Comparing Brutus And Cassius In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

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Everywhere one turns in life, someone will be there to compare them to someone else who has come before them. However if one digs deep enough, when comparing two people you will always find both differences as well as similarities. In William Shakespeare’s “the Tragedy of Julius Caesar”, Brutus and Cassius differ in both their personalities as well as their decision making, however there are similarities in their leadership. Firstly, throughout the play Brutus and Cassius exhibit how their personalities are so vastly different. When Brutus is questioned as to whether he wishes for Caesar to be king, he tells Cassius, “I would not, Cassius, yet I love him well,” (I.ii.5). In saying this, Brutus shows both his reliability and dependability as a friend. Thus, Brutus is willing to stand by Caesar even if and when it is not the easiest nor most popular thing to do. In contrast, Cassius finds no difficulty in throwing other under the bus, particularly when …show more content…

When Brutus ponders what he would say if questioned about why he assisted in killing Caesar he says, “…[it is] not I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more,” (III.ii. ?). Brutus openly admits that while Caesar is a dear friend of his, the fate of Rome is more important to him. This shows that Brutus is an honorable man who believes that the downfall of one can be justified when it benefits the rest. However, Cassius wishes to eliminate Caesar because he envies Caesar and his power (I.i.5-6). While Cassius pretends that he wants to remove Caesar from power because he is getting too tyrannical, in reality Cassius is motivated by greed and jealousy. This shows that he is shallow and is only concerned with what he wants. Throughout the play we see that when it comes time to making decisions, Brutus typically considers all those affected, while Cassius thinks solely of himself when making

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