Julius Caesar: the power of words
Generally, when people get their way with others, they do it with words; they want others to agree with their point of view, give them what they want, or do what they ask. Such people's victims unknowingly make choices based on emotional appeals and logical tricks, which allows the manipulator to control their thinking, and their behavior, setting themselves up to be used for someone else's interests. For example, in William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Cassius persuades Brutus to turn against his best friend, Decius reinterprets Calphurnia's dream that leads Caesar to his fate, and Antony convinces the crowd of plebeians to turn against the honorable Brutus. Their powerful words are used as a tool to mislead and deceive even the most intelligent men in this tragic drama. The first example of how words are deceiving is how sly Cassius is able to persuade Brutus to turn on his best friend, Caesar. Cassius' ambition is to turn Brutus' view of Caesar a full 180 degrees. Cassius is no fool, therefore, he is able to convince Brutus of how good of a friend he is and how he will not lead him in the wrong direction. "Therefore, good Brutus, be prepared to hear; and since you
The second example of how words are powerful weapons is how Decius is able to reinterpret Calphurnia's dream so that Caesar will attend the Senate, which leads Caesar to his dreadful fate. Decius' goal is to convince both Caesar and Calphurnia that the dream of men bathing their hands in the blood of Caesar was a sign of good fortune, not of doom. "This dream is all amiss interpreted; it was a vision fair and fortunate..." (2.2.83-84). He explains to Calphurnia that this dream reveals the future of Caesar's great power and how all the people of Rome will fall to their knees and acknowledge how majestic he really is. The deceitful words of Decius opens the eyes of the almighty Caesar, creating a doubtful attitude towards Calphurnia for making the dream seem frightful. Fallacious Decius also uses his manipulative ways to make Caesar consider that others will think of him as a coward if he did not go to the Senate. "If Caesar hide himself, shall they not whisper, 'Lo, Caesar is afraid?' " (2.2.100-101). This is when Caesar realizes that he must attend the Senate for he would not desire the people of Rome to think of him as a coward. Decius bamboozles Caesar into going to the Senate where the friends that he puts all his trust in will kill him. Decius wins over Caesar and Calphurnia with the same weapons that Cassius uses to mislead Brutus. These weapons are powerful words. However, Decius and Cassius aren't the only men that use words to d
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Approximate Word count = 981
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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