The Balance Of Honor Over Ambition In Julius Caesar
Honor over Ambition
Throughout history the balance between honor and ambition has been tilted in one way or another. Someone’s ambition can get in the way of their honor and result in dishonorable actions and negative societal consequences. However sometimes a dishonorable act can be done for honorable reasons, for the greater good of society. This is the case in Marcus Brutus taking part in Julius Caesar’s murder, Oskar Schindler deceiving the Nazi, and Sir Nicholas Winton forging legal documents
Doing something for the greater good can sometimes lead to putting your honor and morals aside to do what is best for society as a whole. As was the case in Marcus Brutus, who believed Caesar’s climb in the political ladder could only lead to …show more content…
“He told Nazi officials that there was an increasing amount of work to get done. Thus, he was able to get relatives of his Jewish workers sent to the plant, avoiding their deportation and death at Auschwitz.” (“Oskar Schindler”). Mr.Schindler risked own safety by lying to Nazis and keeping false records to keep as many Jews as he could including children and the elderly as the Nazis considered them useless as workers, “Old people were recorded as being 20 years younger; children were being listed as adults. Lawyers, doctors, and engineers were being registered as metal workers, mechanics, and draughtsmen- as trades considered essential to war production” (“Oskar Schindler”).His heroic efforts in saving men and women, young and old have been seen as questionable for benefiting from slave labour as claimed by his wife, “[Schindler] worked to keep the Jews out of concentration camps because he was greedy and needed their cheap labor.” (“Oskar Schindler”). However, many of the people Mr.Schindler saved say his reasons didn’t matter and in Oskar Schindler’s own words, “I knew the people who worked for me. When you know people, you have to behave towards them like human beings.”(“Oskar Schindler”). Whether or not Oskar Schindler saved the at least 1,100 jews because he needed their labor or because he genuinely cared is uncertain but the outcome is a clearly heroic
Throughout history the balance between honor and ambition has been tilted in one way or another. Someone’s ambition can get in the way of their honor and result in dishonorable actions and negative societal consequences. However sometimes a dishonorable act can be done for honorable reasons, for the greater good of society. This is the case in Marcus Brutus taking part in Julius Caesar’s murder, Oskar Schindler deceiving the Nazi, and Sir Nicholas Winton forging legal documents
Doing something for the greater good can sometimes lead to putting your honor and morals aside to do what is best for society as a whole. As was the case in Marcus Brutus, who believed Caesar’s climb in the political ladder could only lead to …show more content…
“He told Nazi officials that there was an increasing amount of work to get done. Thus, he was able to get relatives of his Jewish workers sent to the plant, avoiding their deportation and death at Auschwitz.” (“Oskar Schindler”). Mr.Schindler risked own safety by lying to Nazis and keeping false records to keep as many Jews as he could including children and the elderly as the Nazis considered them useless as workers, “Old people were recorded as being 20 years younger; children were being listed as adults. Lawyers, doctors, and engineers were being registered as metal workers, mechanics, and draughtsmen- as trades considered essential to war production” (“Oskar Schindler”).His heroic efforts in saving men and women, young and old have been seen as questionable for benefiting from slave labour as claimed by his wife, “[Schindler] worked to keep the Jews out of concentration camps because he was greedy and needed their cheap labor.” (“Oskar Schindler”). However, many of the people Mr.Schindler saved say his reasons didn’t matter and in Oskar Schindler’s own words, “I knew the people who worked for me. When you know people, you have to behave towards them like human beings.”(“Oskar Schindler”). Whether or not Oskar Schindler saved the at least 1,100 jews because he needed their labor or because he genuinely cared is uncertain but the outcome is a clearly heroic