Et Tu, Brute

Power Leads To Corruption

“If thou beest not immortal, look about you: security gives way to conspiracy.” Scene II Act III lines 5-7

A lust for power will often lead people wandering towards evil and corruption. A recurring theme in Julius Caesar is corruption. As Rome continues to thrive, there is a shift in power as Caesar is slain and the Conspirators learn the consequences of assassinating Caesar and how their envy of Caesar overcame them. Power leads to corruption, and Caesar filled with greed and ambition led himself to his own demise. These qualities left him oblivious to reality as those without authority often crave power. Through his actions and how he shows himself both publicly and privately, it is a significant flaw in which Shakespeare chooses to detail.

Caesar’s greed for power left him feeble to those who would take advantage of this. As a private flaw, the greed in Caesar made him willing, and arrogant, as he would choose what was best for him, and not what is best for Rome. Caesar carries this trait as he stands up as a leader to Rome and once in power, craved more. As his authority grew, so did his greed. An example of his greed is when Decius says the Senate will offer him the crown, as Decius knew Caesar’s greed would cloud his thinking. “Decius “The Senate have concluded to give this day a crown to mighty Caesar. If you shall send them word you will not come, Their minds may change.”… Caesar “How foolish do your fears seem now, Calpurnia! I am ashamed I did yield to them” Act II Scene II Lines 93-96 105-106. Caesar would not give up the opportunity to become king. He swiftly changed his mind as he seizes every chance he can get to improve status in Rome. This quotation shows how Caesar can quickly change his mind, and then blaming Calpurnia for ever trying to restrain him. The power he could gain from becoming king motivated him into going to Capitol, and led him into the devious plan of the Conspirators. Caesar ignored the warnings before him, such as Calpurnia’s dream of chaos and the augurers finding no heart in an animal, as a rise in power clouded his thoughts. Shakespeare constantly shows the flaws of his characters as Caesar is commonly shown as egotistic and greedy. Another time he is shown in the play as greedy is when he celebrates his victory over Pompey over the feast of Lupercal. This is to show his importance to the public, as he is better than any holiday. Flavius states “So do you too, where you perceive them thick. These growing feathers pluck’d from Caesar’s wing will make him fly an ordinary pitch, who else would soar above the view of men and keep us all in servile fearfulness.” Act I Scene I Lines 72-76. This states that the commoners of Rome should try and take down Caesar before he becomes a treat. This also characterizes Caesar as a greedy person as if he were to gain power he would use it keep himself in luxury and make the villagers work for him. Greed can be called a flaw or a gift; it motivated Caesar to gain his power, but also led him into danger and death.

Where ambition is found, danger is sure to follow. Caesar has chosen to keep his ambition to himself, veiling it whenever he is shown in the public. He chooses to do this, as he knows ambition would surely decline his public image, in which he tries hard to retain. Caesar is motivated by his ambitions only because of his greed. Without the will for power, he would have never achieved it. This affects his actions as he would try to veil his ambition whenever out in public. He would have to choose between showing his care for Rome or his care for himself. He tries to hide his ambitions but the Conspirators look through this and try to reveal Caesar for what he truly is. Caesar’s ambitions also changed how he would react to things. As an example he faints as he mistakes the crowd for booing at him rather than praising him. He faints because if the crowd were to hate him, than all his dreams of power would be crushed and broken. “Marry, before he fell down, when he perceiv’d the common herd was glad he refus’d the crown, he pluck’d me ope his doublet and offer’d them his throat to cut.” Act I Scene II lines 256-258. Caesar offers his head to the people, as he could never live without the luxury of power. Since his ambition motivates him, loosing his power would crush his personal character. Caesar has many traits that should be in a leader, but also carries many traits that would hinder his leadership.

Power leads to corruption, and thus Caesar wouldn’t have been a noble leader. His greed and ambition hindered and helped him throughout his journey. Greed led him to kill Pompey, but also led him to aim too high. Ambition led him to sly, swift actions, but also led him to become a victim of assassination. In the end he was killed for the right reasons and would never lead Rome again. But as he died, Antony took over his place, carrying on his legacy. Caesar’s achievements were carried on in Antony, and because of this he was able to have his name glorified throughout history. Caesars goal for having his name carried throughout history was achieved, this goal was noble to him, but his victory was short lived as power leads to corruption.

Pic Source: http://maftuhnurakhmad.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/julius-caesar-2.jpg

The Same World at Peace

In humanities we have been recently making collages about the Lost Boys of Sudan, and while doing this we needed skill and values in order to do a good job. We needed think creatively, reason critically, communicate effectively and live ethically. In order to think creatively I needed to decorate my collage accordingly. An example of this is when I put the various words form different sources to make up my 6-word memoir stand out. I have also arranged the images around certain words to emphasize the word’s meanings.

To reason critically I have used the organization of images to highlight the understanding of the Lost Boy’s conflicts. An example of this is how I used the images of war, corruption and migration to show the Lost Boy’s journey. Other examples are the use of different war torn images to show how the Lost Boy’s have been though the worst and have a devastating past.

Another one of the things I had to focus on was how to communicate my message clearly to the audience. My message was that the world has to unite and that without unity war and conflict take over. To communicate this I put the depressing images of war and violence around the images of peace. This let lets the world see how dangerous the world is and how innocent people are dying.

To live ethically, we need to empathize with the Lost Boys. Putting the images of war in my collage allowed me to let the audience see how the world is being consumed in war and how we can help by doing something little. This incites them to act as they feel sorrow for those who hade their lives corrupted by the menace of war.

Pic Source: http://www.danplesch.net/UN/ww0207-87.jpg

Lost Boys Found In a New World

Peter Dut

The Lost Boys of Sudan have a complicated history. They have been through war and have safely lived through it all. Sudan has been through a civil war, which lasted 20 years, ending in 2005. From transferring from Sudan to various parts of America, The Lost Boys have completely changed their cultural understanding and had difficulty adapting to the average lifestyle of Americans. One of the lost boys is named Peter “Nyarol” Dut, who has seen the horrors of war and lived. He is now living safely in America, though he has had some difficulty adapting to the life of America. Through his travels he has gained education and is now ready to take on the world alone.

Though they faced many difficulties due to the change in culture, one of the hardest things to adapt to is making new friends. Peter arrived in Houston, Texas with Santino, another one of The Lost Boys, but later moved away to pursue his career and education. He moved to Kansas where he was a new senior in school trying to balance work and education into his busy schedule. In his busy life he had some time to socialize, he felt lonely and new to the American culture. He had tried out for a basketball team and joined a church group, but he still felt different. He was use to the Sudanese lifestyle and thus though he was left out of social groups. An example of this is when Peter is in church youth group, and he is the only one not singing while he is also sitting in the back row. Although many people didn’t accept Peter for what he is, the ones that did found out about his tragic past and how he is hoping for a new, wonderful life.

Culture shock is the feeling of fright and confusion when dealing with another culture which is entirely different from your own. Peter Dut dealt with culture shock well, but also gained many stereotypes from observing the American culture. He was able to use much of the technology after a while, but at first did not understand how most of the everyday items worked. An instant of this is when he did not know how the airplane food should have been eaten, eating things differently then normal. This happened just prior to arriving in America. To adjust to the American society, Peter observed the everyday life of Americans and then applied it to himself to be able to adapt to the American culture.