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Julius Caesar

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Julius Caesar
The Betrayal of a Friend

In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar there is a group of conspirators that believe that Ceasar will be a very bad King and is too ambitious to rule over Rome. With this thought they had to do something to prevent this from happening. They manipulated his best friend Brutus to believe this as well. What it came down to was that Brutus couldn't let this happen to Rome so he murdered his own best friend for the good of his country. Just moments after stabbing Caesar he gives a speech explaining everything he did and convinces the citizens of Rome that was what had to happen for them to be free from a dictatorship. In his speech Brutus uses literary devices like pathos, repetition, and diction to persuade the people of Rome.

The first way that Brutus persuades the people that killing Caesar was for the good of Rome is by his use of pathos. For instance he says “... Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.”(III, ii, 21-22) In saying this he is making the citizens feel loved and important, like he did this horrible thing all because he “loved” them. As well as when he states “Had you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?”(III, ii, 23-24) This makes the people think he really does care for them, he saved them from a terrible King.Another way he uses pathos, is by making the people of Rome believe that he feels guilty for killing Caesar. During his speech he tells the people of Rome “...I have the same dagger for myself, when it shall please my country to need my death.”(III, ii, 47-48) In this statement he is saying if i don't satisfy you as your king , you can kill me. When he says this they are appalled and reply with “Live, Brutus! Live, live”of course they're not going to want to kill him he has just saved them from “dying as slaves”(III, ii, 49).

Throughout Brutus’s speech the are some specific words that he repeats a great number of times. Two

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