In politics, intrigue and suspicion are always just around the corner or living under the surface. Despite being centuries apart and thousands of miles from one another, an important question is raised when one reads Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar and understands how the genocide in Rwanda, 1994 occurred. This connection revolves around key actors in both situations, and how they ignore advice from those around them. By listening and acting so, the results may have been different. Many of Caesars most trusted circle plead with him not to go to the Senate on the Ides of March, while Kofi Annan (Secretary-General of the United Nations) had in his possession a letter that warned of a coming genocide, but both did not want to hear the truth, each for their own reasons.
Omens and nightmares foreshadow the death of Julius Caesar and foretell the chaos to come. Soothsayers warn Caesar not to go to the Senate on the Ides of March. Those who are closest to him convey this message to Caesar: his wife, Calpurnia, his friend, Artemidorus, and the Soothsayer. In Rwandan, 1994, there were warnings from another soothsayer, General in charge of the UN Peacekeeping forces, Romeo Dallaire. He wrote a letter to Kofi Annan warning him of the terrible crimes that were about to be …show more content…
They deliberately ignore the warnings, which resulted in chaos and tragedy. Caesar ignores and misinterprets the signs from Calpurnia’s dream, Artemidoruis’s letter, and the Soothsayer’s prediction. Kofi Annan chose to disregard the warnings from General Dallaire. The General understood that the history of Rwanda had created terrible hatred and fear, but failed to prevent the Rwandan Genocide. Julius Caesar and the Rwandan Genocide reveal the failure to acknowledge coming danger, and how both literature and history can offer a warning of when signs are
Omens and nightmares foreshadow the death of Julius Caesar and foretell the chaos to come. Soothsayers warn Caesar not to go to the Senate on the Ides of March. Those who are closest to him convey this message to Caesar: his wife, Calpurnia, his friend, Artemidorus, and the Soothsayer. In Rwandan, 1994, there were warnings from another soothsayer, General in charge of the UN Peacekeeping forces, Romeo Dallaire. He wrote a letter to Kofi Annan warning him of the terrible crimes that were about to be …show more content…
They deliberately ignore the warnings, which resulted in chaos and tragedy. Caesar ignores and misinterprets the signs from Calpurnia’s dream, Artemidoruis’s letter, and the Soothsayer’s prediction. Kofi Annan chose to disregard the warnings from General Dallaire. The General understood that the history of Rwanda had created terrible hatred and fear, but failed to prevent the Rwandan Genocide. Julius Caesar and the Rwandan Genocide reveal the failure to acknowledge coming danger, and how both literature and history can offer a warning of when signs are