From the beginning of our existence, humans have dreamt of flying. Laboriously toiling, we try to accomplish our fantasies of flight, only to often result in failure, like Icarus flying too close to the sun. Since the mythical tale of Icarus, humankind as a species, have done many amazing feats, as well as not doing as great as we could have because of our own overload of ambition, which leads to the question; ‘Was Icarus a hero or a failure?’. Icarus was a failure; after meticulously working on sets of wings forged out of seemingly impossible building material, Daedalus and Icarus himself had finally achieved freedom from the labyrinth, but Icarus proceeded to ignore his father’s wishes, letting his own wants get the best of him, and he ultimately, drowned in the sea because of his lack of planning and carelessness. Icarus’s failure to channel his inner restraint and ambition will be compared to other famous figures in literature, including Julius Caesar, Don Quixote and Amy Tan. A way of putting ambition and channeled restrained into an object or force always reminds me of fire, because of …show more content…
In the time of where the story took place, the driving force of determination wasn’t a seen as a productive trait to have, and was seen as lust for power and success. Caesar, killed by Brutus and the conspirators, wanted to become the ultimate ruler of Rome, showing a want for success. Brutus also portrays this ambition by his dreams to be a nobleman of Rome. Although both of these characters died tragically, they both had the drive to succeed and also planned how to achieve what they wanted, which is incredibly important. A major downfall of Icarus was his inability to plan out what he was going to do to succeed, unlike Caesar and Brutus. The ability to plan is linked with success, and since Icarus has failed, he had missed the excruciating important detail of
If you are reading your history book, a play, or even watching the news today, you will see how people abuse the power that they have over somethings. There have been many leaders and people who abuse their power over civilization and places. Even the littlest taste of power often leads them to corruption. Many times, citizens and adversaries riot over some of the things that they disagree on and, in some cases, murder comes in to play.
Have you ever felt your loneliest even when surrounded by those who claim to be your closest friends? Have you ever gotten that uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach when putting your trust in someone who has stood by your side for years? If Julius Caesar, would have paid attention to his surroundings, he might have lived to see another day. In spite of his friendship with Caesar, Marcus Brutus took it upon himself and the conspirators, to kill Caesar. In their eyes, they saw Caesar’s initiative to control Rome as disastrous for the well-being of the people.
1. Introduction In William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, Gaius Julius Caesar is described by the character of Mark Antony as being, “…the noblest Roman of them all…” (Shakespeare Julius Caesar 5.5.67.231). Julius Caesar has been represented in history as a multi-faceted Roman leader, excelling in the military, social and political spheres of Roman life.
One’s reputation is gathered by the honor bestowed on them. Throughout the ancient and modern world honor is envied by many. During the study and read of Julius Caesar, a Shakespearian play following the death of Pompey and Caesar’s downfall, many characters are tested to being honorable. The merit of having honor and being honorable are central themes within the play. Characters are affected by their decisions because of their lust for reputation.
Corruption is defined as dishonest or illegal behavior, especially by powerful people, and just like its definition, corruption and power go hand in hand. The more power a person has, generally, the easier it is for them to be corrupted. Just like in Julius Caesar where power and corruption are very prevalent, and most of the leaders in Julius Caesar became corrupted by their power, but in some rare cases leaders have avoided corruption, these people are very valuable in society, and must not be taken for granted. Just like many other leaders in Julius Caesar, Caesar was corrupted by his power. He wasn’t corrupt in the normal sense, he was socially corrupt in the fact that he didn’t stick to the social norms of respecting fellow senators in
Leaders derive their power from a range of sources – military force, wealth, rank. However, leaders that we most admire win followers through the skill of persuasion. The ability of a speaker to persuade his listeners to agree with him signals that he is a powerful and astute figure. In the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, the character of Cassius attempts to convince Brutus that Caesar should be assassinated. Brutus, however, cares deeply for Caesar and is hesitant to kill the beloved hero of Rome.
In the play "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar" by Shakespeare, two individuals named Brutus and Antony give a funeral oration to the people of Rome in concern of the justification of Caesars death. Both of them share an opposite view towards the death of Caesar, Antony thinks his death was unjustified, while Brutus believes in the opposite. Despite the fact that Brutus was able to deliver a better ethical appeal. Antony delivers a more persuasive rhetorical speech since he appeals to the crowd more with his emotional and logical appeal Ethical appeal was used by both individuals in their funeral orations, evidently Brutus was able to execute a better ethical appeal than Antony. Brutus wanted to make the people of Rome feel like the death of Caesar was necessary for the sake of Rome.
In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, Marc Antony appears to be a strong advocate for Julius Caesar’s triumphs and increasing power. However, like Caesar, Antony is extremely manipulative and powerful. After Caesar’s death, Antony manipulated the conspirators into believing he was on their side before requesting to speak at Caesar’s funeral. While Brutus and the conspirators remained fooled by Antony’s innocence, Antony took the initiative to inform the Roman citizens of the conspirator’s horrendous actions towards their beloved leader, Julius Caesar. Caesar’s funeral was a time of reflection for the citizens of Rome, as Marc Antony caused them to question their allegiance to Brutus.
Julius Caesar Zakary Powers Julius Caesar, leader of Rome, had a overwhelming ego and it is shown many times throughout the play of, “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”. One of the times Julius Caesar showed his overwhelming ego was towards the beginning of the play when the soothsayer warns Caesar about the “ides of march”. The second time Julius shows his ego is when he says that he is not afraid of anybody - and people may talk behind his back, but never to his face as they would be too scared. The third time Julius shows his ego when he ignores his wife’s caution and worries about going to the Senate. Julius Caesar overall is seen to be arrogant and he has a very large ego.
Marcus Brutus’ Manipulation Manipulation:to treat or operate with or as if with the hands or by mechanical means especially in a skillful manner. In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, this quote is entirely true. We are also introduced into the idea of manipulation very early in the play, which impacts the plot. The play is about Marcus Brutus, the tragic hero, being manipulated into being in a conspiracy to assassinate Gaius Julius Caesar, a politician for Rome.
A life lacking motivation is an existence without the guidance of meaning. However, motivation controlled by revenge is life blinded from meaning. In the tragic play “Julius Caesar”, by William Shakespeare, this idea is portrayed through the character Mark Anthony. With the formation and plots of the conspirators, the dictator of Rome and Antony’s friend, Caesar, is killed which leads to the weight of a civil war on Rome. When people are challenged with grief caused by betrayal, it controls their initial joyous and free personality, resulting in a blinding period of revenge, Initially, Antony is depicted as a powerless side character and Caesar's loyal friend.
The ambition for more power for a corrupt leader is similar to the reaction of an addict to drugs and expecting him to stop their wrong doing. Multiple cases throughout history have shown great leaders and horrible leaders and many of them started with a sort of vaulting ambition. Even as far back as Julius Caesar we have seen examples of this since he expanded Rome to the superpower it was until his death in 44 B.C.. Even more recently we have examples like Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Bennito Mussolini where they used authoritarian powers to try and hold complete power. Some of these leaders had no conscience and could not understand or feel guilt, while some could this made them eventually go crazy when they realized what had happened.
Sin’s Perpetrator and Victim Human desire knows no bounds; everyone thirsts for something. Some thirst for power, some for wealth, and others for truth. This thirst is a driving factor for most actions, but it is not always for the best. Nowhere else are the dangers of wanting more prevalent than in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. The underlying premise of the play is that one’s own ambition can end up destroying him/her and creating unintended chaos.
Government officials are expected to state their opinions on important subjects. This supposed transparency should allow citizens to assume how politicians will act once in power. Yet this outward appearance does not always convey all of their thoughts. Some actions, purely for public image, conceal the thoughts inside their minds and create a false appearance. This display of how people want to be seen is defined as a facade.
On the scale of Idealism and Pragmatism, I consider myself to be pretty central. I believe strongly in my morals and values and wouldn’t abandon them for an unimportant matter, however, I also strongly believe that dealing with a real-world problem with real-world solutions is necessary. Based on the play Julius Caesar, I would see myself the most in Brutus due to his strong sense of doing what he believes is right. Brutus, such as myself, is loyal to his beliefs, and the republic in which he lives. On the other hand, Brutus is naive to the reasoning Cassius has for wanting to kill Caesar, which is something I would like to believe I’d grasp.