Corruption In Julius Caesar

The paranoia of the ideology that power completely corrupts has existed throughout centuries. This obsession can cause people to act in an irrational way or out of reasonings. So was the case with the senators in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. William Shakespeare centered his play around the Roman leader, Julius Caesar. Out of fear of his future political activities and his overconfident personality, the senators of Rome, including Caesar's best friend Brutus, created a conspiracy to assassinate him to stop him from obtaining absolute power over the Roman Empire. On the Ides of March, Julius Caesar was assassinated by Roman senators because of what they thought Caesar would do with his power. William Shakespeare illustrated an unjustified assassination

He acted on greed, hatred, and jealousy instead of having the good of Rome in mind. Author, Donald Wasson, finds that several of the senators, including Cassius, who were involved in the conspiracy against Caesar were “friends and supporters of Pompey who sought both high office and profit” in his article The Murder of Julius Caesar (Wasson). Cassius did not care about what Caesar was doing or would do to Rome with his power, instead he only worried about having power over everyone else. He told Brutus about Julius Caesar’s disabilities and commented about his amazement that “a man of such a feeble temper should so get the start of the majestic world and bear the palm alone” (I.ii.131-133). Cassius never wanted to be below or feel less than anybody. Cassius believed that Caesar was too weak compared to him and that he was more worthy of having the power Caesar had. To make advancements in his personal agenda, Cassius manipulated several senators into thinking Julius Caesar was a threat to Rome’s

The conspirators thought that the plebeians would understand their motives, but, instead,“the city was in shock, and people became increasingly more hostile” after the assassination (Wasson). The commoners sided with Anthony and Octavian, ignoring the lack of justifications that the conspirators and Brutus provided. They were angry that their beloved king had been assassinated by the senators who were supposed to be working and supporting him. The author of The Assassination of Julius Caesar. A People’s History of Ancient Rome and political scientist, Michael Parenti, stated that Caesar’s assassination “marked a turning point in the history of Rome. It set in motion a civil war and put an end to whatever democracy there had been” (Parenti 2). Caesar’s assassination harmed Rome and did not help their political situation at all. It confused and infuriated the working class because they had lost their beloved king to greedy senators without a real explanation. In Meller and McGee’s book they state that instead of supporting the conspiracy, the “assassination did help Caesar’s reputation” (Meller and McGee 78). The commoners loved Julius Caesar more than ever because they did not agree with the justifications that were given to them during Julius Caesar’s funeral. The conspirators never took in consideration