Julius Ceaser Essay, Research Paper
“Alas, thou hast misconstrued everything!”-Titinius
“That one cry?might well serve as an epigraph for the whole of Julius Caesar.”-Marjorie Garber
In this one phrase, Titinius conveys his feelings about the meaninglessness of Cassius’ death. Titinius knew that if Cassius understood Caesar’s true intentions worked only to benefit the citizens of Rome, neither deaths would have occurred.
Garber comments that Titinius’ cry over the dead Cassius was like an epitaph over the whole conflict of the conspiracy against Julius Caesar. I agree with this statement. Many other characters in the play died because they misconstrued everything.
Cassius thought that Caesar was going to take the crown and rule tyrannically. He was afraid that the people would lose their power of representation, and for this, he wanted him dead. What he didn’t understand was that Caesar was a man of honor and character and the people had respect for him. Thrice, Caesar had turned down the crown being content with his present position, yet still Cassius remained sure that Caesar was planning to rule the people in monarchy.
In Act II, Scene I: “A shrewd contriver; and you know, his means; If he improve them, may well stretch so far as to annoy us all?”-Cassius. Cassius being confused, persuades Brutus that what Caesar was doing was not for the good of the people, but for the bad. So Brutus believed that he would be honoring his country by ridding the world of Caesar. But this proved to be a fatal decision, for he, too, died as a result of the death of Caesar.
The senators, with their fear of losing their power to govern, joined with Cassius to murder Caesar. For no other reason did they know of why Caesar should die other than that Caesar had too much power and was considered dangerous to the people. It is clear to see that they, too, misunderstood Caesar. -Act III, Scene I: The senators murder Caesar.