cassius unflinchingly determinates to convince Brutus of his criminal conspiracy against Caesar, because Brutus's character ensures the success of the scheme. Through his wide knowledge of the psychology of man, Cassius is made capable of winning Brutus over to his side. Before the appearance of Cassius to work on Brutus, Brutus never shows any symptoms of criminal trends. On the contrary, is a man universally recognized to be of good nature. Machiavelli has raised his criminal tendency. Conspirators, Cassius. Cassius’s manipulation of Brutus begins with Brutus’s open admission that he is “with himself at war”, (I. 11.35). (Kennedy,1981). The burden of such a moral misjudgment is so lucidly shown through the disruptive pricks of Brutus’s conscience which weighs so heavily on him before, during and after the assassination of Julius Caesar. Before the conspirators explain the finalization of the conspiracy arrangements, Brutus describes the psychic state that shines in him as a result of his decision to get rid of
What— did one of us strike down the most powerful man in the world in order to support robbers? Should we now dirty our fingers with lowly bribes and sell the mighty offices that we hold for whatever gold we can get our hands on? I'd rather be a dog and howl at the moon that be that kind of Roman.” (Shakespeare 169) Brutus is painfully obvious (at least he is from Cassius’ point of view) when he confides to Cassius that he believes that Cassius wasnt as honest about what his intent and motives for killing Caesar were.
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
“Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius, that you would have me seek into myself for that which is not me?” (I.II.68-69). In the play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare there are many characters that can be compared and contrasted; two of those characters are Brutus and Cassius. Brutus and Cassius both have quite a few similarities as well as their differences. One of the few similarities that both these characters share is that both were involved in the assassination of Caesar; the difference between these two is their personalities.
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
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
Throughout the duration of the play numerous people attempt to expose Caesar of his domineering and autocratic power. Among these men are two preeminent characters, Marcus Brutus and Caius Cassius. However in comparison to Brutus, Cassius deserves to be the character memorialized and venerated as he asserts himself as a skillful Machiavellian leader that provides the ingenuity behind the plot to kill Caesar. In correlation Brutus is perceived as the noblest Roman, yet contributes nothing significant to advancing the plot of the play. Individually, the moral beliefs of each prominent character can attest to the notion of who should be respected, criticized or forgotten.
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).
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 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
By saying “Et tu, Bruté?” (3.1.85), Caesar understands the possibility that others would take action on his rise to power, however, he never believed that his dear friend Brutus would be willing and able to end his life. Based on this, Brutus’s betrayal of Caesar far outweighs Cassius’s. With a few other notions which will soon be discussed, it can be concluded that Brutus deserves to stay in the fate handed to
Cassius is often referred to as a villain in the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. A villain is a play or stories antagonist. Traits of a villain include manipulative and untrustworthy. Cassius was a known companion of Caesar’s that was an active part in the assassination (Gaius). First of all, Cassius manipulates Brutus and the rest of the conspirators into helping him assassinate Caesar.
Everyone knows that Julius Caesar was stabbed to death by his friends, so they naturally assume Caesar is a tragic hero. In digging deeper, the real tragic hero of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is revealed. To begin, William Shakespeare’s play is based on historical events that occurred in Rome around 44 B.C. Julius Caesar was born in 102 B.C. and died in 44 B.C. During this time, he became a power-hungry military leader. His rise to power was a result of such actions that made the Roman public love him.
The slightest fair individual in the play Julius Caesar is Cassius. He is envious of what Caesar is and does. He works simply on self-interests. He needs power and knows he will never get it if Caesar is around on the grounds that Caesar didn't care for him. Cassius needed to execute Caesar to get all the power.