Julius Caesar Essay, Research Paper
Larren San Pedro
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar is a Shakespearean tragedy about the hunger for power. William Shakespeare explained the tragedy through the character development of hatred and envy. Caesar s life was cut short because several men around him looked at him to power hungry and weak. The killing of Julius Caesar was not justified because he was not proved to be ambitious and he acted for the good of Rome.
The first way Julius Caesar was not ambitious was he refused the crown three times. In Act I Scene ii, Casca says, Why, there was a crown offered him; and/being offered him, he put it by with the back of his/hand, thus. And then the people fell a-shouting (I ii 234-236). Casca informs Marcus Brutus and Cassius that Julius Caesar was offered the crown three times by Marcus Antonius. But instead of accepting the crown Caesar refuses it every/time gentler then the other (I ii 243-244). Here Caesar shows he is not ambitious because if he truly were, he would have accepted the crown regardless of what the people of Rome wanted. At the same time, Caesar shows his love for Rome by considering their thoughts and feelings towards him ruling Rome.
The second way Caesar was not ambitious was when he gave every Roman citizen seventy-five drachmas. In Act III Scene ii, Antony reads Caesars will and it states, here is the will, under Caesar s seal. /To every Roman citizen he gives, /to every several man, seventy-five drachmas (III ii 256-258). In Caesars will he give every Roman citizen seventy-five drachmas. Seventy-five drachmas are worth quite a bit to poor people such as those in the crowd. Caesar shows he is not ambitious in his will because by giving every Roman citizen that much it shows he didn t have an eager desire for success and also that he wasn t greedy.
The third way the killing of Julius Caesar was not justified because he fought many battles to bring wealth and honor to Rome. In a speech presented by Antony in Act III Scene ii, he points out, He hath brought many captives home to Rome, / Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill (III ii 94-95). Julius Caesar, as a military leader, fought many battles, including the defeat of his major rival Cnaeus Pompey in 48 BC, to bring wealth and honor to Rome. With the many battles fought, shows that Caesar is not ambitious because he loved his country and became an infamous leader for it.
The killing of Julius Caesar was not justified because never did he show true ambition but only a true love for his country.