Examples Of Manipulation In Julius Caesar

Whether with a subtle gesture to a lone person across the room or a passionate speech to an uproarious crowd, manipulation can be a powerful tool in influencing the behavior of whoever the user desires. Manipulation, the art of using deception, cleverness, and cunning on others to the advantage of oneself, is used by nearly everyone; sometimes even subconsciously. Children may pretend to be sick in order to garner love and affection from their parents, in addition to a day off of school. Adults may manipulate coworkers or managers into getting raises or to climb the corporate ladder. While these are relatively innocuous uses of manipulation, the motivations and consequences can often be far more severe. In William Shakespeare’s play The

Without manipulation on the part of Cassius, the plot would have never come to fruition, and without Antony’s rousing speech at Caesar’s funeral, the civil war that ended in the death of the conspirators would not have occurred. The variety of manipulative techniques used by characters shows insight into the flaws and faults that many of the characters make, some of which are fatal. Considering each of the individual characters’ goals, those who manipulated others into accomplishing their goals ended up succeeded, while those who were manipulated ended up dying with their goals failing. Cassius succeeded in killing Caesar out of envy and jealousy due to his manipulation of Brutus, and Antony exacted revenge on the conspirators due to his manipulation of the crowd, while Caesar and Brutus’s demise was due to their hubris and naivety, respectively. Shakespeare uses this as a cautionary tale, showing that one should be neither a manipulator nor should one be manipulated, as while manipulating others is underhanded, devious and morally wrong, being manipulated is no better as even those with the best intentions can be led