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Julius Caesar Brutus Manipulation Essay

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In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, written in 1599, Brutus joins a conspiracy sparked by Cassius to assassinate Julius Caesar in order to prevent him from becoming a tyrant. Brutus, a good friend of Caesar, had been conflicted by his feelings about his good friend Caesar and his growing power. He wasn’t sure of what was better, to be a good friend, or to be a loyal citizen of Rome. Cassius, a concerned friend of Brutus, noticed that he had not been himself as of late. He uses Brutus’ vulnerability to manipulate him into joining the conspirators and turning his back on Caesar. Brutus’ mind had changed about Caesar rather quickly. In Act 1, Scene 2, Brutus was unsure of where he stood as a friend to Caesar and as a noble citizen of Rome. …show more content…

Cassius had assured Brutus that he was worthy and that he would be a place of reflection for him with the metaphor, “Therefore, good Brutus, be prepared to hear. And since you know you cannot see yourself So well as by reflection, I, your glass, Will modestly discover to yourself That of yourself which you yet know not of.” He wanted Brutus to see himself in the way that he did, but could only do that by convincing him that he was more than capable of whatever he put his mind to, solely because he was only using him for his plan. Cassius had also forged letters protesting the rule of Caesar, and instead, pleading for the rule of Brutus. The forged letters contained messages from concerned citizens that wished for Brutus to take action against Caesar. The once good friend of Caesar had deemed him dangerous to the well-being of Rome. Brutus compares Caesar to a snake saying, “And therefore think him as a serpent's egg — Which, hatched, would, as his kind, grow mischievous — And kill him in the shell.” Brutus’ simile had shown the conspirators that Caesar could and would be dangerous to Rome if he had remained crowned. Brutus had made up his mind about the fate of Caesar, he is no longer the friend that sits in silence as Caesar does wrong, he is the loyal citizen of Rome that will take action for the greater good. He promised the citizens of Rome, “O Rome, I make thee promise: If

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What— did one of us strike down the most powerful man in the world in order to support robbers? Should we now dirty our fingers with lowly bribes and sell the mighty offices that we hold for whatever gold we can get our hands on? I'd rather be a dog and howl at the moon that be that kind of Roman.” (Shakespeare 169) Brutus is painfully obvious (at least he is from Cassius’ point of view) when he confides to Cassius that he believes that Cassius wasnt as honest about what his intent and motives for killing Caesar were.

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Brutus conspired against his friend Julius Caesar out of loyalty, love and patriotism to his country and his people. Whereas Cassius began a conspiracy against his leader out of greed and selfishness, to gain superiority and full control over Rome to hold the high level of leadership

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" Cassius is now trying to flatter Brutus into betraying Caesar. He has now gone to the point where he will now turn friend against friend. Cassius's corruption knows no

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One of Cassius’s idiosyncrasies is devious. During Cassius’s soliloquy in Act one Scene two, Cassius starts talking about how he is going to convince Brutus to help him. He says “ I will this night, in several hands, in at his windows throw, as if they came from several citizens, writing, all tending to the great opinion that Rome holds of his name.”. What he is saying is that he will forge writings to make them look like other people’s writings and then give them to Brutus to make him notice that Rome thinks he is better than Caesar. He expects this will then lead to Brutus helping Cassius.

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When Brutus was talking to the conspirators Brutus was going back and forth think if he should help the conspirators kill Julius Caesar. He was going back and forth because he was thinking of the power he could have and could rule Rome. The reason behind Brutus killing Caesar was for the better of Rome. If Brutus would not have killed Caesar, Rome would have turned into a dictatorship, and in turn it would have ruined Rome and all of its people. Brutus did not kill Julius just for the power to rule Rome, he killed Julius to save Rome from Caesar’s dictatorship.

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Brutus believes that Caesar will do more harm than good to the people, and reap benefits for himself. Brutus has already said this, but had said it in his own words, (II, i, 12-14). He has no clue if Caesar will use his power for the good and betterment for the people, or use it for his own needs and other

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When Brutus spoke about his motives to kill Caesar he said, “As he was valiant I / honor him. But, as he was ambitious, I slew him.” (3.2.27-28). Brutus honored Caesar but saw that his ambition has the potential of being very dangerous. He thought that a danger like Caesar could not be left to grow more powerful when there is a solution to the issue now.

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Cassius adds to his own credibility when he says “I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus, as well as I do know your outward

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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

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This makes the reader or watcher of the play dislike Cassius’ actions and therefore dislike Cassius as a character, which is what Shakespeare wanted. This fact is clear when Cassius says: “I will this night/ In several hands, in at his windows throw/As if they came from several citizens/Writings all tending to the great opinion” (I.ii.12). By Cassius wanting to throw forged letters at Brutus’ windows proves that he will do anything

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(II, i, 53-55) which allows to say that he wants Rome to be just and do whatever it takes to maintain it away from any threat. Indeed, Brutus states this very clearly when he says, “If it’s for the good of all Romans, I’d do it even if it meant my death. Let the gods give me good luck only as long as I love honor more than I fear death.” (I, ii, 86-88), he explicitly says that the good of the majority is over any feeling or personal benefit which in this case is the love of Caesar for him and viceversa, and the throne. To conclude, Brutus is a complex character that is characterized by three recurrent traits: his well-intention, his hypocrisy, and his naivet.

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