Julius Caesar Essay

Julius Caesar Rough DraftJordan M. Period 2 In the Tragedy of Julius Caesar, honor and betrayal are a huge factor. A lot of times, different characters make it seem like it’s ok to betray one another to either keep a secret or defend their honor. In my opinion, it seems very selfish, but in the play they do it because everyone else does it. It’s kind of like a natural habit like it’s no big deal. Throughout the play, I learned why and about the reasons they all betray each other, all about honor, and both their roles in the play.
Brutus does a lot of betraying, probably the most in the play. He tells Caesar that he is loyal to him and respects him, but ends up stabbing him in the back, literally. Caesar believes that Brutus is true to him, but in Brutus’ point of view, to impress others in the conspiracy, he wanted to keep his honor for himself and Rome. Antony betrayed Brutus and Cassius by saying he was on their side then turned Rome against them mainly because Caesar’s death. “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears.
I come to bury Caesar, not praise him, the evil that men are evil”. Antony is telling Rome that the killing of Caesar was wrong and the people were wrong for doing it. Antony stands up for Caesar to protect his honor and to prove to the city of Rome that Cassius and Brutus were wrong for what they were doing. Another think Brutus does wrong is betraying Portia. This reason isn’t that strong of an example, but it shows that if Brutus stayed to to Caesar he wouldn’t have such bad fortune. If this were true then should I know this secret I grant I am a women, but with all a women that Lord Brutus took a wife. ” Portia is trying to tell Brutus that he should say his secret because he chose her as a wife, he can trust her. Brutus thinks he is keeping her safe, but really she just wants to know. Portia thinks he is being pompous and wants to defend his honor in the conspiracy and not look like a coward if he tells Portia and she tries to change his mind. Caipurnia had a dream warning Caesar not to go to the capitol because he’s going to die.

She confronts him, but he just thinks something is wrong with her and betrays her by not trusting what she is trying to tell him. Caesar ends up going to the capitol anyways. “Caesar shall forth, the thing that threatened me ne’er looked but on my back when they shall see the face of Caesar they are vanished”. Caesar is telling Caipurnia that bad fortunes don’t affect him, but really he doesn’t want to seem like a coward and not go. He thinks he is defending his honor but it is really not a smart move.
It’s a life or death situation and he’s worried about what others that aren’t important think about him. Throughout the tragedy of Julius Caesar, I learned the roles of honor and betrayal in the play. Most of the betraying is only happening because they want to defend their own honor. It kind of makes sense, but that would only work with back in that time not present day. I learned that knowing that you have a lot of pride and honor in yourself can get you pretty much killed. Be careful who you trust, because like in this play, you never know if they’ll stab you in the back.