Julius Caesar and The Odyssey Comparative Essay
Throughout William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar and Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, loyalty is strongly presented as a major motif. In both texts, loyalty is highly valued as one of the most important traits to a person’s character. Not only do the loyal characters receive better fates, but those who are not loyal are punished for the actions, usually through revenge. In Julius Caesar, the characters that remained loyal to Caesar are the few who wind up alive at the end of the play, and in The Odyssey, those who remained loyal to Odysseus were rewarded by Odysseus, and those who weren’t were killed.
In Julius Caesar, Cassius lead a group of conspirators, including Brutus, Caesar’s loyal friend, to kill Julius Caesar. Brutus, who was too trusting of those around him, had been convinced to help kill Caesar on the grounds that it was what would be the best for the Roman people, without knowing of the greed which motivated Cassius. Despite his good intentions, Brutus was disloyal to Caesar, and he paid the price. After Caesar’s death, Brutus and Cassius are driven out of the city by the mob rule that ensues. The people of Rome have plans to avenge Caesar’s death, shouting “Revenge! About! Seek! Burn! Fire! Kill! Slay! Let not a traitor live!” (3.2.197-198). Meanwhile, the loyal Mark Antony is preparing an army. Antony was responsible for turning the people against Brutus after Caesar’s death, and now had plans to fight Brutus using his own forces. While the Roman mob promises to kill Brutus, they pledge to Mark Antony, “We’ll hear him. We’ll follow him. We’ll die with him” (3.2.201). Though the Romans are rash and easily swayed, it is clear that loyalty is extremely important...
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...s even, those who are disloyal wind up getting paid back by those they betrayed—Brutus admits defeat and kills himself after seeing the ghost of Julius Caesar, and the suitors are killed by Odysseus for trying to wed his wife. However, the acts of loyalty in The Odyssey are arguably much greater than those in Julius Caesar. In The Odyssey, the characters had to keep their faith in Odysseus’ return for twenty years, whereas in Julius Caesar, the characters simply had to not kill Caesar and not take the side of his murderers after his death. Still, those who proved to be disloyal had to pay the ultimate price. While the consequences of disloyalty may be significantly less severe in today’s world than they were in either of the texts, they still both go to prove that loyalty is always a valuable trait that’s of the utmost importance in friendship, family, and life.
In the story The Odyssey, Odysseus showed many traits. I believe the most important trait he showed was loyalty. He showed it in multiple situations. Odysseus showed loyalty when dealing with the sirens, the louts eaters, and the cyclops.
One friend kills another. Speeches are presented. A war breaks out. This is the story of Julius Caesar, the emperor of Rome who was killed by Brutus and a group of conspirators. Many argue that Brutus was a patriot, and many argue that he was a betrayer. People argue that he was a betrayer because he betrayed Caesar’s trust and gave a speech against him. However, when you think of Caesar’s personality, arrogant and slightly reckless, he could’ve made bad decisions and caused Rome a great deal of trouble. Brutus was a patriot to Rome since he did what was best for the country and even took his own life instead of running away. He put his own feelings aside to do what was right.
Homer’s The Odyssey, a magnificent story of lust, deceit, greed, and heroism, still fascinates scholars and casual readers alike today in the same way it fascinated its audience at the time it was written. The Odyssey, a journey of determination, patience, and virtue, tells the tail of Odysseus, the main character, on his voyage home to Ithaka after the end of the Trojan War. Odysseus goes through many unforeseen trials and tribulations, which exemplify his character. During these different happenings, Odysseus makes decisions that do not correspond to his character.
Honor and power is what drives the conspirators to assassinate Julius Caesar in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. Caesar is now the single leader of Rome, and members of the Senate have concerns that he will abuse his sole power. Therefore, they plot and accomplish the assassination of Caesar in an attempt to rebuild the balance of Rome. Rome falls into chaos with an unknown future with no central leader for the people to follow. In Act I, Scene 2, Cassius, a member of the Senate, explains to his friend, Brutus, that Caesar is not the god he makes himself out to be. Instead, he argues both he and Brutus are equal to Caesar and are just as deserving of the throne. Cassius’ speech to Brutus diminishes Caesar’s godly demeanor through
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is an intimate portrayal of the famed assassination of Julius Caesar and the complex inner workings of the men who committed the crime. In one particularly revealing scene, two of the men closest to Caesar, one a conspirator in his murder and one his second-in command, give orations for the deceased. Despite being simple in appearance, these two speeches do much of the work in developing and exposing the two characters in question. Though both have a love for Caesar, Mark Antony's is mixed with a selfish desire for power, while Brutus' is pure in nature, brought to a screeching halt by his overpowering stoicism. These starkly-contrasted personalities influence the whole of the play, leading to its tragic-but-inevitable end.
The Odyssey, an epic poem written by Homer, has many characters, but the main character is Odysseus, king of Ithaca and hero of the Trojan War. Odysseus is a strong character and is protected by the Greek goddess, Athena. The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus, great journey home from the Trojan Was, but he makes many decisions that many people today consider unjust or unethical.(Encyclopedia Britannica) He makes these decisions all in the effort to get home, and in self defense. That is why Odysseus’ actions make him a primarily moral and ethical driven character, rather than a political and power driven character.
Homer’s The Odyssey is not just a tale of a man’s struggle on his journey home from the Trojan War, but of his struggle from the consequences of revenge. The Odyssey weaves in different characters’ tales of revenge from the gods and what impact revenge actually had on those characters. Revenge is an important underlying theme in The Odyssey because, in essence, it explains why Odysseus’ journey was so prolonged and treacherous. A few examples of revenge in the poem include Orestes’ revenge on Aegisthus, Zeus’ revenge on Odysseus and his men, and Poseidon’s revenge on Odysseus. These different examples of revenge in The Odyssey show the importance of the gods’ revenge in the epic journey of Odysseus.
Homer's two central heroes, Odysseus and Achilles, are in many ways differing manifestations of the same themes. While Achilles' character is almost utterly consistent in his rage, pride, and near divinity, Odysseus' character is difficult to pin down to a single moral; though perhaps more human than Achilles, he remains more difficult to understand. Nevertheless, both heroes are defined not by their appearances, nor by the impressions they leave upon the minds of those around them, nor even so much by the words they speak, but almost entirely by their actions. Action is what drives the plot of both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and action is what holds the characters together. In this respect, the theme of humanity is revealed in both Odysseus and Achilles: man is a combination of his will, his actions, and his relationship to the divine. This blend allows Homer to divulge all that is human in his characters, and all that is a vehicle for the idyllic aspects of ancient Greek society. Accordingly, the apparent inconsistencies in the characterization of Odysseus can be accounted for by his spiritual distance from the god-like Achilles; Achilles is more coherent because he is the son of a god. This is not to say that Achilles is not at times petty or unimaginative, but that his standards of action are merely more continuous through time. Nevertheless, both of Homer's heroes embody important and admirable facets of ancient Greek culture, though they fracture in the ways they are represented.
_The Odyssey_ is believed to have been written by Homer and is infused with loyalty throughout the entire epic story. Odysseus is the most faithful, loving, and loyal husband, to Penelope, that any woman could dream of. Odysseus, in the beginning of his description of the trials and tribulations that he has endured, pledged his eternal loyalty to his ever-faithful wife Penelope. ?We are mortal weary and sick at heart/? [if only] now may I see once more/ my hall, my lands, my people before I die!? (Homer 7:233-240). Thought Odysseus did lie with the goddess his loyalty to Penelope held true. The ?Enchantress in her beauty? (Homer 7:274) enslaved the grand Odysseus to her will; yet Odysseus ?in [his] heart [he] never gave consent.? (Homer 7:276) The goddess offered Odysseus a choice, the ?promise [that he] should be/ immortal, [and] youthful, all the days to come? (Homer 7:275-276) or to continue his long continuous voyage to his queen Penelope. Because Odysseus chose to return to his devoted Penelope instead of gaining immortal life he has provided...
What is loyalty? Loyalty means being faithful to one’s own country, ideals, and friends. Loyalty is illustrated as Mark Antony in this The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. This play, which was set in 44 B.C., was written by William Shakespeare in 1599. “I shall remember: When Caesar says “Do this,” it is performed.” (l.ii.9-10). Mark Antony also changed his party and completely devoted himself to Caesar when Rome split into two factions; the aristocrats supporting Pompey or the republic and the populous or imperialist left seeking the help of Caesar. Mark Antony devoted and risked his own life for Julius Caesar. His loyalty might have blinded him from Julius Caesar’s perception of his being a party-going individual that would not betray him like a thinking man, such as Cassius would.
From escaping the cyclops to getting lost at sea and coming home to seeing the non-expected, he still managed to survive his hell on earth. One of his most powerful moment that shows how really brave odyssey is, is when his men were turned into pigs by the goddess Circe. Eurylochus who managed to escape goes and tells Odysseus what Circe had done. Odysseus then tells Eurylochus that he will go and save them, but Eurylochus warned him that no one returns alive. Eurylochus also,“.... Begs him [Odysseus] to sail away from Circe’s island.” ( 10.46-48) Odysseus being the courageous man he is went “ Against this advice” and “... Rushes to save this men from the enchantress” ( 10.46-48). Within these line odysseus shows how honorable he is to his men. Knowing the risk, Odysseus still chooses to risk his life to save his men rather than just leaving them for dead. His bravery is why his men honor him. Through all the danger they went through, his men never left Odysseus’s side and Odysseus never left theirs, which is a very good example of what being honorable is. Odysseus reveals that bravery is a powerful characteristic of a hero, because people will honor you for your bravery. [Zehaa
Throughout the story The Odyssey there are many themes that represent major parts of the story. The main theme that stood out to me is love which includes loyalty. “Love is a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person; a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend; or a sexual passion or desire” (dictionary.com). “Loyalty is defined in the Webster's dictionary as faithfulness or devotion to a person, a cause or a duty” (Webster’s dictionary). Through these definitions, it can be expressed that loyalty and love are major themes in Homer's epic, "The Odyssey". Love and loyalty shows relationships that are between two people. The few relationships that represents love and loyalty is between husband and wife Odysseus and Penelope and also between father and son Odysseus and Telemachus. These relationships shows more than just love and loyalty though, their relationships also shows compassion, sympathy and the need to be in each one another’s lives.
If then that friend demands why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." (3.2.19-24). His concentration on honor and nobility ends up being used against him by Cassius, who instigates him to kill his best friend. Cassius knows how naive and how moral Brutus is and he uses this information into making him help kill Caesar. Being naive and over trusting causes his first mistake and helps with his downfall when he refuses to listen to Cassius, who wants Antony to be also killed because he knows that he will seek revenge for Caesar. However, Brutus code of honor won 't let him approve the killing of Antony "Our plan will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius. We cut off the head and then hack the limbs, seem to kill Caesar in anger and then vent malice on his friends, for Antony is only a branch of Caesar."(2.1.169-172), he doesn 't want to be seen by the Roman people as a killer, but someone who 's doing what 's right for the people of
Intro: There are a wide variety of themes present throughout the Odyssey, written by Homer. Be it hospitality, perseverance, vengeance or power of the Gods, loyalty is truly the theme that brings the whole book together. Being 10 years after the Trojan War, many have forgotten about Odysseus and his men as they constantly brave what the gods throw their way. This essay will be talking about Odysseus and Penelope’s mutual loyalty to one another, the loyal relationships between Gods and men and finally, the loyalty Odysseus’ men show for him until death. This essay with prove to us that without loyalty, Odysseus’ legendary journey would have been put to an end near where they started. The general theme of loyalty is what kept Odysseus motivated and determined.
Rome is thought of as one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen. And the greatest ruler of the greatest empire, possibly the entire world, is Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar is known today to be a trustworthy, fair and brave leader, but you don’t become the greatest leader to ever live by not succeeding. He understood this and he was successful beyond measure.