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Is Julius Caesar Selfish Or Selfish

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Is Julius Caesar Selfish Or Selfish
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a play about a tragic hero named Brutus, and takes place in the early Roman Empire. The current ruler, Caesar is loved by many, but a small conspiracy of a few Romans builds, one whose name is Cassius. They are tired of his rule and are looking to free themselves from his way of rule. These characters plan to assassinate Caesar, but are looking for a way to do it so that it may seem justified to the rest of Rome when the deed is done. Brutus was first a friend of Caesar’s, but as the play develops, Brutus transforms and will ultimately be the tragic hero of the play when he kills Caesar, right after joining Cassius’s conspiracy. Shakespeare’s use of allusion and dialogue help the reader …show more content…
Brutus is selfish in the play because he wants to change the way the country is being ruled due to his profound love for Rome, and he is willing to assassinate and betray his friend in order to achieve such goals. Again, Shakespeare’s use of allusion comes in when the soothsayer exclaims to Caesar “Beware the Ides of March!”(I.ii.18). In this way, foreshadowing is used to show that on the Ides of March something bad may happen to Caesar. This was Shakespeare's way of indirectly telling the reader that Brutus was going to turn on his loyal friend Caesar in a selfish attempt to control Rome his own way, instead of tolerating Caesar’s way of ruling. Also, through dialogue, Shakespeare shows the inner thoughts of Brutus that cannot be heard by anyone else in the play. “It must be by his death: and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him”(II.i.10-11) shows how Brutus internally justifies why he is killing Caesar. In this quote, Brutus says that he is not doing this for himself, but for the good of the people of his beloved Rome. Brutus encounters this internal conflict with himself continually as he crosses over the line between settling for Caesar's rule and becoming selfish when he wants to assassinate Caesar as an attempt at overthrowing

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