Examples Of Betrayal In Julius Caesar

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Betrayal means to fail or desert someone, especially in time of need. The fall of power can lead to anger and revenge, making people feel like they have no other choice, but to betray the ones around them. Many people around the world experience the feeling of betrayal at least once in their lifetime, it’s inevitable. The play poses the question of how the fall of power can affect the development of betrayal.
The fall of power and the development of betrayal in Julius Caesar is shown as early as the beginning of the play. When Brutus and Cassius are talking about Antony, Brutus says, “By your pardon: / I will myself into the pulpit first, And show the reason of our Caesar’s death. / What Antony shall speak, I will protest / He speaks by leave and by permission, / And that we are contented Caesar shall / Have all true rites and lawful ceremonies. / It shall advantage more than do us wrong” (Shakespeare, 3.1.237-242). After Caesar died and all power was lost, betrayal began to form because there was no leaderto minimize the situations. This relates to the theme because when Antony and Brutus were giving their speeches to the citizens after Caesar’s death, Antony …show more content…

When Antony and Octavius are talking about Lepidus, Antony states, “Octavius, I have seen more days than you; / And though we lay these honors on this man, / To ease ourselves of divers sland’rous loads” (4.1.18-20). Antony was Caesar’s right hand man and was trusted by him with all his heart. When Caesar died, he left a will saying that he is giving away equal amounts of money and property to all the citizens of Rome. Now that Caesar’s dead and power lays absolutely nowhere, Antony is using Lepidus to steal extra money and property from Caesar’s will and to do all his dirty work. Not only is Antony betraying Lepidus, but he is betraying Caesar and the trust that he had installed in him when he was

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