Brutus Speech In Julius Caesar

In the play Julius Caesar, two men, Brutus and Antony, each give a powerful oration. In Brutus’ speech he discusses the reasons he should kill Caesar (who was a roman general and a senator), calling him a poisonous snake and a serpent’s egg that was ready to hatch. Brutus was afraid that Caesar would become a dictator. He thought it would be best for the people if Caesar was murdered before he could become king. Brutus explicitly said he had no personal reason to strike Caesar but it was all in the best interest of the citizens of Rome. In Antony’s speech he praises Brutus by calling him noble and honorable but contradicts that statement by implying that Brutus was wrong when he had previously stated that Caesar was “Ambitious”, meaning that Caesar was only focused on being a dictator. Brutus and Antony both have compelling arguments, but overall Antony’s soliloquy was stronger than Brutus’. In the first part of the speech, Antony says “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” which means that once someone dies, we usually remember the bad things they do, not the good. Once again Antony contradicts himself and starts reminiscing on all
Cassius (who was a conspirator against Caesar) told Cinna (another conspirator) to put a paper that had a complaint about Caesar on it onto Brutus’ chair. They wanted Brutus on their side when they would kill Caesar. Brutus was trying to do what was best for the citizens so after he read the letter he thought that it was best to murder Caesar. Caesar wanted to be king, and Brutus thought it would change Caesar, and he would abuse his power and forget all about compassion. Although Brutus had never seen Caesar act in this sort of way previously, he believed once he reached the top of the imaginary ladder and was crowned, all he could do was turn his back on his supporters and look upward, still wanting more, while scorning those who helped him get