Examples Of Honor In Julius Caesar

In William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, many themes are developed. One character, Brutus, displays a significant theme that develops through the entire play. The theme that is supported most by this character is the idea that honor and respect are gained through performing works for the good of others instead of for personal gain.

This started a vicious war for the crown with Octavius Caesar and Marc Antony pitted against each other, which is described in another one of Shakespeare’s plays, Antony and Cleopatra. Even though Brutus claimed “...I love the name of honor more than I fear death.” (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 88-89), he fled Rome to avoid death by the angry civilians. Brutus was also dishonorable because he allowed himself to be tricked by Cassius and convinced to kill Caesar. In Act 1, Cassius writes fake letters “In several hands.

Respect is possessing a deep admiration for a certain person based on their behavior and abilities. When a character earns someone’s respect, it infers they have a healthy friendship or relationship. They know they can trust and also rely on the person. To gain this form of high regard, characters must first gain an understanding for them. Understanding is developing and processing the meaning of character’s words and actions. This helps characters learn about the person’s true nature. In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Brutus’ soldiers bravely go into battle for him and Antony honors the fallen Brutus. Shane is the novel by Jack Schaefer in which both Joe and Bob Starrett learn to see the true values Shane

Cassius is able to manipulate Brutus masterfully throughout the conspiracy, while Brutus is easily deceived. Brutus is blinded by the desire to help Rome and allows himself to be manipulated due to his naivety. Brutus is manipulated into joining the conspiracy, as Cassius does the manipulation, using multiple tactics such as bashing Caesar’s image and using fake letters to make Brutus believe that Caesar is a poor fit for Rome’s leader. Throughout the conspiracy, Brutus is blind to Cassius’s motives for killing Caesar. Cassius is in pursuit of power, and although Brutus does hunt for power (in order to be a “better” ruler than Caesar), he is unable to realize that Cassius is purely jealous of Caesar’s power.

Honor is a word defined as “worthy of high respect”. In “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare, honorability is one of the driving forces of the play’s central plot. From the murder plot to the incriminating funeral speeches, honorability is lost, questioned, and acted upon for the majority of the plot. When it comes to the question of who is the most honorable man between Marc Antony and Marcus Brutus, the answer is not immediately clear. Through the first two acts, as these men develop, grow, and change their ways of thinking, both men seem to be equally valid candidates. Acts three through five are when their true colors begin to emerge, and like a butterfly from its cocoon, their inner thoughts and motives are exposed. Then, the true answer becomes clear: Brutus is the more honorable man. Why is this? He thinks of others before himself when it comes to making

Antony and Cassius, unlike Brutus, never separate their private affairs from their public actions while Brutus tries to prove himself by acting only with respect to honor and virtue, completely ignoring his personal concerns. For example, Cassius disliked the fact that Caesar became “godlike” in the eyes of the Romans, so he leads Brutus to believe that Caesar had become too powerful and must die by sending him forged letters claiming that the Roman people support the death of Caesar, ultimately converting Brutus to his cause. At last Brutus ends up murdering his good friend in an act he truly believed was honorable. Marc Antony, who also shares in Cassius’ selfish trait, persuaded the conspirators that he is on their side, therefore gaining their leniency. He proceeds to persuade the plebeians of the conspirators’ injustice and gains support of the masses.

He states that Brutus is just as noble and worthy as Caesar. (Act 1, scene ii). He says that Brutus cannot see what everyone else does and recognize his worthiness. Cassius and the other senators do not want Caesar to be king because they would lose all their power. Cassius is slowly luring Brutus in to do his dirty work. He builds Brutus’s confidence up to make him thing that killing Caesar is the right thing to do. Cassius is basically playing with Brutus’s head because he knows Brutus will listen. So, Brutus joins the conspirators in killing Caesar. Cassius tells Brutus that it is for the good of Rome, and that he is saving them from a dictatorship. Cassius is going for Brutus’s weakest point, his care and concern for Rome. He knows that if Brutus believes the people distrust Caesar, then he will be convinced that Caesar must be thwarted. Brutus knew that if Caesar was crowned, he would never have a chance, and he was power hungry. This is what ultimately leads to the tragedy of Julius Caesar. After Brutus kills Caesar off, he starts to feel guilty for killing his friend, thus creating an internal conflict. Brutus was so confident that the plan would go exactly as planned that he fell apart when they encountered problems. If Brutus and the other conspirators had taken more time to think things through, they probably would have been more prepared for the situation that was handed to them.

“A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions“ -Confucius. This quote is relevant because in Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, Brutus and Antony gave speeches after Caesar’s death. A speaker has to make connections with the audience, use creativity, and have passion. Antony was rhetoric, cunning, and used pathos to connect with the people of Rome. Brutus was also rhetoric, honorable, and used logos and ethos to influence the audience. Overall, Brutus did not influence the crowd like he hoped to. Antony knew how he was going to persuade the people before he gave his speech.

Cassius will do anything to get his job done. He wanted Caesar dead and was able to convince the other conspirators to do the same. Even though his methods are less than admirable, he got the job done. He has ambition and that makes him a leader who won’t fail to complete an objective. Brutus was easily swayed by Cassius and as a leader, this is a bad quality.

By his rhetoric, Cassius is able to make Brutus join the conspirators so that Cassius’ personal fear of Caesar becoming king will not play out.

His honor and devotion to the country of Rome was of admiration as well. Cassius uses a variety of tactics to negatively sway Brutus’ opinions. Brutus was a victim to extreme manipulation and was unaware due to the idealism he possessed.” Act I, Scene II: "Caesar doth bear me hard, but he loves Brutus. If I were Brutus now and he were Cassius, he should not humor me. 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 that Rome hold of his name, wherein obscurely Caesar's ambition shall be glanced at" (lines 308-315)” is an example of Cassius’ manipulative behavior that he used to essentially brainwash Brutus into the conspiracy. The reader can then sympathize with Brutus. Brutus was blind to this because he truly saw the best qualities in every person, most importantly, Cassius. He had false beliefs that Cassius was participating in such acts for good of the Roman people not his own secret motives. Had Brutus not been so eloquently swayed by the words of Cassius he would not have contributed to the conspiracy. Brutus also committed the acts with good reason, doing it merely out of his own devotion to the Roman people and the well being of Rome as a whole. In the

Cassius manipulating Brutus is the start of tragedy for Brutus due to Cassius being the catalyst of Brutus’ death. Cassiu shows this by influencing him to kill Caesar with Cassius and the other conspirators. “And it is very much lamented, Brutus,/That you have no such mirrors as will turn/Your hidden worthiness into your eye,/That you might see your shadow. I have heard/Where many of the best respect in Rome”(Shakespeare, Julius Caesar I.ii.54-60). Cassius is trying to to manipulate Brutus into killing Caesar with him by saying the people in Rome need him to. Cassius is playing to Brutus’ ego. Brutus takes the bait because he wants to be the hero for Rome because of this love for Rome. Brutus does not realize he is being manipulated, which is what makes Cassius so good at controlling him. This is what inevitably caused Brutus’ demise because he is too blindsided by Cassius telling him he’ll be a hero to pay attention to the hidden meaning in his words. Cassius’ need for power leads him to manipulate Brutus, but it is also what causes both of their deaths in the end.

Without Cassius’ persuasive abilities, Brutus would not have been able to join in on the plan and work his magic with the plebeians. He exploits Brutus’ greatest weakness, his love for Rome. Cassius exploits this by writing letters as if they were written by a Romans who were unhappy with caesar’s rule. He did this to appeal to Brutus in such a way that he could not refuse. It was an excellent move on Cassius’ part because he knows that Brutus could never refuse the word of the people. Cassius suggests that these letters should be “throw[n] [at Brutus’] window; set this up with wax upon old Brutus’ statue” (1.3.145-146). Cassius proves to Brutus that Caesar is weak. He tells him a story of when they went swimming in the Tiber and Caesar started drowning, begging like a little girl for Cassius to save him. Cassius says that “Brutus, thou art noble; yet I see thy honorable mettle may be wrought fromt hat it is disposed; therefore it is meet that noble minds keep ever with their likes” (1.2.308-311). Even Brutus who was the most pragmatic man is susceptible to Cassius’ flattery and manipulation. No one is “so firm that cannot be seduced” (1.2.312). Cassius is the only character who can convince and seduce Brutus to join the plan, he is the only character who can appeal to Brutus’ ego. He flatters him and his reputation which appeals to pathos. He convinces him that Caesar is not a good fit to be king, which appeals to logos. He writes letter from the Roman’s to reveal how much they do not want Caesar in the position of power, which appeals to ethos. Cassius is such a skillful speaker that he appeals to all and can make himself appear honorable and

Brutus was not right to join the conspiracy with Cassius to kill Caesar. When Julius Caesar returned to Rome, he was known as a hero. Other citizens of Rome were afraid that Caesar was going to be dictator for life and have too much power. Brutus was very close to Caesar and had to choose between his friendship with Caesar and to prevent Caesar’s goal to undermine the Roman Republic. Cassius had also convinced Brutus that Caesar was going to make himself a monarch and turned him against his own friend by manipulating him and making Brutus the one to kill Caesar. His reason for killing Caesar was he saw his power as tyrannical and he thought the Roman Republic Government was in danger. Brutus’ reasons are not valid because there was no need to kill Caesar. Brutus supported the republic with good intentions but bad character flaws.