In Julius Caesar, Brutus’ main struggle is his conflict of whether or not to kill Caesar, while Caesar’s main struggle was his ego. In this way, some parallels in certain conflicts or conversations that include Brutus usually have Brutus making illogical arguments to benefit himself. Another commonality in some of these relational conflicts include one character showing devout trust for the other character. Brutus is in conflict with himself; he is deciding whether to look at Caesar as his friend or to look at Caesar as a terrible dictator of Rome. Brutus is confronted by Cassius, who slowly and carefully lures Brutus into thinking that Caesar is not the greatest leader in Rome. Cassius slowly persuades Brutus into joining the conspirators …show more content…
Their approach in showing that love was shown with their interactions with their husbands’ struggles. Portia’s conversation with Brutus shows her intense trust for her husband. When Portia first goes to speak with Brutus, she addresses him as “[her] lord”(2.1.33), showing that she gives the respect and submission to Brutus; in exchange, Brutus gives her the assurance that she is very important to him, saying “You are my true and honorable wife”(2.1.288). In their conversation, Portia tries to extract Brutus’s secret in many different ways, such as using logos, where she says she should know his secret due to the bonds of marriage, because man and woman are one flesh in the eyes of God, based on Christian theology. In this moment, however, Brutus cannot be one flesh with Portia because he himself is not one with himself due to his internal conflict. Portia also used pathos to make Brutus feel guilty in keeping his secret; she says she is only “Brutus’ harlot, [and] not funny his wife”(2.1.287). Portia also says that she has stabbed herself in the thigh to show her trust and honor to her husband. In the end, Brutus is compelled to tell Portia about his secret plot to kill Caesar, but the dialogue shows their relationship is equal and is unlike the “Roman” way of …show more content…
Caesar is ignorant in listening to his wife, but he eventually decides to stay home. Then Decius enters the scene and in a quick say of words, Caesar is converted back into going to the Senate House. This shows that his priorities are not in line with Brutus because Caesar puts his ego and pride above his wife, while Brutus would humbly love Portia. Caesar puts above the desires of his heart rather than the needs of his wife; listening to both Calpurnia and Decius, Caesar decides to follow the words he wants to hear from Decius rather than the words he needed to hear from Calpurnia. Also, Caesar chose to ignore Calpurnia because it was seen “un-RoMAN” to take advice from women, especially wives during the Roman Period; to become “RoMAN,” one, such as Caesar, should put pride and glory(wants) above his family(needs). By being “RoMAN,” Caesar’s relationship with Calpurnia was very male dominated, unlike Brutus’ equal relationship with
In the beginning of the Book Cassius uses anecdotes of Caesar’s weakness and faults, argumentum ad antiquatum, and ethos on Brutus to persuade him to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar, this works on Brutus and shows that anyone, even people as stoic as Brutus, can be persuaded by appealing to their motivations. Cassius, a very suspicious character thru ought 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 keeping 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 on a time when he and Caesar went swimming in the river Tiber and Caesar screamed “Help me, Cassius or I sink” (828) to de...
In his speech, Brutus appeals to the loyalism of his audience by making intertwining arguments of ethos, pathos, and logos. He begins by establishing his ethos by asserting his status as an honorable fellow Roman worthy of their respect. He expands on this ethos by dividing it into three parts: his love of Caesar, his loyalty to Rome, and his relationship to his audience. Brutus tells his audience that he was a “dear friend” to the man he murdered, invoking a pathetic sense of sympathy from his audience. However, as he says himself, it was “not that [he] loved Caesar less, but that [he] loved Rome more,” strengthening his ethos as a loyal countryman with the interests of his audience at heart. After establishing an emotional connection to his audience and earning their trust, Brutus explains his logic
Brutus is loyal to Rome and also to his friendship with Caesar. He wants Rome to be led by a good leader. But he allows himself to be lead away with this thought by Cassius, who tells him that he is the better man and not
Brutus is arguably one of the most complex characters in Julius Caesar, both mentally and physically. One of the first examples of this is shown when Cassius asks Brutus what is bothering him because he seems “less good-natured and affectionate” towards him than usual. Brutus responds by saying that if he seems secretive, it is only because he is uneasy with himself. He also says that he has been overwhelmed lately with private thoughts and inner conflicts, which have affected his
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
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.
Throughout most of the play Brutus is constantly internally conflicted. Does he do what he believes is best for Rome or stay loyal to his friend and leader? Should he assist in the murder of one person to benefit many? Although killing Caesar was in the end a bad choice, Brutus always tries to do what is best for Rome and for the people. However even though all of Brutus’ motives are good he still has the tragic flaw of pride, which ultimately leads to his downfall. The reason that Brutus gets caught up in the conspiracy is because Cassias appeals to his pride and flatters him with forged letters from the Roman people saying he is a greater leader then Caesar.
At the beginning, Brutus is tricked by Cassius into believing that killing Julius Caesar would be for the better of Rome (1, 2, ll. 32-321). Cassius is able to deviously influence Brutus into thinking that Caesar is no different from Brutus. He says, “Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that Caesar?/ Why should that name be sounded more than yours?” (1, 2, ll. 142-143) Cassius also uses many other examples to manipulate Brutus.
In the play Julius Caesar, written and preformed by William Shakespeare, there are many characters, but two, Brutus and Cassius, stood out. The play begins in Rome where a celebration of Julius Caesar's victory over the former ruler of Rome, Pompeii. The victory leads to Caesar's betrayal by his jealous companions. Senators and other high status figures are jealous of Caesar's new and growing power, while others, like Brutus, fear the tyrannical rule Caesar could enforce. 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 thrown, 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.
Brutus’ tragic flaw was his perception that all men were identical to him in their motives. This factored allowed his decisions to be easily influenced by others whose motives were devious. Cassius was able to convince Brutus to join the conspiracy because Brutus thought the only reason behind the conspiracy was to prevent one man from becoming “Rex.” He allowed Antony’s speech to occur because he was sure that Antony was motivated by the same “honor” which motivated himself.
In this character interaction, the two characters have warring motivations. The soothsayer wants to warn Caesar again; this is evidenced by his statements, "I shall beseech him to befriend himself," meaning to protect himself. When he says, "I'll get me to a place more void and there/Speak to great Caesar as he comes along," we find that the soothsayer wants to get Caesar alone, probably because he doesn't know who around him can be trusted. Conversely, Portia wants Brutus to succeed in his assassination of Caesar. When the soothsayer tells her he is going to warn Caesar to protect himself she replies, "Why? Know'st thou any harm's intended towards him?" in an effort to find out what he knows. By her lines "O Brutus,/The heavens speed thee
Both Cassius and Brutus play major roles in the play Julius Caesar. Cassius and Brutus both plan Caesar’s death. Although they are working towards a common goal, Cassius and Brutus have very different motivations for doing this. On the one hand, Cassius sees it as a way to gain more power for himself while destroying the king and all his power. On the other hand, Brutus believes that in killing Caesar he is preserving peace for the Romans’ future years. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses different techniques to create biased characterizations of the two men so that readers and viewers develop identical attitudes towards each of them. In Julius Caesar, Cassius is portrayed as a greedy villain while Brutus is depicted as an honorable hero.
Portia and Calpurnia are each noble Romans, respectively the wives of Brutus and Caesar. Both women show loyalty towards their husbands, but also advise them when they are in distress. Portia said, “And when I asked you what the matter was, / You stared upon me we ungentle looks,” and Calpurnia had said, “Alas, my lord, your wisdom is consumed in confidence” (2. 1-2. 241-242, 49). These women both have a similar goal of pleasing and protecting their husbands as they were consumed in their personal conflicts. Portia noticed that Brutus was anxious, but stood by his side and promised to keep the secrets that he would disclose. On the contrary, Calpurnia observed an omen and became terrified by its results, and she too looked to protect the well-being
William Shakespeare the author of Julius Caesar. In this story, Portia the wife to Brutus feels based on his behavior something is bothering him. He had urgently left the bed and the night prior and he arose from supper as he walked about, as something is bothering him. Portia begins to beg her husband to tell her what is on his mind and why he was being so secretive. Portia has a tone of serious concern, as she feel she has been left in the dark. As his wife, she is not used to seeing him or his mind so distributed and secretive. As in line 242, “when Portia says, I asked you what the matter was, you stared upon me with ungentle looks.” It is apparent that Brutus behavior is vastly different from his past actions.
...thing else. The threat that Caesar poses was that he would begin moving away from the idea of a Roman republic and towards an Empire ruled directly by him. Brutus is complex because he does not kill Caesar for greed, envy, or to preserve his social position like so many of the other conspirators against Caesar, he does it for the good of the people. Once Brutus has made up his mind he sticks to it, and he is rarely questioned. Brutus is very accustomed to having his way without argument, which explains why he rarely listens to anyone else.