In Act III of the play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, there are three main characters who are questionably honorable. They are Brutus, Cassius, and Caesar, each with their own special traits and tragic flaws. You can also question whether their intentions were benevolent and for the good of Rome, or they were malevolent and of ill will. First, there is Marcus Brutus. Brutus was a very close friend of Caesar’s who, at first, had no intentions or interests against him. However, eventually Cassius convinced him using devious persuasion. Brutus is quite honorable, though. The reason he joined in on the plot was because he thought it would be for the better of Rome. When Cassius was trying to convince Brutus to kill Caesar in “Act …show more content…
Cassius is a manipulative, envious, squirming, power-hungry politician who is the leader of the conspirators. He is obliviously not noble or honorable. In “Act I, Scene 2” he says, “I will this night, In several hands, in at his windows throw, As if they came from several citizens, Writings, all tending to the great opinion That Rome holds of his name; wherein obscurely And after this, let Caesar seat him sure; For we will shake him, or worse days endure” (Shakespeare 858-859). Cassius is scheming to throw forged letters as if they were from citizens of Rome and giving them to Brutus to convince him to kill Caesar. Being dishonorable, Cassius used Brutus’s own integrity against him. Later, in “Act III, Scene 1”, on the conspirators’ way to the capital with Caesar, Cassius almost backed out of the whole charade because of his own dishonorable cowardice. “Casca, be sudden, for we fear prevention. Brutus, what shall be done? If this be known, Cassius or Caesar never shall turn back, For I will slay myself” (Shakespeare …show more content…
He can be considered both honorable and dishonorable. In some aspects of the story, he is a humble and caring man. In others, he is a tyrant and a drama queen. In “Act I, Scene” he was offered a crown three times and he turned it down three times to appear humble. “Ay, marry, was’t, and he put it by thrice, every time gentler than other; and at every putting-by mine honest neighbors shouted” (Shakespeare 856). Whether it was just an act or it was truly humble, it still displays that he at least tried to be honorable. However, in “Act III, Scene 1” Caesar displays his stubbornness and his thirst for authority. “I could be well moved, if I were as you; If I could pray to move, prayers would move me; But I am constant as the Northern Star, Of whose true-fixed and resting quality There is no fellow in the firmament” (Shakespeare
Brutus, Honorable Man Brutus, an honorable conspirator? Honorable is defined as genuine, truthful and displaying integrity, while a conspirator is defined as one that engages in an agreement to commit an illegal or wrongful act. Anyone can clearly see that these two words do not belong together. There are also other reasons why Brutus should not be considered honorable. In the play, three distinct acts can be recalled.
In addition to this characteristic of Cassius, he also has a devious nature. This attribute allows him to invent informed manipulative plans to eliminate his opponents. For instance, after saying his farewells to Brutus, he gives a soliloquy that reveals his idea of throwing writings of different handwritings in Brutus’ windows “as if they came from several citizens” all of which “tending to the great opinion that Rome holds of his name, wherein obscurely Caesar’s ambition shall be glancéd at” (Shakespeare I. ii. 306-309). Since Brutus and Cassius have been friends for a long period of time, Cassius holds an abundance of knowledge pertaining to his values--in this case being his honor and desire to please Rome’s citizens. This undermining plot Cassius has devised is based on an informed opinion of the most effective way to subvert Caesar’s authority, and because of the valid observations made of Brutus by Cassius, the likelihood that this clever scheme will be carried out successfully should make Caesar concerned about the intentions of his judicial
In the end, the characters of Julius Caesar all have more complicated relationships with honor than they appear at first glance. Brutus, while well intentioned and seemingly honorable, cannot see the line that separates honor from murder, Cassius who appears dishonorable in every way aims, at least in part, to protect rome and its people and Portia who appears dedicated loyal and honorable, commits suicide and believes the lies she is told about her self, beneath the surface of these characters, lies complex motives and twisted logic, which makes singling them out as honorable or dishonorable, nearly impossible, as they are very human, and humans are rarely one or the
Cassius truly believes Caesar has a frail state of mind and is unfit to have any form of authority in Rome. At first glance, his words and ideology seem to strive for the end of tyranny and become the savior of Romans, but it is clear he puts more emphasis on his rank rather than the well-being of others. When he states that their ranks were not their fault and should be taken into their own hands he intends to take his place by force with no regards for the Roman people or government. Additionally, Cassius shouldn’t be commended for saving Caesar from drowning because he remembrances on that deed to convince others that Caesar is feeble than most, yet he is treated like a god. Cassius’s greed for power motivates his murderous motivations but his ability to manipulate others to his will is also evident in his words. He refers to Caesar’s overwhelming power similar to a Colossus while he and the others “…walk under his huge legs… ” or are hidden in his glory. In reality though, the senators are more esteemed than despised. Another way Cassius misleads others is by faking Caesar’s fascist behaviors toward the commoners. He does so by forging negative letters about “Caesar’s Ambition” for Brutus to be pressured into joining his cause. Consumed by envy, he convinces Brutus to assassinate Caesar for the righteousness of the people but his incentive has
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
Brutus is an honorable man in this play but when Cassius, one of the main characters, and antagonists from the play, points out to Brutus why he doesn’t like Caesar, Brutus starts analyzing it. Then his first internal argument in the play starts to form. "Men at some times are masters of their fates. / The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves, that we are underlying. / Brutus and Caesar- what should be in that "Caesar"? / Why should that name be sounded more than yours? / Write them together, yours is a fair name" (I.ii.140-145). In this quote Cassius vents his feelings on Caesar. He knows that Caesar is power- hungry, and only wants to become king or ruler of Rome. "Why, there was a crown offered him; and, being offered / him, he put it by with the back of his hand, thus; and then / the people fell a shouting" (I.ii.220-223). Casca, a friend of Cassius, tells Brutus and Cassius this news. After hearing this cognizance, Cassius knows that Caesar was only doing that as a display to the citizens who were there witnessing it. Wanting Caesar to stop trying to get into power, once Brutus and Casca leave his presence, Cassi...
He ruined an entire empire with his quick and stupid decisions. Many, many people died that did not need to. How can a person be considered honorable when they are responsible for so many lost lives and the loss of an empire? Brutus was not a very good military leader. His action when his army first arrived in Phillipi was to march down from the mountains.
No one is without flaws, a fact that many authors emphasize in their writings. It can play an important role in shaping the personality of a character and the events and conflicts of a story. The well-known play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare focuses on the hamartias of multiple historical characters, primarily that of Marcus Brutus. The concept of being an honorable person pervaded the plot and Brutus’s mind, and this idealistic view was the flaw that, ironically, led to his moral demise as he killed his friend, Caesar.
Caesar and Brutus were truly noble people. Caesar was a dignified and courageous man. He gained his power through hard work and courage. However, Caesar was marked by a weakness: he wanted too much power. This weakness proved to be fatal in the play. Brutus, on the other hand, was a strong leader throughout the whole play. People listened to him easily and he showed his nobility by always being open to others. Despite his good character, he did make one fatal mistake in judgment. He killed Caesar thinking he would gain too much power, yet it was truly his friend Cassius’s jealously of Caesar that truly snared him into the conspiracy.
The least honorable character of Julius Caesar is Brutus. The reason Brutus is the least honorable character because he killed Caesar. He killed Caesar for the sake of Rome. Brutus did not deserve to kill Caesar for the sake of Rome. He stated that he loved Caesar but you can’t say you love someone and kill them. Caesar’s life was worth some much. Brutus could have done something else for the sake of Rome then to kill Caesar. Brutus is the least honorable character in the play. It is stated that in the text Brutus had loved Caesar. If one loves such another and still kills them then in fact that’s not love. Many say that Brutus killed him out of love for the sake of Rome but in fact it wasn’t love at all. Brutus did not love Caesar. If young Brutus had mighty love for Caesar
In the beginning of the Book Cassius uses anecdotes of Caesar’s weakness and faults, argumentum ad antiquatum, and ethos on Brutus to persuade him to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar, this works on Brutus and shows that anyone, even people as stoic as Brutus, can be persuaded by appealing to their motivations. Cassius, a very suspicious character thru ought the play tells Brutus to “be not jealous on me” (827), in the quote he tells Brutus to not be suspicious of him because he is just a friend who genuinely cares. Cassius does this to put himself on Brutus’ side and not seem like a distant person, this allows him to criticize Caesar and suggest that he is a bad influence on Rome which appeals to Brutus’ desire to keeping Rome safe. After setting himself up as a friend to Brutus, Cassius uses harsh anecdotes on the weakness of Caesar to show that he isn’t fit to rule Rome. Cassius recollects on a time when he and Caesar went swimming in the river Tiber and Caesar screamed “Help me, Cassius or I sink” (828) to de...
An honorable person can be defined as someone who rarely commits a sin and someone who is right and just throughout their whole entire life. There is a dispute going on about whether Marcus Brutus is an honorable man or not an honorable man. Most of the people that form the conspirators kill Caesar because of jealousy. However, Brutus kills him because of what is the best for Rome. Marcus Brutus is the hero in the play Julius Caesar because he is loyal to Rome, he is respectful to his people, and humble to those who are less fortunate than him.
A character from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Cassius, exhibits Machiavellian attributes by manipulation and a drive to accomplish his goal of assassinating Julius Caesar by any means. Cassius was able to successfully manipulate both Brutus and the fellow conspirators. Cassius was able to influence Brutus enough to make Brutus believe that killing Julius Caesar, Brutus’ best friend, was the right action. Initially, Brutus was wary of Cassius when Brutus said, “Into what dangers would you lead me, Cassius?” (1.2.69) Subsequently, Brutus is persuaded as he states, “...what you have said / I will consider” (1.2.176-177). Cassius is willing to control any person who stands in his way. Cassius successfully turned Brutus against his best friend in order to achieve what Cassius believes to be best for Rome. When Brutus says, “Let me not hinder, Cassius, your desires” (1.2.35) it is clear that Cassius has swayed Brutus to believe in his cause. In Julius Caesar, we do not see Cassius as the main leader of the cons...
Brutus’ leadership and compassion for others make him a popular figure amongst the Roman people, and it is his reputation that establishes him as an influential individual. For example, despite the fact that Brutus loves Caesar like a brother, he warily joins the conspiracy to assassinate him. He does this because he believes that Caesar’s ambition would become tyranny and that Caesar’s death is a necessary evil in order to preserve the liberties of the Roman people. In his own words Brutus claims, “It must be by his death; and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general.”(Act 2, Scene 1, Page 1116). In addition, Brutus takes the reins of authority from Cassius and becomes the leader of the conspiracy. He gains this prerogative because of his convincing tongue and powerful influence. His leadership is evidenced when he begins to challenge Cassius’ ideas. When Cassius asks the conspirators to “swear our resolution”(Act 2...
In the play Julius Caesar, written and preformed by William Shakespeare, there are many characters, but two, Brutus and Cassius, stood out. The play begins in Rome where a celebration of Julius Caesar's victory over the former ruler of Rome, Pompeii. The victory leads to Caesar's betrayal by his jealous companions. Senators and other high status figures are jealous of Caesar's new and growing power, while others, like Brutus, fear the tyrannical rule Caesar could enforce. The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius being the most important, assassinate Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, better known as Antony, and Octavius Caesar, Caesar's heir to the thrown, revenge Caesar's death. Antony convinces the Roman populous to destroy the conspirators and eventually begins a war with Cassius and Brutus' armies. Both Cassius and Brutus commit suicide to save their honor and Antony and Octavius win the war. The characterizations of Brutus and Cassius show a distinct contrast in their character traits and motives for the assassination of Julius Caesar.