Julius Caesar
In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Cassius is a character who had the power to influence other characters. He was able to convince others to do as he wanted by using words to connect with them. His power over others was very significant to the work as a whole. Cassius was a jealous, power hungry character. He felt envious of the praise Caesar was receiving after the defeat of Pompey. He felt that Caesar was weak and didn’t do anything to deserve the power. He told others stories about Caesar to prove his point, such as at the Tiber River when “Caesar cried, ‘Help me, Cassius, or I sink!’” (I, ii, 111). He also described how Caesar “had a fever when he was in Spain/And when the fit was on him… he did shake” (I, ii, 119-121). Cassius didn’t feel that Caesar was fit to be treated as the ruler of Rome when he couldn’t even support himself and there were others around him who were better qualified for the position.
Cassius was jealous of power and praise Caesar was receiving when he didn’t deserve it, so he wanted to gather others to overthrow him. He was able to use kind words to manipulate Brutus into joining his side in his fight against Caesar. He appealed to Brutus' sense of honor, nobility, and pride to convince him to go along with his plan. He said “What should be in that ‘Caesar’? Why should that name be sounded more than yours?” (I, ii, 142-143). He described to Brutus how he was “born free as Caesar, so [was he]; we both have fed as well, and we can both/Endure the winter’s cold as well as he” (I, ii, 97-99). He wanted Brutus to think more highly of himself so that he would realize that Caesar wasn’t as great as everyone believed, and help him to remove Caesar from power. Cassius used words to manipulate Brutus and not only boost his ego but also make him side with Cassius and turn against Caesar.
Cassius’ manipulation of others throughout the story had a major impact on the work. By influencing Brutus into believing that Caesar shouldn’t be in power, he was able to not only gain the help of Brutus, but create a group of conspirators to join together in the fight against Caesar. He was able to turn a group of people who had been praising Caesar into creating a plan to kill him. Cassius’ power to influence others was strong enough to kill a hero who was being treated like a king. This had a huge significance towards the work. Cassius was very envious towards Caesar being in control. He was able to influence and turn other characters against Caesar. Through his speech he changed the minds of others and was able to kill Caesar. His actions and influence over others were significant to the work.
Cassius was jealous of power and praise Caesar was receiving when he didn’t deserve it, so he wanted to gather others to overthrow him. He was able to use kind words to manipulate Brutus into joining his side in his fight against Caesar. He appealed to Brutus' sense of honor, nobility, and pride to convince him to go along with his plan. He said “What should be in that ‘Caesar’? Why should that name be sounded more than yours?” (I, ii, 142-143). He described to Brutus how he was “born free as Caesar, so [was he]; we both have fed as well, and we can both/Endure the winter’s cold as well as he” (I, ii, 97-99). He wanted Brutus to think more highly of himself so that he would realize that Caesar wasn’t as great as everyone believed, and help him to remove Caesar from power. Cassius used words to manipulate Brutus and not only boost his ego but also make him side with Cassius and turn against Caesar.
Cassius’ manipulation of others throughout the story had a major impact on the work. By influencing Brutus into believing that Caesar shouldn’t be in power, he was able to not only gain the help of Brutus, but create a group of conspirators to join together in the fight against Caesar. He was able to turn a group of people who had been praising Caesar into creating a plan to kill him. Cassius’ power to influence others was strong enough to kill a hero who was being treated like a king. This had a huge significance towards the work. Cassius was very envious towards Caesar being in control. He was able to influence and turn other characters against Caesar. Through his speech he changed the minds of others and was able to kill Caesar. His actions and influence over others were significant to the work.