Adversity In Julius Caesar Research Paper

Abraham Lincoln once voiced “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” One key term in Lincoln’s statement is “adversity,” which means a hardship and suffering of humanity. Another important word in Lincoln’s statement is “character,” which means people’s traits, features, and morality. Overall, Lincoln means that men should not be judged by what they experience, but what their actions are when they have control. Furthermore, Lincoln implies in his statement that people should not be trusted unless they have been given authority, revealing their true nature. Finally, when looked under the Lens of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln’s statement can be proven true through Shakespeare’s use of the politics and power motif.

Firstly, Shakespeare’s use of the politics and power motif exhibits that Lincoln’s declaration is accurate.

For example, during the feast of Lupercal on the streets, Julius Caesar requests Antony to touch Calphurnia during the holy race so she will become fertile. Antony feedbacks “When Caesar says, ‘do this,’ it is performed” (I.ii.12). This clearly displays Caesar has control over Antony because Antony will do whatever he says. Furthermore, since Caesar has power, he gets whatever he wants which proves he is greedy. This affects the work as a whole because Shakespeare foreshadows that Caesar will become too powerful which leads to his eventual downfall. Moreover, Caesar’s greed proves that abusing power is a corruptive force. The motif politics and power clearly shows that the Lens is true because Caesar’s ability to get what he wants is exposing himself as avaricious; without this authority it will be impossible for Caesar to get people to do favors for

him.
Secondly, Shakespeare’s disagreement between Cassius and Brutus demonstrates that Lincoln’s statement is correct. For instance, in the army tent before battle against Octavian and Antony, Brutus confronts Cassius about taking bribes from citizens for a position in the senate (IV.iii.1-128). This clearly demonstrates that Cassius is taking advantage of his power because he is earning money dishonorably. In other words, Cassius uses his high position in the Senate to make illegal money off of other citizens who wish to be like him. This affects the work as a whole because Shakespeare shows Cassius’s real personality by giving him power which therefore proves again that exploiting political authority is a dishonest action. The politics and power motif clearly shows that the Lens is true because when Cassius is given power it uncovers that he is a very dishonorable man.
Overall, William Shakespeare’s use of the politics and power motif in Julius Caesar emphasises too much power allocated to one person corrupts a society. By doing so, this helps to prove that Abraham Lincoln’s statement is true. What must be taken away from this analysis is that power should not be given to only one person because it could turn out the same way when all the power was given to Hitler and millions of innocent Jews were killed.