Brutus and the Conspirarcy: Was it Worth It?

Brutus: Was it Worth It?

“Brutus had rather be a villager than to repute himself a son of Rome under these hard conditions as this time is like to lay upon us” This quote directly from Brutus himself in Act 1, Scene 2, tells the audience that he is motivated by two things. Brutus is motivated by his patriotism for Rome and his awareness of his public image. Cassius was able to manipulate Brutus by toying with his awareness for his reputation so that he would join the conspiracy whose purpose was to keep the Roman republic.

Brutus was born and raised in Italy, more specifically Rome and because of this he was extremely patriotic for his country and his city. The patriotism that Brutus displays causes him to behave and appear with very prideful actions, such as always placing his country and others before himself. In Act 2, Scene 1, Brutus decides in a soliloquy that he must kill Caesar for the good of Rome. His real words are “It must be by his death: and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general”. This shows the audience that he has finally decided to kill Caesar for the good of Rome, but he has no reason to do it otherwise. This shows Brutus’s patriotism because he says that he will only kill Caesar because it is for the good of Rome and that he is uncertain of what Caesar will become if he is not taken care of. However, it is not only this that shows that Brutus is patriotic; in Act 5, Scene 5, after Brutus committed suicide with the help of Strato, Strato says “Free from the bondage you are in, Messala. The conquerors can but make a fire of him; For Brutus overcame himself, and no man else hath honour by his death”. This quote tells the audience that for the sake of Rome over himself, committed suicide. This shows the audience that Brutus was motivated by his patriotism for his country because he did not want them to remember him as someone who was valiant because he did not want them to see him as he was so he ended his life right there and then with the help of Strato. Brutus was very patriotic because he did many actions that were only for his country and not himself. Because of his patriotism, Brutus was also very conscious of his reputation.

Brutus was very conscious of his public image or reputation, which was a side effect of him being very patriotic and being in the senate. The Roman people liked Brutus very much and that made him self-conscious of his reputation. Because of Brutus’s awareness for his reputation, he is very stoic, kind and reserved as not to show the Roman people that he can be easily worried over things. In Act 1, Scene 2, Cassius is manipulating Brutus to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar by mentioning that Rome complains about the tyranny and with that they mention Brutus’s name. Cassius says “I have heard, where many of the best respect in Rome, … speaking of Brutus, and groaning underneath this age’s yoke, have wish’d that noble Brutus had his eyes”. This quotation means that Brutus is a favorite among the Romans to rid the land of tyranny. This shows that Brutus is very careful when it comes to his reputation because the common people of Rome are very liking of him. However, when Cassius is dropping forged hints (letters) for Brutus to join the conspiracy, Brutus says in Act 2, Scene 1, “ ‘Brutus, thou sleep’st; awake, and see thyself. Shall Rome, etc. Speak, strike, redress!’ … “O Rome, I make thee promise, if the redress will follow, thou receivest thy full petition at the hand of Brutus.” . This quotation means that Brutus is ready to strike out at tyranny because Rome wants him to. This shows that he is very conscious of his reputation because he has been persuaded by the Romans to strike out at the tyranny, otherwise; his reputation might be spoiled. Because of his concern for his reputation, Brutus ends up joining the conspiracy and killing Caesar.

The key motivators for Brutus in the play Julius Caesar were his patriotism and his concern for his reputation. These motivators caused him to behave as a kind, gentle and prideful actions, always putting his country before himself. Brutus achieved his goal fully, for it was to rid Rome and Italy of tyranny (Caesar). He does this by killing him, so the source for the tyranny is gone. However, I do not believe the goal was worthy for him because he caused all of Italy to go into civil war, killing countless people. If one man can restrain himself, he can prevent the loss of other human lives.

Image taken from:
barrieingham.com

Helping the Lost Boys of Sudan

Think Creatively!

My collage has several creative elements that I like. One of them is the picture of the refugee camp which is torn down the middle. I did this to show that the Lost Boys were still in distress even after they were relocated in the refugee camp. This reflects how some of the Lost Boys have post traumatic stress disorder. Another creative part of my collage is the pictures that hang off the side. I did this to show that some of the Lost Boys are having trouble “hanging on” to life in America, where they found out that it is not always heaven on earth.

Reason Critically!

I used my memoir (text) to show that I understand the lost boy’s situation because the memoir has concise, focused text. In the memoir I said that the lost boys have suffered for a long time then the suffering stopped, and some were finding new hope in America.

Communicate Effectively!

My collage creates awareness for the plight of the lost boys by showing the viewer how much these boys have been through through the images. For example there is a picture by one of the Lost Boys of the in which the soldiers had come to the village and were killing everyone. If this does not create awareness for the Lost Boys then I don’t know what will.

Live Ethically!

I think that my collage will create an emotional response from my viewers and provoke action from them so that they can help the lost boys of Sudan for themselves. I did this through the use of some startling and some not so startling images. Some of the images are of people dying, and there is one where an oil fire is raging. The other type of images in my collage that may incite action are the ones with suggestions on what can be done. One of these images is a picture of a salvation army bucket to show that the lost boys need donations to help them. Overall I did a nice job portraying the situation of the lost boys. Now it is your turn. Will you help them?

Image taken from:
richgerman.com

Lost Boys: Struggling and Succeeding

Peter “Nyarol” Dut is one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan”. He was part of a Forced migration caused by the conflicts and fighting in Sudan. He went to America after ten years in a refugee camp and had some trouble adjusting to American life.

Upon arrival, Peter was part of a group that moved to Houston, TX. He encountered many difficulties upon arrival, most revolved around racism and stereotypes, but there were also problems with his education. For the first four months that they were in Houston, the organization that moved them there paid the rent for all of them. In this time Peter was supposed to find a job to start getting income and to start his American education in high school. When Peter went to find a job, without his education, he could only get low paying jobs. One of his part time jobs was to collect shopping carts from the parking lot of a Walmart. He was not able to land a job inside the store, but one out in the hot sun all day. This was because the manager that hired him said that “Africa is hot so you can work outside”. Just because the Lost Boys are from Africa does not mean that they have been in the sun all the time. Another reason was “You’re already burnt”. That is just plain racism.

Another problem Peter faced assimilating into American culture was education. He did not know his exact age, and this made it hard for the public high schools there to place him in the correct level of education. Because of this, Peter moved to Olathe, Kansas to find a better job and to get an easier education. He got into school and had to deal with people who were unaware of his situation. When Peter went to the counseling department and told them that he wanted to apply for the National Honor Society and go to a four year college. The counsel who he was talking to did not expect him to go to a four year college but a two year community college. When the counselor said that the applicants need to provide a biography, Peter shocked him once again by telling him that he had already done it. When the counselor started to read it, he put it down soon after, saying that it was too sad and that he could not bear to read it. This again is discrimination, for the counselor had an opinion that Peter would not be smart and would need a lot of help. Peter was the opposite, being smart and independent.

Once Peter reached Houston TX, before he moved to Olathe, Kansas, he had to start dealing with the culture shock of changing cultures. In Sudan, there is a lot of tribal dancing and almost family like relationships between men who are friends. Coming to America, Peter had to observe the different culture and attempt to fit in. The other main thing was that all of the Lost Boys had to learn a completely different and new language, English. They needed English for their jobs, school, and to get new friends because there was only a very slim chance of meeting someone else who knew their own language. Peter and the others took it only one step at a time and observed how other people went about doing things.

Images taken from:

lostboysfilm.com

allmoviephoto.com