Cassius is one of the heads of the conspiracy to kill Caesar. As such, one of his highest objectives is to persuade Brutus to join their coalition. Cassius, being the manipulative man he is, uses multiple approaches to change Brutus’s mind. One he uses while talking to him is making Caesar seem equal to Brutus, “Like a Colossus, and we petty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about To find ourselves dishonorable graves...Why should that name be sounded more than yours?” (I.ii.136-138,143). If Cassius can convince Brutus that Caesar has no right to be higher than Brutus, Brutus is more likely to kill him. Cassius also diminishes Caesar by bringing up stories of when he had to save Caesar. Brutus, still on the fence needed to be assured the Roman citizens would still love him. Cassius then writes fake letters from the Roman people. In his soliloquy at the end of Act I Scene ii, he thinks Brutus is a fool and will join after receiving the letters, which works and is one of the final pushes to get Brutus to join the conspirators.
Cassius uses these methods to emphasize that Brutus is in better favor with the Roman people than Caesar and that this is for the better of Rome. This is because Brutus only joins because he does it for what he thinks is the best for Rome. In the passage given, Cassius is attempting to persuade Brutus to join the conspiracy. Here, Cassius is shown as manipulative and arrogant. He is cunning in the way he spins everything bad on Caesar and how he says Brutus’s ancestors would have stopped a chance of a monarchy from happening. Cassius also tries to elevate his status and thinks he is more deserving of everything than Caesar. We know from his soliloquy later that he wants Caesar gone for personal reasons and because he thinks he should be of higher status than Caesar. Cassius is described as a manipulative and arrogant man while attempting to convince Brutus to join the conspiracy.
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How is Brutus characterized in the following conversation from Act II.i? In the passage given, Brutus is characterized as a noble gentleman that only wants to kill Caesar for the good of Rome. He refuses to kill Anthony as it will be too much bloodshed. When the other conspirators urge him saying they need to, he supports his arguments by saying how they need to appeal to the people and Anthony is useless without Caesar. Brutus is also shown as condescending toward Anthony seeing him as not important enough to murder. Brutus has begun to adopt a more arrogant nature as seen by not giving proper respect to Anthony. He compares Anthony to a mere limb of Caesar, “For Antony is but a limb of Caesar. Let’s be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.” (II.i.165-166). This quote illustrates both Brutus underestimating Anthony and not wanting to kill too many people. One of Brutus’s biggest motivations in every action he takes is how the Roman people react. Thus, Anthony is popular and not wanting to be seen as a barbaric murderer. This was really not the best of ideas by Brutus since as people who have studied the Roman Empire know, Anthony later goes on to defeat Brutus in battle. Brutus wants only minimal bloodshed and tries to justify murder as what is good for Rome and diminishes Anthony as he underestimates everyone else’s intentions.
How is Caesar characterized in the following passage from II.ii? In this passage, Caesar is talking to his wife Calphurnia about whether or not he should go to the Senate after several warnings that he shouldn’t. Caesar is described as overly confident that nothing will happen to him. He was going to go, but then his wife convinces him otherwise. Caesar despises cowards and doesn’t want to be called one. For as he said, “Cowards die many times before their deaths,” (II.ii.32). This quote shows how Caesar never wants to be seen as a coward. However, he demonstrates that he is flexible enough when his wife tells him not to go. His wife appears so far to be the only one to convince Caesar not to do something. Caesar May have big aspirations, but he still listens to his wife (happy wife happy life). Caesar may hate being seen as a coward, but he agrees with his wife and sends his trusted friend Anthony to the Senate showing he despises cowards, but still listens when it is needed.
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