Julius Caesar :: essays papers

Julius Caesar In the book Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, Cassius and the conspirators depicted Caesar as being ambitious. He was also said to not be ambitious by Mark Antony. He was, however, ambitious. This is because he refused the crown three times, he did not listen to the warnings that people gave him throughout the book, and he did not end the punishment he placed upon Metellus Cimber^s brother, Publius Cimber. These were all acts of ambition. On the Lupercal, Mark Antony presented Caesar with a crown. Caesar then proceeded to turn down the crown three times. The reason he did this is because the crown was not the real one, but only a coronet. This is known when Casca tells Brutus and Caesar, ^I saw Mark Antony offer him a crown (yet ^twas not a crown neither; ^twas one of those coronets), and as I told you, he put it by once; but for all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it.^ The reason that this was ambitious is because it shows that he wanted more than they offered him and that he wasn^t satisfied with just that. It also shows that he feels that he is too good for it. After he turned down the crown, the people watching yelled because they wanted him to take the crown. This shows he does not listen to others. Throughout the book, Caesar received many warnings about his death. All of these warnings he refused. The Soothsayer told him to ^beware the Ides of March,^ Calphurnia told him about her dreams, the owl was seen in the capitol during the daytime, the slaves hand caught on fire, and the sky spit fire. All of these were warnings that Caesar did not listen to. He pushed away the Soothsayer and said, ^He is a dreamer. Let us leave him. Pass.^ This shows that he will not accept advice from anyone. If he does this, then he will be a tyrant. When Calphurnia told him about her dream, he did not listen to her. Instead, he listened to flattery, which he said he disliked. These shows that he was also a hypocrite and that he would only listen to or do what sounded better for him. All of these things reveal that he has a huge ego. This is ambitious because a person with a big ego will only do things that will benefit him. Before Caesar is stabbed, Metellus Cimber and the conspirators approach him and ask him to let Publius Cimber back into the kingdom.