Adam Hjouj Ms. Perrotta ENG1DB-05 2023-05-08 Selfishness and its Consequences, The Duality of Brutus and Cassius Oscar Wilde once said, “Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes.” Selfishness is a very common topic in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. It is evident that many people are only acting for themselves, especially leaders. In Julius Caesar, the two leaders Brutus and Cassius work together to assassinate the dictator Julius Caesar, but for very different reasons. Brutus is a noble leader looking out for Rome and its justice, while Cassius is a greedy man hungry for power.
Cassius speaks to Brutus in order to upend his loyalty to Caesar and convince Brutus to support Cassius and his group. Caesar was steadily accumulating power, which caused fears that Caesar would become a dictator and threaten the republic of Rome. Therefore, Cassius feels an urgency to protect his home and those close to him. As a prominent member of the Roman Republic, Brutus influences other senators and the citizens of Rome. Cassius pleads with Brutus to recognize the dangers of Caesar in order to prevent an ordinary citizen from controlling all of Rome.
Julius Caesar is a play that is primarily about persuasion. For example, Cassius manages to persuades Brutus the death of Caesar is necessary for the good of Rome. The ending of the play is basically determined by the speeches that were made to the plebeians by Brutus and Mark Antony. Throughout the play of Julius Caesar, examples of effective rhetoric are shown and the support it truly deserves by having Brutus's speech and it arguing about Mark Antony's. Shakespeare shows that Antony's speech is far more persuasive and reaching to the plebeians than Brutus’ is.
Both Cassius and Brutus were on track to becoming the next consuls of Rome but before
Brutus's speech to persuade the people of Rome was a very well-thought-out speech that worked very well, It worked well because it used so many rhetorical devices that planted thoughts in the audience's heads. For background information, Brutus had to kill caesar in order for it to be a noble act, instead of a murder. He was the last one to stab caesar, and that is why caesar gave up trying to survive. In the first part of the speech he successfully calms them down enough to listen to what he has to say, “ Be patient till the last. Romans, countrymen, and lovers, hear me for my cause and be silent, that you may hear.
Cassius is a senator in Shakespeare 's “Julius Caesar.” He is jealous of Julius Caesar because of all the power and love he gets, as shown in the quote "Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus, and we petty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about. " This quote basically states that cassius is tired of Julius being better and that he thinks they should not be beneath him. Cassius also seeks to get his own power. To achieve this he manipulates Brutus as shown by this quote, “Well, Brutus, thou art noble; yet, I see, Thy honourable metal may be wrought From that it is disposed: therefore it is meet That noble minds keep ever with their likes;
Brutus is the man of liberty, honor and Rome. He is an idealist and is well respected. Cassius has something that Brutus does not, such as ability of manipulating people and experiences as a good soldier. Similarly, Antony is a practical man, but he still knows how to admit and acknowledge someone else’s good sides unlike Cassius who’s always jealous. Eventually, Brutus loses and kills himself but he still thinks he won and earns “glory” since he never made shameful decisions.
Despite several factors and steps Augustus Caesar took to become such a feared and influential leader, one of the most fascinating aspects, and one that future rulers and the modern world would adopt, was the use of art for propaganda and political influence. Sculptures, coins, and the rebuilding of architecture were art forms that Augustus Caesar commissioned himself and had widely distributed. It is clear that Augustus Caesar acquitted his uncle, Julius Caesar, of being the future ruler of Rome, but only after the assassination. It is also a note that Augustus Caesar became a ruler at a young age. If Julius Caesar's assassination had not occurred a month after he declared to become the dictator, then the years after which Augustus Caesar would have had time to influence and create some of Rome's most important structures and architecture.
A quality all humans possess is questioning leadership. The reasons why we challenge or rebel against our leaders describe what kind of individual we are. Cassius and Brutus have different reasons for questioning Caesars power. Both characters have a common goal but exceedingly different values, thought process, and motives for killing Caesar. Cassius and Brutus are characters who have opposite values.
There seems to be a prevalent trope in ruler of the ancient world. Leaders of this era all seem to be obsessed with their own excellence and accomplishments, expressing largely this egotism in self-referential written propaganda. For instance, such a tone and intention is found in Res Gestae, written by Caesar Augustus, successor of Julius Caesar. Res Gestae was written by Augustus in the year of his death. Augustus knew that before he passed away he had to leave a testament of his greatness, which stressed a specific person who people would find honorable.
Brutus’s idealistic nature causes him to be easily manipulated. Disliking Caesar, Cassius makes a plan to kill Caesar. He allows himself to be brought into the conspiracy. On February fifteenth, during the Luperical celebration, Caesar triumphantly comes back from the battle with Pompey. Citizen of Rome congratulate Caesar as he walks down the street.
While Brutus maintains noble intentions, Cassius goes into this scheme with every intention of leaving everyone else behind to claim the power for himself, as he has been compelled by their society to do. Cassius tells Brutus that Caesar “doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus” while convincing him that Caesar is accumulating too much power for one man, despite harboring the belief that all of that power should be his (JC I.ii.142-143). To further prove his point to Brutus, Cassius gives Brutus fake letters telling him that the common people would rather have Brutus in charge than Caesar. While this is just Cassius himself manipulating Brutus, Cassius is motivated by the pressures of their society and Brutus, motivated by the belief that his society wants him to, joins the conspirators in their plot to kill Caesar and take power for themselves. Caught in a vicious cycle of societal pressure, these men continue to fight for power even after they achieve their original goal as evidenced by the civil war that breaks out following the assassination of Julius
Cassius wants Brutus to believe that their futures need to be changed because Caesar is leading them into tyranny. Cassius then uses flattery to show Brutus that he is equal in power to Caesar. “Brutus and Caesar… Write them together, yours is a fair a name”. Cassius explains this to Brutus that he is just as capable of reaching the height of power Caesar possesses. Following this conversation Cassius develops a plan to further manipulate Brutus.
During an election year, we as Americans are bombard with campaign aids and media coverage for each presidential candidate running for office. Throughout the 90s we regularly saw the abundance of anti-smoking aids, and through high school history class, we’ve seen the posters with Uncle Sam or Rosie the Riveter during the times of the World wars. The point of this short history lesson is that while the concept of propaganda is treated as a new concept with only modern day uses, the employment of propaganda dates as far back as the Roman Empire. Roman emperors from the time of Augustus till the time of Emperor Constantine have used propaganda through many public works. Through these works, and through the works of some ancient Roman historians
Cassius influenced Brutus to conspire against Caesar by stating, Caesar “is now become a god… and his name has been sounded more than [Brutus’s]” (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 118-145-6). Cassius’s arguments convinced Brutus in proving Caesar's murder would be just, but Caesar’s death is unjust because he is being murdered out of Brutus and Cassius’s jealousy. Both of the individuals are envious of the power that Caesar is being given by the people of Rome and want to end his life before they will lose their own power in the senate after Caesar becomes king. Brutus’ naive mind was easily convinced by Cassius that Caesar was not the best choice to assume the Roman throne because he would not listen to their political thoughts.
