Facades, treachery, and deceit are all tactics used in manipulation, and without manipulation, the course of history would have changed dramatically. Brutus would never have joined the conspiracy to kill Caesar, and because of that, the second triumvirate would change. In William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare writes about how deceit, treachery, and facades are used time and time again for conspirators and loyal friends to get what they want. Shakespeare demonstrates how certain personality traits, such as arrogance, fickleness, and a strong sense of honor, can make a person easily manipulated, and through the use of facades, even a person’s most trusted friend can become his enemy.
The fickleness of the common people allows Antony to manipulate the crowd during his speech without them realizing his true intentions. Antony starts his speech by making the crowd trust him; Antony begins, “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. / I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him” (III.ii.82-83). Antony starts his speech with “friends” because he it makes him more personal and trustworthy to the crowd. He continues to make himself seem trustworthy while he is slowly turning the crowd against Brutus and the conspirators. Antony declares:
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he is ambitious, …show more content…
On the other hand, Antony, Brutus, and Decius do seem to have something in common other than the ability to manipulate easily, and that is the fact that they see people for who they truly are instead of being blinded by honor and glory. Manipulation and facades are used throughout The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, when those tactics are employed by the right person, they can change a person’s viewpoint on the
The fickleness of the common people allows Antony to manipulate the crowd during his speech without them realizing his true intentions. Antony starts his speech by making the crowd trust him; Antony begins, “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. / I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him” (III.ii.82-83). Antony starts his speech with “friends” because he it makes him more personal and trustworthy to the crowd. He continues to make himself seem trustworthy while he is slowly turning the crowd against Brutus and the conspirators. Antony declares:
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he is ambitious, …show more content…
On the other hand, Antony, Brutus, and Decius do seem to have something in common other than the ability to manipulate easily, and that is the fact that they see people for who they truly are instead of being blinded by honor and glory. Manipulation and facades are used throughout The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, when those tactics are employed by the right person, they can change a person’s viewpoint on the