In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, the reader learns that two men, Brutus and Cassius, are concerned that Julius Caesar, the future dictator of Rome, has harnessed too much power. And as part of their scheme against him, they both intend to have him killed. But they have very different motivations from one another. This essay will compare and contrast the motives of Brutus and Cassius in the conspiracy against Caesar. Focusing on Brutus, in Act 2, Scene 1, while he is alone in his orchard, Brutus's reasoning for killing Caesar is revealed. "It must be by his death; and, for my part, / I know no personal cause to spurn at him, / But for the general. He would be crowned - / How that might change his nature, there's the …show more content…
Brutus states he has no personal grudge nor feels any jealousy against Caesar. Instead, he only wishes to remove him from power for the greater good of Rome. Furthermore, he fears that, once Caesar is crowned, his nature and morals will change destructively. Unlike Brutus, Cassius's reasoning is more complex and different from Brutus's. And there are multiple reasons why he wants to prevent Caesar from holding absolute power. In Act 1, Scene 2, while Cassius is conversing with Brutus, one of these motives is revealed. "I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus, / As well as I do know your outward favor. / Well, honor is the subject of my story. / I cannot tell what you and other men / Think of this life; but for my single self, / I had as lief not be as live to be / In awe of such a thing as I myself." (Shakespeare 90-96). Here, Cassius is expressing his discontent with living under Caesar's rule and suggests that he would rather die than continue to live in a society where Caesar holds all power. Additionally, this could suggest Cassius's jealousy of Caesar's position and influence. Later in the scene, Cassius goes on to describe a time when he and Caesar were both caught in a storm at sea. He then explains to Brutus "For
He believes that once he is given enough power, Caesar will become a ruthless ruler. Before Caesar, Rome had a beloved ruler named Pompey. Pompey was killed by Caesar himself. As a Roman, this made Brutus nervous for the future possibilities.
Therefore, Brutus did it for the good of Rome, he thought of everyone unlike Cassius. Considering that he tricked Brutus into joining the conspirators. Cassius did everything for himself, he did nothing for the good of others. Cassius is the least honorable in behalf of how he wanted to kill Caesar. Cassius has been a individual who wanted to kill Caesar because he didn't like him; then, he didn’t want him to rule Rome.
The reader can perceive that Cassius provides examples that allude to this, in which he mentions that he had to save Caesar when he was drowning, and the time in which he was sick in Spain. He characterizes Caesar as a weak and unfit man for the position as a ruler that holds all the power in Rome. As Act 1 Scene 2 comes to an end, Cassius delivers one of the most significant points in the final part of his speech, as he brings about the notion that Brutus stands for honor and embarking on any action for the good of Rome. Cassius delivers an emotional appeal, of pathos, in tracing back to Brutus’s ancestors that helped establish the structure of the Roman Republic. As he mentions the roots of Rome, he proclaims “Oh, you and I have heard our fathers say.
After Brutus and Cassius hear cheering and shouting Cassius begins to express his concerns to Brutus about his loyalties Despite Brutus' "love" for Caesar, he reaffirms his loyalties to Cassius by "set[ing] honor in one eye and death i[n] th[e] other" and looking on both with "indifferent[ce]" (I. ii. 89-96). Brutus believes that he can maintain his core principles and still come out unharmed, but Cassius knows that is not going to happen. Cassius is aware of the danger and begins to urge Brutus to take action before it's too late. Brutus displays his naivety by believing that he can remain impartial when making a crucial decision. When the conspirators are discussing what to do after the murder of Caesar, Brutus brings up the point, "Let's be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.
“Because such a man caesar fears will let nothing interfere with his ambition”, whilst lacking personal honor in such a manner that shows him to be a ruthless schemer. seeming in disbelief cassius cannot accept caesar 's rise to power and forces himself to the belief that it is fate to be no more than a form of cowardice, and begins to urge for a more fitting or noble temperament towards life in turn by blaming his and brutus’ submissive frame of mind by implying lack of assertiveness and failure of
The audience learns Cassius is a leader and does not believe any of his equals have the right to be above to him. It is apparent Cassius declares Caesar as his equal when he states, (1.2 99-101) “ I was born as free as Caesar, so were you. / We both have fed as well, and we can both / Endure the winter’s cold as well as he”.
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.
By saying this Brutus tries to put Cassius in his situation to see how he would feel if he acted as Cassius did when needy for help, to shed light on how Cassius’ actions were greedy and self-benefit
"What’s so special about caesar?", This quote shows how much Cassius despises Caesar and how he feels he is no better of a man than Brutus or himself. They both had a common goal but were not sure of each other's very different and clashing reasons for attempting to reach the goal ahead. Cassius seemed to have been a puppet master and conductor of the conspiracy twisting things to suit his own preferences, and to rise against a super power in order to achieve his ultimate goal. The differences in motivation between Brutus and Cassius vividly reflect their morals, just as their morals reflect back upon their reasons.
Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, surely was meant for entertainment and to be informative, on the other hand it also displays complexity of humans. Shakespeare constantly uses the writing format of ethos, pathos and logos throughout this play. Ethos and pathos are used to persuade people in devious ways, as Brutus is persuaded to overthrow Caesar and become the new Emperor of Rome. Shakespeare wrote “Julius Caesar” for later generations to remember the history, which took place, as he did state, this play shall be rehearsed in various forms. Although his main intention is to entertain people with his play and to show how easy people in negative or positive aspects manipulate their peers.
Brutus was a great and close friend of Julius Caesar, but Cassius took advantage of Brutus because he was jealous of Julius. Brutus was a patriot and just wanted to do the right thing for Rome and make sure Julius was not going to become king. Brutus was a truthful man and wanted to know what the people thought about Julius. So Cassius tried to bribe Brutus with fake letters from the people, and decided he would team with the other senators and kill Julius Caesar for the good of Rome. For example, in his speech at Julius 's funeral he said "Not that I loved Caesar less, but I loved Rome more."
Brutus realized the great harm Caesar could bring to Rome if the was crowned king. Although Brutus was easily persuaded by Cassius to go as far as committing a murder, Brutus did it because he thought that it was the best for Rome. Brutus does what he thinks is the absolute best for Rome which really shows his great honor and
Cassius is obviously not a stoic. Throughout the play, Cassius shows his emotions at every turn. During the storm, he bares his chest and tells the gods to let the lightning strike him if he is not making the right decision. Cassius despises Caesar. He has seen Caesar at his most vulnerable and found him lacking.
In the play, Julius Caesar by written by William Shakespeare the extended view of Brutus in a result to his idealism. Brutus is convinced to kill Caesar, he was worried about about where Rome is heading as a country as Brutus was an honourable man. He decides to kill his close friend Caesar. Brutus was a very objective man, he didn’t base things on a personal side but always about the facts and what’s really happening.
In this quote Cassius describes a time when Caesar and him were by the river and Caesar dared Cassius to swim to the other side. When he was in, Cassius told Caesar to join him so he did but realized he couldn’t swim and yelled for Cassius to help him. Cassius described it as a time when Caesar was not a mighty god like he had been chosen to be but instead was a weak man. Last off, Cassius thinks that Caesar’s temper is dangerous. Cassius states;