Examples Of Betrayal In Julius Caesar

People often betray themselves without realizing it, whether it is through their public self or private self, one great example to represent this is Julius Caesar. In William Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar”, betrayal is the base of the play, Shakespeare shows that betrayal occurs between friendships, country and the character themselves, characters such as Julius Caesar and Brutus break trust not only with each other and other people, but themselves as well, and that their way of thinking may change.

Throughout the play up until his death, Julius Caesar does not turn his back to anyone, but it was his arrogance that betrayed himself. His arrogance is shown several times, one of them saying, “But I am constant as the northern star, Of whose

true-fix’d and resting quality there is no fellow in the firmament.” in Act iii Scene i. There were many parts where Caesar was warned about going to the Capitol, the first time took place in Act i Scene ii, warned by the Soothsayer, “Beware the ides of March.” where Caesar ignored and passed him, the Soothsayer once again warns him in Act iii Scene i, along with the Artemidorus, also in Act ii Scene iii, preparing and reading a letter that read out the names of the conspirators, “Hail, Caesar! Read this schedule.” The other warning takes place at his house, where Calpurnia convinces him to stay home after having a dream, “What mean you, Caesar?

Think you to walk forth? You shall not stir out of your house today.” However, when Caesar agreed to stay back, Decius persuaded him to go and to not listen to Calpurnia,

“This dream is all amiss interpreted. It was a vision, fair and fortunate.” Which is when he betrayed himself, thinking too highly of himself, he then proceeded to the Capitol where he died. If it were not for Caesar’s hubris personality, his life could have been saved. These points prove that someone like Caesar, will go as far as he can to show how superior he is, and will in fact, betray oneself, and through Caesar’s point of view in the play, betrayal to oneself is much more reasonable compared to others.
Betrayal is also portrayed in the play through the character, Brutus, where he becomes unfaithful to Caesar, and in return, betrays himself as well. Brutus and Caesar had a close friendship, and Caesar really trusted Brutus, however, in the end, Brutus decided to turn his back against Caesar through Cassius’ influence and persuasion. As shown in the one of the many quotes, “Why man, he doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus, and we petty men walk under his huge legs, and peep about to find ourselves dishonourable graves. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.” Before agreeing to kill Caesar, Brutus says he will think about it first to Cassius, “For this time I will leave you. Tomorrow, if you please to speak with me, I will come home to you, or if you will, come home to me, and I will wait for you.”. Simultaneously, Brutus betrays his close friend, as well as himself. He hid his personal feelings towards Caesar and proceeded to do what he believed was good for Rome and the people, as he explained later during his speech, “If then, that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?”. These events show how Brutus turns his back against a trusted friend to trade for the safety of his country, and also towards himself to do what is good for Rome from his point of view.
Other characters in the play, apart from Julius Caesar and Brutus, who demonstrate the act of betrayal include Cassius, Antony, and between Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus.

Cassius, the first to start the conspiracy against Caesar, illustrates his betrayal to Caesar by convincing the future conspirators to stand on his side, such as Casca and Cinna, “Now know you, Casca, I have moved already some certain of the noblest-minded Romans to undergo, with me, an enterprise of honourable dangerous consequence;”. After Cassius gathered all the conspirators he managed to convince to get together, it is suggested to invite Brutus to join, “If you could but win the noble Brutus to our party---”. Cassius then successfully persuades Brutus to join by sending an anonymous letter to Brutus’ house. Another betrayal that occurred in the play was through Antony. After Caesar’s death, Antony returns to the Capitol, and shakes hands with the conspirators, “Let each man render me this bloody hand.”, showing that he stands on their side. However, once Caesar’s funeral is over and he succeeds in turning the citizens against the conspirators, he goes to war against Brutus and Cassius who fled Rome, “I heard him say, Brutus and Cassius are rid like madmen through the gates of Rome.”. The last evidence of betrayal is between Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus. It is seen that they are allies, but after Lepidus is sent to run an errand, Antony explains how he doesn’t trust him, “This is a slight unmeritable

man, meet to be sent on errands. Is it fit the three-fold world divided, he should stand one of the three to share it?”. The betrayal of these characters displays that they will do any actions turning against their friends to benefit themselves, and that the betrayal to others is more humane from their view.
The act of betrayal in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” can be seen shown throughout the entire play, from Julius Caesar, to Brutus, to Cassius. It is shown that the character’s viewpoints changes overtime, portrayed through Caesar and Brutus. In addition, we can see that people will do what needs to be done in order to reach a goal, whether it is to benefit themselves or other people, through the public image and private image of them personally.