Isabella Upwood Mr. Gislason ENG2D1-4 April 26, 2023 Manipulation in Julius Caesar Many characters in Julius Caesar use manipulation and deception to try and get their way. Of all characters, Cassius is the biggest manipulator, who emotionally manipulates Brutus into turning against Caesar and becoming a conspirator. Julius Caesar manipulates the citizens of Rome to rise in power by publicly refusing the crown and convincing them that he’s not greedy for power, and would, therefore, be a desirable ruler. Finally, Antony manipulates and convinces the plebians to support Caesar after his death by convincing them that Caesar was a good man undeserving of death, making them riled up and infuriated at the conspirators. Cassius, Caesar, and Antony …show more content…
In Act 1, Scene 2, Casca explains to Brutus that Caesar refused the crown—becoming king—three times in public. He says to Brutus, “He refused it the third time, and as he refused it the commoners hooted and clapped their chapped hands” (1.2). This is the result of Julius Caesar’s plan to gain more followers by publicly refusing power, making him appear humble and leading people to believe that he isn’t greedy for power and selfish. The commoners clapping in this scene shows that his plan worked, as people began clapping to show their support. This is deceptive because Julius Caesar shows signs of wanting to accept the crown, but denies his feelings to increase public support. Casca says to Brutus, “and as I told you, he refused it once—though in my opinion he would’ve liked to have it.” (1.2). Since Casca knows Caesar better than most people, he sees right through his act and can tell that Caesar wasn’t being completely transparent about his motifs. Caesar is also described to have fainted after the third time refusing the crown, which Caesar blames his sickness for, so the crowd sympathizes for him and doesn’t consider the possibility that he fainted due to an extreme unwillingness to refuse the crown. This event demonstrates how controlled the public is by Caesar, who can emotionally influence the plebians to do whatever he wants. In reality, Caesar wanted to become king, so his close …show more content…
In a public speech after Caesar’s death, Antony talks about why Caesar was a good man and shows Roman citizens Caesar’s will: “To every Roman citizen he gives—to every individual man—seventy-five drachmas.” (3.2) He uses this as a reason for plebians to believe that, unlike what Brutus claims, Julius Caesar was not an ambitious man and acted for the people. Since seventy-five drachmas was a lot of money at the time, the crowd was successfully convinced that the conspirators were in the wrong for killing Julius Caesar and believed what Antony wanted them to believe: Julius Caesar didn’t deserve to die. The crowd becomes infuriated towards Brutus, Antony’s opposition, and turns against him and the conspirators. This is manipulation because later in the play, when alone with only two men, Antony says to Lepidus, “...go to Caesar’s house. Bring his will here, and we’ll figure out a way to reduce his bequests to the people.” (4.1). Antony is confirming that his speech to the public was simply a stunt, and the will was only used as a manipulation tactic to gain more followers and supporters for Caesar’s cause. In reality, he is taking advantage of his power and wants to secretly take some of Caesar’s money for himself, or for his army. Antony carefully used his different privileges