Manipulation In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Cassius' argument that he presents to Brutus in order to get him to join the conspiracy is effective in appealing to Brutus' love of democracy because he uses pathos and develops ethos. Cassius establishes his credibility to his friend Brutus by flattering him, so that Brutus does not suspect that he is being manipulated. As he prepares to use careful language to tip Brutus to his side, Cassius takes a moment to sing Brutus' praises, so Brutus will believe that all Cassius has to say is in his best interest. He begins by telling his friend, "...since you know you cannot see yourself / So well as by reflection, I, your glass, / Will modestly discover to yourself / That of yourself which you know not of" (Shakespeare 1.2.67-70).

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is written by William Shakespeare. This play is about a true historical event with minor tweaks here and there. Shakespeare makes Marcus Brutus the tragic hero in this play. He is faced with the decision to kill his best friend or to let him possibly become a dictator. Brutus being the tragic hero had to have some tragic flaws.

After Cassius presents the idea of murdering Caesar to Brutus, he begins to take his manipulation a step further by sending Brutus forged letters from other senators. The letters leave Brutus to believe other senators

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.

Julius Caesar Essay Words are more powerful than weapons. Throughout the play of Julius Caesar the idea of powerful words is a key theme. Through speeches lies and cunning plans the characters in this play are able to convince people to join conspiracies and move people to action. This play reflects on the need for excellent speaking skills and its importance in ancient Rome, Elizabethan, and modern times.

The opening scene serves as way of foreshadowing the events of the play by placing the power within the hands of the people. Shakespeare does so by dedicating a whole scene to individuals who collectively become the catalyst of the shift in Roman leadership in the play. Not known to both the reader and the characters involved in the scene, but their opinionated banter on whether or not to celebrate Caesar is one of the central themes in the play. Similar to other history plays like Richard II and Henry VI, Julius Caesar showcases the dilemma that war brings and the divisions of opinions by the public. The dilemma lies in the juxtaposition of what is good for the individual against what is good for the nation state.

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

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

Caroline Craine 1/24/2023 English 9 Manipulation and Persuasion in Julius Caesar To influence Brutus, Portia and Cassius exploit their relationships with him to solidify their argument and control over him. Since Portia and Cassius both try to influence Brutus, they use similar tactics, but sometimes need to apply other techniques of either manipulation or persuasion to get their point across based on factors such as their background. To understand these influences, the matter of how manipulation and persuasion are similar, different, and applied comes into play. Both Portia and Cassius display manipulative and persuasive techniques with Brutus, as well as when they exploit their connections with him to support their arguments. But first,

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.

He ends up joining them for honor for Rome, not jealousy of Caesar’s power, and it ends up very badly for him. As you can see, manipulation is a major theme in this play and becomes very clear because of the way Cassius, Antony, and Decius manipulate the people of Rome. The way Cassius manipulates is very smart, and this is because of his interactions with Brutus. The fact that Brutus wanted to honor Rome so much that he is able to get manipulated by him makes Brutus ignorant and Cassius’ way of manipulating people to do what he wants is very clever and sly.

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).

When Cassius sends the letters that command Brutus to “awake and see thyself!” he makes use of the character’s hamartia and uses it in his favour. It is in fact these letters that ultimately lead Brutus to join the conspiracy, a major step towards the accomplishment of Caesar’s fate. Without the use of deception, it is most likely that Brutus would not fall into Cassius’ power-hungry hands; and without Brutus being in the conspiracy, the events of the play (and of history) would have followed completely different routes, showing the power deception has in certain circumstances. In the end of the play, Cassius shows evidence of stoical thinking , as he finally believes in “the determining power of Fate”, and how his vindictiveness has led to him discovering the “worthy cause of suicide”.

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.