Cassius Ambition For Power In Julius Caesar

Benito Mussolini is known as the National Fascist Party leader, ruling Italy as the Prime Minister from 1922 to 1943. As the ambitious leader that he was, Mussolini was always eager for a socialist country, fighting in battles to gain power to make Italy stronger. Eventually his move for power began to degrade, leading to his eventual execution by the Italians. As the determination for sovereignty influenced many authors in the Elizabethan era, throughout all William Shakespeare’s plays, ambition for power becomes an evil force that causes characters to turn against their own morals leading to downfalls. As ambition begins to flourish, in the play, Julius Caesar, characters are faced with the audacity of obtaining power in which causes superb

Cassius’ ambition for power is easily motivated by the decisions made by Caesar, where he believes Caesar will use his power to advance his own self and will turn his back against the people of Rome. After speaking with Decius, the conflict begins to rise when Caesar’s confused mindset immediately switches to a power-hungry king when he shouts, “How foolish do your fears seem now, Calpurnia! /I am ashamed I did yield to them/ Give me my robe, for I will go” (2.2.110-112). When deciding to go to the capital to collect his crown, Caesar’s “ambition in this regard is seen as an egocentric drive; Brutus comes to believe that Caesar wants power in and of itself, not for the benefit of the Romans” (Hacht). Caesar’s determination for power for himself, no matter how frightening the signs may be, whether it be the nightmares Calpurnia experiences or the soothsayer telling Caesar to “beware the ides of march”, is deeply influenced by the men around them. Through these ambitious actions portrayed, Cassius and Caesar are faced with the most undesirable consequence, death, displaying their downfall of

In search for power with the help of the witches’ foreshadowing predictions, Macbeth realizes that Banquo is a true threat to his pathway to power, so he concludes: “Banquo, thy soul’s flight/,if it find heaven, must find it out tonight” (3.1.146-147). Influenced by his aspiration for power, “Macbeth forgets about his friends and the value of their friendships and is willing to, and does kill them if it means his position as king isn’t secure, or won’t be secure” (Kesur). As a fellow companion of Macbeth’s, the readers view Banquo as a trustworthy friend but the ambition that Macbeth obtains from this situation reaches its height when he decides to kill his noble and trustworthy friend. To continue this determination for power, the witches use repetition to reassure Macbeth of the colossal amount power he obtains when they all say, “All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter” (1.3.50-53). After this conversation, the statements from the witches essentially “give Macbeth the most power, and certainly confidence from the witches, [giving] Macbeth a tremendous amount of self-assurance boost and [becoming] arrogant and completely corrupt” (Kesur). Through the witchs’ predictions, Macbeth is able to perceive the power that