Gaius Cassius Longinus, known as Cassius, is a very rational and manipulative person. He is controlling, greedy, and puts forth a lot of effort in the military. Cassius is a senator of Rome. He is a rebel at heart and also wants everything done his way. Cassius is known for "hears no music," which means that he is not evil, but could never be satisfied.
Cassius is a different man to different people, depending on who it is he can be loving or ruthless, gentle or rough, passionate or mean. Caesar's opinion on Cassius is "Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous." ( l.ii.194). Brutus's opinion is, "The last of all the Romans, fare thee well! It is impossible that ever Rome should breed thy fellow equal." (V.iii.9) Cassius is a envious of Caesars position and fearful of what Rome might become if Caesar becomes the king.
Cassius is not very fond of Caesar and Antony. Part of the reason being, Caesar and Antony do not follow in Cassius’s footsteps. He despises the fact that the Roman people treat Caesar like an idol. More importantly, he hates the way Caesar runs around acting like he is an idol to the Roman people. "Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world /Like a Colossus, and we petty men / Walk under his huge legs and peep about" (I.ii.10).
Cassius thinks Caesar has a secret plan to become a dictating King. The fact that Caesar rejects the crown offered to him didn't change Cassius’s mind; Cassius thinks the reason being is because Caesar does not want the people to know that he wants to rule Rome and have control of the Romans.
Cassius studied philosophy at Rhodesunder Archelaus and became a fluent speaker in Greek. He was married to Junia Tertia. They had one son in 60 B.C. C...
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...tavia, but Cassius, who was defeated by Mark Antony, gave up because he mistakened that Brutus was dead. He ordered Antony to assassinate him. He was known as “the last of the Romans” by Brutus and buried at Thasos.
Cassius has his negative aspects. He dislikes Caesar deeply; he also becomes an assassin. But he has generosity in mind that is recognized. When Caesar tells Antony that Cassius is dangerous, Antony answers, "Fear him not, Caesar; he's not dangerous. He's a noble Roman and well given." Cassius displays hatred in his verbal attack against caesar.
Cassius was a man of his word and a great soldier, but in politics he was accused of vanity and ambition and had an uncontrollable temper and no filter of his words. His portrait in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, is remembered historically.
Cassius, a very suspicious character throughout 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 keep 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 a time when he and Caesar went swimming in the river Tiber and Caesar screamed “Help me, Cassius or I sink” (828) to depict Caesar as a little baby compared to the colossus he is said to be.... ... middle of paper ...
Brutus’ ignorance creates an expectation that develops a path which leads him awry. When Brutus mentions,“ I would not Cassius; yet I love him well” (1.2.81-88 ), he portrays his internal conflict. Brutus depicts the rendering struggle between Cassius’ acquisitions and Caesar’s actions. His oblivion toward the truth and goodwill concerning the greater health of Rome prompt him astray. He acts with the innocence of a child, deceive and swindle by Cassius, Brutus is an
In Act 1 Scene 2, we see that Cassius is jealous of Caesar and detests
characteristics of Brutus, he gets worked up and angry towards Cassius, he is self-righteous and can be somewhat hypocritical. We also see that Cassius cannot control his emotions (at one point he asks to be killed), we also see that he can become angry towards Brutus.
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.
Cassius is a sly, deceitful and an untrustworthy character. Caesar described him best. He said (act1, scene 2, line 195), “Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous”. Cassius is very superstitious. This is shown when he says (act 5, scene 1, line 75) “ you know I held Epicurus strong, and his opinion. Now I change my mind, and partly credit things that do presage…”. He believes in omen and signs that foretell events to come. Cassius is conceded. This is shown when he says to Brutus (act1, scene 2, line 116), “ And this man is now become a god, and Cassius is now a wretched creature, and must bend his body if Caesar careless but nod on him…”. Cassius continues on saying about times when he saved Caesar from drowning and when he saw Caesar with a fever and he started to shake. All this tells us that Cassius thinks he is just as good or even better than Caesar.
Cassius and one of the other conspirators discuss the plan on getting people to turn against Caesar. As Cassius is talking to Cinna he says, “Three parts of him is ours already, and the man entire upon the next encounter yields him ours” (I.iii). Cassius is trying to write fake letters to people turning against Caesar that Brutus will believe. Brutus decides the best thing to do is kill Caesar because of the letters and the convincing of Cassius. When Brutus and Cassius first meet, Cassius is already acting as a mirror for Brutus. When Brutus thinks Cassius is leading him to danger Cassius says, “So well as by reflection, I your glass will modestly discover to yourself that of yourself which you yet know not of” (I.ii). Cassius believes he could be the conscious of Brutus and lead him in the path of killing Caesar. Brutus and a conspirator finally get ready for the death of Caesar. As Brutus draws near the final moment of Caesar’s death he says, “Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar I have not slept” (II.i). In the beginning of the story Brutus was said to be one of Caesar’s closest friends. Cassius turned it all around and then made Brutus suspicious of Caesar. Brutus admits that the planning of Caesar’s death has brought a nightmare upon him. Cassius was a shadow that Brutus followed which resulted in the death of
Cassius was the one who approached Brutus with the idea of conspiring to kill Caesar, who would soon become the king of Rome. Cassius proposed this matter to Brutus because he knows that Brutus is one of the most noblest men in Rome and would do anything for his country even if it meant sacrificing his own life. They both knew that Caesar’s upcoming coronation posed a threat to the ideals of Roman society because he intended to bring monarchy back to the Roman government. Later on the system of monarchy will soon turn into a tyranny. That is what Brutus and Cassius are afraid will happen if Caesar becomes king.
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."
In conclusion, Cassius has proven to be the greatest manipulator in the play, Julius Caesar. He himself implies that he manipulates others and the wise Caesar also states that Cassius was untrustworthy. Using flattery, the people of Rome, and self-gain, Cassius has been chosen for the best and most manipulated character in the play.
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
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 throne, 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. The play Julius Caesar depicts Brutus to be an extremely noble being who is well respected and honored by all Romans, even his enemies.
He is so motivated by ambition that he decides to kill Caesar, the leader of Rome. Although dedication can be a good quality, in Cassius, it blinds him to all other things and makes him ruthless in his quest to rule Rome. Cassius’s desire for power is evident when he states, "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" (1.2.146-148). Cassius’ ambition leads him to go as far as to convince a dear friend with manipulation and false notes to help him plot to kill Caesar. His ambition makes him power hungry and he lacks the honor to back up his overzealous behavior. Cassius envies Caesar and because of this he resorts to bribery, assassinations, and imposing taxes for personal
He is disgusted by Caesar's manipulation of the commoners. He describes it as "mere foolery" (Act I, sc. II. The syllable of the syllable. 235). Casca agrees with Cassius that Brutus is an essential part of the. conspiracy. The sexy of the sexy. He says, "O, he sits high in all the people's hearts; / And that which would appear offense to us, His countenance, like richest alchemy.
...re about Cassius through the things he does, such as persuading others in the direction of things that go towards what he wants. However, Brutus’ character can be more closely examined by the dialogues of others. As a result of all of this, Shakespeare’s audience has a negative attitude towards Cassius and a positive attitude towards Brutus.