the citizens of rome constitute a force fickle minded mob. Do you agree. Answer in detail in context to julius caesar
Answers
WILLIAM Shakespeare demonstrates the fickleness of the crowd well in the play, Julius Caesar. The plebeians or mob is one of the main forces in the play. It is the underlying power that determines the outcome of the play as it is worked on by the leading characters like Caesar, Brutus, Antony and others.
In the opening scene of the play, we find the mob in joyous mood celebrating Caesar’s triumph. The character, Cobbler, as an individual then, tells Flavius that they have given themselves a holiday so that we can see Caesar, and rejoice in his victory. Marullus asks the crowd what is there to celebrate? He goes on to give them a strong tongue lashing, scolding them in the strongest terms. “You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!”
The crowd which was swelling in the streets suddenly disappears after Flavius tells them to go in order to undo their fault, gather on the riverside, and weep till the Tiber River, which is at shallowest may rise and touch its highest banks. The mob is in great fear after Caesar is murdered. Brutus manages to convince them that Caesar was a tyrant.
citizens of Rome proved to be fickle-minded. Brutus killed Caesar and justified his act to the citizeps. He said that he loved Caesar no doubt, but that he loved Rome and democracy all the more. To save Rome from the clutches of a possible dictatorship of Caesar, he needed to be killed. He being Caesar’s friend, people believed him and his cause of killing Caesar. They did not give a second thought and justified Brutus’ action. Later, Mark Antony through his oratorical skill proved that Caesar was a true leader. He glorified Caesar’s love for his countrymen and pointed out how he rejected the crown thrice. Amidst these, he deliberately pointed out that ‘Brutus is an honourable man’ again and again as to sarcastically mean that he was not so. People were fickle-minded and his words changed their attitude. They now believed Antony’s words, which instigated them to a mutiny and to kill the conspirators. People rowed with the flow of words.