Preview

Changing Sides Of Julius Caesar Research Paper

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
654 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Changing Sides Of Julius Caesar Research Paper
Jakob Lopez
Dr. Vella
English 1, Period 4
2 May 2013
Changing Sides In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the common people played a critical role. They are not very dedicated to a certain side; they tend to switch depending on popularity or role. The common people tend to focus on the stronger person in power. They were for Pompey, but as soon as Julius Caesar defeated him in battle, they immediately switched sides and joined the followers of Julius Caesar. The people of Rome were never on one side for too long. They switched sides multiple times in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, which favored certain characters and disfavored others. The commoners play a critical part in Caesar’s reign and the conspirators’ plan to kill Caesar while being able
…show more content…
Live, live!”, “They were traitors!” (III.ii.48, 154). The people are as fickle as described in the beginning of the tragedy. They can’t stick with a side for too long. The people of Rome always want to be on the most powerful side so once Caesar took control of Rome from Pompey; the people began to rejoice Caesar instead of Pompey. They feel that if they do not switch sides, that they will fall with the weaker side. To prevent their fall, they quickly change sides to avoid conflict with anyone else. The common people are scared of conflict with rulers or other people. They want to have easy lives and in order to make their life easiest as possible, they feel like switching to the most powerful, persuasive, and popular side will indeed make it easier. The citizens of Rome caused the death of Brutus and the rest of the conspirators by their fear of …show more content…
Without the help of the people of Rome, the rulers would have no power. If the people do not accept or agree with a certain ruler, they will revolt or join another group that is against the ruler. The plebeians were a huge part in Brutus’s and the conspirators’ plans. They needed the people to believe that they were killing Caesar for the good of them, “Not / that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (III.ii.21-22). For a second, they were on the conspirators’ side, but because of Antony’s great speech and the peoples’ habit of changing sides very quickly, the conspirators’ plan fell through. In the end because of the commoners, that event and their tendency to be persuaded easily led to the death of most of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Julius Ceasar Study Guide

    • 2824 Words
    • 12 Pages

    * While the other conspirators act out of envy and rivalry, only Brutus truly believes that Caesar’s death will benefit Rome.…

    • 2824 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Republican period of Roman history began in 509 BCE after the last Etruscan kings was dropped. The Republic was controlled by the Senate, which was an assembly by dominated upper-class families. This dominance by the aristocracy led to tensions between the social classes, especially among the lower classes who fought for equality in both the economy and the government. Despite these inner struggles, Rome's military power strengthened throughout the 5th and 4th centuries BCE and by 270 BCE they commanded the entire peninsula. 264 BCE brought the beginning of the three Punic Wars fought against Carthage over control of the western Mediterranean. These resulted in victories for Rome which granted them access to the wealth of Greece, Egypt,…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the text Julius caesar conflicting perspectives can be seen in act 3 scene one where both Brutus and Antony give speeches about caesars death. In Brutus’s speech he uses a number of rhetorical features and logic to convince the Plebeians that the killing of Caesar was carried out for the “goodness of rome”. we can see this through the “Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead and live all free men?”. The use of truism in this quote makes the audience unable to offer a contradicting point of view thus they are forced into complying with Brutus’s thoughts.…

    • 873 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    You are to produce a contribution to an online HSC Tutorial. You are to record and upload an answer to the question below. It is to be no longer than seven minutes and no less than five minutes.…

    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    As a tragic hero Brutus possesses a flaw of naivety. Brutus is too trusting in others, such as the conspirators. The conspirators believed that Caesar was too ambitious and that they should kill him for the good of Rome, themselves and for their own personal benefit. Brutus trusted that they were conspiring to kill him for the sake of Rome. (Quote). He was also naïve by letting Antony speak at Caesar’s funeral. Brutus believed that Antony would praise Caesar at his funeral and follow the rules that he was given. Brutus trusted him and by letting him speak Antony turned all the Romans against him. Antony sparked a civil war by convincing the Romans that the conspirators that they did wrong. Since Antony turned all the Romans against him, he…

    • 161 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Was Julius Caesar Bad

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the time of the ruling of Julius Caesar, all of the Romans loved most of Caesar's qualities. He was a good and popular leader and did a lot for the people. But some Romans had a problem with Caesar and plotted to kill him. These people were Brutus and Cassius. This started a civil war between the Romans. This war may have been prevented if Brutus and Cassius had done things a little differently. Cassius would have made a better leader rather than Brutus. Cassius also had more of a passion to kill Caesar. Brutus did not have the morals of a killer like Caesar did.…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What part does Brutus play in this? Brutus is a very loyal man, he was just more loyal to Rome. This was his downfall. When Brutus gave his speech he was very choppy and factual. The people believed him and called him the most noble man in Rome, but only for a while. After him was Mark Antony, Antony was persuasive and used more ethos than logos. This helped win the people’s hearts instead of their minds. Cassius, the deceitful leader of the conspirators,…

    • 418 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The people of Rome did not all share the same viewpoint as Brutus. It is clear that Commoners such as the Carpenter and Cobbler support Caesar’s rule when they disagree with soldiers on the street. The soldiers dislike Caesar because he killed Pompey, while the common people support him. These Commoners did not want Caesar to be dethroned. In addition, Brutus had to work to persuade the people that he made the right decision in killing Caesar. He gave a speech at Caesar’s funeral attempting to explain that his motives were solely for Rome. The only way for him to make the Plebeians take his side was by convincing them that if they did not support him, they were not true Romans. If Brutus truly did what was right for Rome, he would not have to convince everyone that his intentions were pure because they would already understand. Further evidence of the people’s love of Caesar can be found when Mark Antony reads Caesar’s will at the funeral. Upon being part of the will, the Plebeians cry out, “Most noble Caesar! We’ll revenge his death” (3.2.257). They did not want their leader to die; they believed he had their best interests at heart. Though Caesar did not leave much for the common people, the fact that he included them in his will indicates that he always thought of his people. If the Plebeians loved Caesar and he constantly thought about the needs of his people, then why would Brutus kill him for being a bad…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar presents conflicting perspectives of Julius Caesar’s death. Shakespeare employs a variety of dramatic and language techniques to enhance the contrasting views of the assassination. Similarly President Bush’s Address at the 5th Anniversary of 9/11 and the article War is not a solution for Terrorism by Howard Zinn, deals with differing views of US occupation in Iraq.…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The citizens don’t have that many lines throughout the play but they had a significant part. Throughout the play, their leaders manipulate them, and the leaders gained their trust, because they thought that their leaders wanted to rule for them not against them. The leaders secretly need their support in deciding rulers to keep them in power. The plebeians decided to believe Antony’s speech, of how Caesar wasn't a tyrant and sacrificed his own life for the citizens and Rome. They cause what the outline of the play is, if Brutus went last, the plebeians would have believed that Caesar deserved to die, there wouldn’t be a battle at Philippi, and the second triumvirate wouldn’t be in control. In conclusion, their leaders needed their help, so their leaders could gain more power over…

    • 474 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Without any power, a society tends to become irrational, indecisive and flavorless. This ideal is portrayed in all scenes including plebeians, whether through direct or indirect characterization. The premiering scene portrayed Marullus and Flavius along the streets, scolding commoners for being hypocrites. “You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!/O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome,/Knew you not Pompey?” (1.1.27-29) was proclaimed by Marullus, in protest of Caesars’ celebrations. This reveals that the common people of Rome are easily swayed, as they cheered for Caesar defeating his predecessor, after recently cheering for Pompey himself. An exquisite example of the citizens’ complacency comes from the Third Plebeian. He states,“The noble Brutus is ascended: silence” (3.2.14) but yet, after a short speech from Antony regarding the conspirators, he claims, “There’s not a nobler man in Rome than Antony”( 3.2.96). Furthermore, when attending to Caesar,“We are bless’d that Rome is rid of him”(3.2.48) stated the citizens, only to later say, “They were villains, murderers” (3.2.135) merely for doing the very “ridding” they praised! Complicity and irrationality are portrayed by the violent outburst, “Revenge!—About!—Seek!—Burn!/Fire!—Kill!—Slay! Let not a traitor live” (3.2.183-184) from the citizens, once Antony’s speech is…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Soon after Caesar had defeated Pompey Rome became split between the Romans who supported Caesar and the ones who despised him. The tribunes who hated him soon came up with a terrible plan to kill him. They desperately needed Brutus to be on their side but, it could come at a huge cost.…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Influenced

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The plebeians play an important role in the play even though they are only seen a few times. The conspirators need the support of the plebeians. Without their support, they are just “butchers” who killed Caesar in cold blood and not the “sacrificers” of Rome they want to be seen as (II.i.166). If it were not for the need of support, Cassius would not have recruited Brutus to join the conspiracy to gain the affection of the people through Brutus. Brutus would not have joined the conspiracy if not for the letters that he had thought were written by the plebeians but were actually forged by Cassius to manipulate him into joining. At the beginning of the play Flavius calls the plebeians “growing feathers” because of the support they give Caesar as if he were a bird (I.i.74). Though the conspirators did gain support of the plebeians, they lost it because of fickleness.…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Caesar is rising in power and a lot of people want to bring him down before he becomes to powerful. The people that want to bring him down call themselves the “Conspirators”. The people that are part of the conspirators include Cassius, Casca, Cinna, Decius, Matellus, e.t.c. Out of the conspirators they all want to recruit a man named Brutus. Brutus is very respected man throughout Rome and they believe if they can get Brutus to join the conspiracy that the people of Rome will see that their actions were necessary.…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Roman Grievances Analysis

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Ancient Rome, consistent of two main classes of people, that is the aristocratic Patricians and the Plebeians. The plebeians were the majority of the population being in the lower economic range than the patricians and slightly above the slaves of Rome. They mainly consisted of soldiers, artisans, shopkeepers, peasants and laborers. The wealthy patricians ruled Rome, made laws that favored them excluding the plebeians from having rights to vote or participate in government ruling thereby disadvantaging them and causing untold grievances. The grievances were both economic and political and led the lower class plebeians to revolt against the aristocratic rule of the patricians. Initially the plebeians and the patricians were united in one cause…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays