They met, they assassinated and now the conspirators are on the run. From Cassius' sinister plan to Brutus' final speech to the plebeians, something had gone awry...
A. Go back and analyze the conspirators' plan and action from inception to execution. Imagine you were a part of their scheme to kill Caesar. What would you change? What goes wrong and how could it have been prevented, avoided, or fixed?
B. Take Cassius and Brutus' place as leader of the conspiracy. How would you have executed the perfect murder?
26 comments:
The first mistake the conspirators made was killing Caesar in public. It caused an uproar among the plebeians and instilled fear within them. This could have easily been avoided if they found a way to kill Caesar in private. The spent a short amount of time preparing the enterprise and ended up with a simple plan to distract a few of Caesar's followers and stab the mighty ruler in broad day light. Given a little more time, they could have found a way to break in to Caesar's home and all the while, distract Calphurnia and Caesar's servant. Although this would add more suspicion to the enterprise, it would also add mystery to the murder. The conspirators would be able to roam free in Rome without the fear of being run out of the city.
Cassius would have planned a brutal murder with no mercy. As said above, a more concealed murder would have successfully sufficed, but Cassius is a confident man, and would have killed Caesar in public, but more public then the murder already was. He would have made it a show. He would have told the Romans to gather around the Capitol, much like how Antony urged them to circle around Caesar's dead body. Cassius would have made the murder a huge skeptical, great enough to be showcased in the Colosseum. If he wanted to be more of a confident power hungry fool, he would have charged admission to Caesar's murder, and would not have graced the fallen ruler with a funeral. Cassius is a brutal scheming man, not like gentle honest Brutus.
The original conspiracy against Caesar was formed by Cassius. This man was in fact a dishonorable man trying to create a work force of dishonorable men to work at maximum efficiency to kill Caesar. Cassius required such men as to persuade them to think his way; Honorable men would not have openly accepted such an action against Caesar. Therefore to get gears turning he had to use dishonorable men. Cassius' deception used on Brutus to sway his thinking is also an issue. Brutus is stuck in Cassius' lie or version of what is happening and it leaves details to Caesar's murder unsupported. These holes help discredit the conspirators when Brutus makes his speech and can not appropriately defend the conspirators' actions. Brutus allowed Antony to live and also caused the next civil war by trying to be "respectful." Lastly, as Ashley had mentioned, the public execution aroused the mob's anxiety which was not very beneficial to Rome. It notoriously gave the conspirators a bad name. To change outcome in favor of the conspirators the following changes would need to occur: The conspirator party should have consisted at the maximum of two people to ensure the safety of the enterprise, the murder should have been privatized for less drama, and Antony should have also been assassinated under these circumstances.
Under my direction of assassination, I would follow Ashley's idea of quiet death such as Ashley suggested which would require breaking into Caesar's house. However, my plans on his assassination would occur over such a long period of time that it would avoid public suspicion of murder. The logical form of assassination I choose based on the given scenario was gradual lead poisoning. Lead was a typical commodity back in roman times which was mined to produce plates, bowls, utensils, and cups. The jobs of the conspirators would be to grind the lead available into fine granules or particles and slowly slip the material into Caesar's drinking water. As Caesar is gradually being exposed to extra lead, he would gradually become weaker and weaker. This would give him the appearance of becoming sick which provides a good cover for death. Some of the side effects do not even matter like seizures because he already has a problem with that. Eventually Caesar would die and the roman democracy can resume without an uproar.
Email: nicocoup@msn.com ^
The conspirators plan was originally conceived by Cassius and carried out by Brutus. The plan was well thought out except for one aspect of it, and that was Antony. Antony was Caesar's closest people under him and his best friend. The conspirators had suggested to Brutus that Antony should be killed which he refused. This should have been the aspect of the plan that changed. Antony was able to convince the plebeians to go after the conspirators after his speech at the funeral. Killing Antony would have gotten rid of Caesars right hand man and convinced the plebeians to be on their side.
If I had to plan the perfect assassination my plan would be different then Nick's and Ashley's. I would plan an assassination where Antony and Caesar are killed in public much in the way that Caesar was killed in the story. The reason for a public death of both of them would be to get the townspeople on my side. The simple fact that they had to be killed out in the open would show people that they were both bad people. Some might say that this is the wrong way to go about it, but killing someone quietly wouldn't make an impact on the townspeople and wouldn't send a message if the conspirators had simply poisoned Caesars food or something quiet.
I would have changed a lot in the conspirators plan. They had many mistakes which if they thought about this murder more thoroughly it could have been prevented.
Brutus kept saying that the only reason he wanted to kill Caesar was for the goodness of Rome, not anything else. If this was really true, then why make himself known to everyone? Why do this murder in public? He is now seen as a murderer no matter if he can explain it or not, he made himself known as one of the killers, and he is now known as a hero. He was not trying to be seen as a murderer, but a hero. He was seen as both though. Something quiet would have been better since supposedly if all Brutus wanted was to get Caesar out of power, then something behind the scenes is exactly what should have happened.
Another mistake in the conspirators plan is Antony. Like Cesar said, he was the part that should have been changed in the plan, they should have killed him, or at least not be the ones to trust Caesar’s best friend after they had just killed him. He tricked Brutus, and swayed the stupid Plebeians to listen to him, and they of course did.
raech629@verizon.net
Along with ashley I also agree the first mistake the conspirators made was killing Caesar in public. And much like Rachel if it was my choice I would have completely altered the conspirators plan. The main goal in their plan was to get Caesar off of his thrown, and you have to remember it was all started by Cassius. Brutus was just transformed into the face and leader of the entire conspiracy due to Cassius' actions. If they took into consideration what could have happened after they assassinated Caesar, I feel the plan would have been much more successful. After Caesar was killed by the conspiracy I do not seem to understand why they had to make a point of it to the public. If the conspirators simply thought the assassination of Caesar over they could have killed him privately. This would have resulted in being without the whole uproar of the plebeians after both Brutus, and Antony spoke to them. If the entire killing of Caesar was acted upon more behind the scenes all of the troubles the conspirators now fear could be completely avoided. I feel another main mistake the conspirators made was not taking the closest people to Caesar down along with him especially Antony. If both Caesar and Antony were killed behind the scenes, why yes people would wonder what happened to them but at the same time it would have made the conspirators plan a whole lot easier to accomplish. With both Antony and Caesar out of the way the plebeians and people of Rome would have to be on the conspirators side as they would have no other way to go. Even if they did not kill Antony do not be stupid and ignorant enough to make your point and them leave him alone to bring the people of Rome against you. This just ruined their entire plan which is quite embarrassing on part of the conspiracy since all along they felt it was going to be a piece of cake.
If I was Cassius and Brutus I would have done exactly what they did with Caesar. But I would also have organized it so Antony would come and get killed along with Caesar. Yes Brutus did make it known he did not want Antony to die because he felt killing the both of them would look too "bloody" as he said. Whereas in reality it was the complete opposite if they murdered the both of them it would have looked much less bloody than it did from just assassinating Caesar, and letting Antony turn the plebeians against Brutus and the conspirators. It would have been as simple as just killing both Antony and Caesar for this plan to work if that is all the conspirators were looking to do then they would have no one else to worry about messing anything up.
I am in agreement with Ashley and Julian that the publicized assassination was deficient to say the least. However, I do take into consideration their (and by "their" I mean Brutus') sincere belief that what they were doing was the right thing, and that all the people would soon be in full agreement with their actions.
However, if the conspirators were to do anything differently, I believe that first and foremost they should have thought things through more thoroughly. The events in Shakespeare's play unfolded much too quickly to have been thought through in the proper time necessary for a decision with so much weight. Brutus should have discussed the options with Casca perhaps, preferably before he had made his final decision, instead of informing her afterwards as he did in the play. Perhaps he might put himself in the shoes of a common plebeian and think about whether his reasons are truly justified and whether there is truly any evidence that Caesar would become a monstrous leader.
Were I a conspirator, I would not go through with the murder - at least not yet. I would await the time when Caesar reveals his true colors publicly, such that the people would definitely be on my side. Despite the beliefs of the plebeians throughout different moments of the play, the conspirators were neither careful nor justified in their actions.
Due to the intelligence and position of the parties involved, the conspirators devised a well developed plan. However, not all plans are perfect; even this one has flaws. Within a short amount of time, Pompey has been murdered, and Caesar has taken over. In my personal opinion, the conspirators executed their plan too quickly. The fickle Plebeians were just becoming accustomed to the idea of having Caesar as a ruler, and were cautiously placing their trust in him. Because the conspirators abruptly remove that person and take their hopes away from them, the citizens don’t know how to respond; the Plebeians almost feel compelled to take revenge. Secondly, too many people have a hand in executing the dastardly deed, but not enough people are made aware of the plot. While a select group carries out the execution, if more conspirators knew the specifics about the plan, the consequence may not have caused such uproar. It is also a matter of having the ‘right’ people be aware of the plan who are capable of controlling the Plebes. Perhaps if Decius wasn’t involved in the plot, Calphurnia would have succeeded in begging Caesar to remain at home for the day. Furthermore, like Nick said, Cassius was the original conspirator who manipulated Brutus into submission. If Brutus had not been a component of the conspiracy, maybe Caesar would not have been murdered so readily, and the aftermath may not have been a problem.
I feel that Nick’s conspiracy is a good idea, by using lead poisoning and a subsequent sickness to disguise Caesar’s demise. It is a complete plan, except for the fact that if Caesar’s death was drawn out, Caesar would surely bring in Octaivio, his adopted son as heir to the throne. Therefore, civil war would erupt, for the conspirators still would be unable to seize Rome. If I was in Brutus’ spot or Cassius’ position, I would recommend a trial for Caesar. I would accuse Caesar of committing a heinous crime against the state, and have him tried for treason. With a few good bribes, Caesar would be found guilty, and there would be a public execution, where Caesar would be hanged for all to see. This way, the Plebeians would witness Caesar’s betrayal which the conspirators are suggesting, and the Plebes would understand the nobles’ concerns. The Plebes would recognize a justified cause, they would not be skeptical of the conspirators, and they would not chase them from Rome.
e.e.butler@comcast.net
After Cassius uses his manipulative skills he sets up the enterprise, the scheme to kill Julius Caesar. I completely agree with Ashley that the first major mistake the conspirators made when carrying out thier plan was killing Caesar publicly. It caused a lot of chaos in the streets of Rome and it is the main cause of the conspirators being chased out of Rome. Another mistake that was made on Cassius' part was the fact that he included in the enterprise as many people as he did. Some commoners already knew about the scheme and there is no fact that says that Caesar didn't know about it. He could've known that there were men who were going to attack him but Caesar didn't know when, where or how. That is probably why he sent up his will so that his nephew could take over too. This would explain Caesar's non-chalant behavior about death and about Calphurnia's dream. Another mistake that the conspirators made, probably the most influential, was the fact that after the murder they allowed Antony to speak to the public. By allowing Antony to do so, the publics perception compleately turned around after Brutus speaks to the people.
Like Emma said, they really should have thought their plan out more thoroughly. The whole plan in Shakespeare's play seems as if the plan was concieved and executed within two days.If they did they could have avoided the majority of their problems. If I was in Brutus' or Cassius' position as leader in such a scheme to kill Caesar I think I would have carried out my plan with a few changes. I wouldn't tell as many people as Cassius did. I would only tell the person who would actually be doing the killing that he/she would have to kill Caesar. I would essentially only tell certain people certain information or give them specific jobs so they wouldn't need to know the whole plan. After gathering up a crew to execute the essential parts of the plan, I would think of every possible scenario and give myself sufficient time to think of anything that can go wrong and fix those issues that would cause a mistake. Also, like Nick's conspiracy plan, it would be more sensible to not tell the people that you committed a crime, so I would make Caesar's death seem like an accident. The people would be oblivious to what actually happened and would want the next person who is capable of filling Caesar's shoes to do so. Then I would manipulate Antony and bring him to my side. Then hopefully the people would elect one of the people who were part of the conspiracy and for there I would control Rome from behind the scenes.
kristie.varghese@gmail.com
Cassius is a very selfish and devious man, who wants to bring Caesar down from power because he is power hungry. When arranging the plan to kill Caesar, Cassius should have thought about the scheme more thoroughly. If he took his time and came up with a sneakier way to kill Caesar, the plan would have been a better success. If I where apart of the conspiracy’s scheme I would change a few aspects. Cassius did one excellent step in the process to killing Caesar; which was recruiting Brutus. If I where apart of the conspiracy, I would recruit Brutus because he is known as a honorable man, and friends with Caesar. Having Brutus will make it a lot easier to get close to Caesar and make the killing look less power hungry. I would also change the amount of people in the conspiracy and who is in it. Caesar is a very powerful leader, but without his officials and closest friends, he is weak. So therefore, I would try and recruit all of his close officials and friends to be apart of the conspiracy. Since the officials and friends are close to Caesar, they will not be easily convinced. If I cannot convince them to join the conspiracy I would kill them. It may seem bloody but the easiest way to kill a leader is to kill all of their resources. Ashley made an excellent point on one of the conspiracy’s mistakes. This mistake was killing Caesar out in the open where everyone can see.
Caesar’s killing should have taken place more privately on the down low. The reason why I agree with Ashley is because if Caesar is being kilt more quietly it would make an easier escape. A way I would kill Caesar on the down low is putting poison in his food or drinks just like Caesar mentioned (the Caesar from out class). Once Caesar is dead I would avoid letting anyone speak on Caesar’s behalf. The reason behind not allowing anyone to speak for Caesar is because no one can be trusted and it’s giving them the opportunity to speak good about him.
Executing the perfect murder takes time, and being artful. The plan cannot be simple it has to be creative. If I were the leader of the conspiracy, I would make a very creative plan where no one would expect I did it. My plan will be well thought out, and I would make sure nothing can go wrong. If something were to go wrong I would have a back up plan. Those are the mistakes Cassius and Brutus made, which led them to getting caught.
biancasanabria13@hotmail.com
A. If I was to redo the assasination I would change a couple of events and circumstances before committing the murder: 1. I would make the group of conspirators a smaller amount of people to make the chance of being caught smaller. Also I would have done it at night time in a less public area because doing it in the middle of the entire country is very risky. They whole game plan on the murder of Caesar was well thought out but had some very big mistakes that could have ruined the entire project of doing so.
B. I would have started with a smaller team of around 5 people but only 3 of the 5 would be there to commit the murder. The chances of only part of the group being there would lessen the risk of the group getting caught. I would have not killed Caesar in a open area in the day I would commit the crime at night so that no one could see it happen. The people that were involved would be busy keeping Mark Antony distracted but then he would die because i would have him murdered as well because I am not naive like Brutus. Lastly I would stash his body and have Casca, Caesar's announcer say that he is visting a foreign country and say he was assasinated there, we bring his body their and make it look like he was killed by the foreign countrymen.
After reading the assassination of Julius Caesar in the Tragedy of Julius Caesar, there were many mistakes made by the conspirators which made them run from Rome. As Ashley Roxas stated, “The first mistake the conspirators made was killing Caesar in public.” I agree with this statement because murdering Caesar in public caused much fear and unnecessary attention to the conspirators. It frightened the Roman plebeians and caused unrest. If Caesar was killed in a private place, then there would be a question of who his assassinators were. (That would be the best time to come clean to the public.) Another costly mistake made by the conspirators was NOT killing Antony. Because Brutus was an honest and noble man, he trusted everybody. Cassius warned him about letting Antony lived but Brutus was blinded by trust. If the plot included Antony’s death, then there would be no civil war within the city of Rome. If Antony was killed than there would be nobody trying to seek Caesar’s revenge (except for Octavio but I would assassinate him also.
If I were to be in Cassius and Brutus’ shoes, I would not involve that many people in my plot. Why; because when too many people know about something the word gets out. In the play, Caesar almost finds out about the plot because the newspaper writer knew about and was trying to inform Caesar. I would also kill Antony (Caesar’s best friend) AND Octavio (Caesar’s adopted son) to avoid any civil unrest within the Roman community. I would also kill Caesar, Antony, and Octavio in three separate ways so that the Roman people would NOT have to deal with three deaths on the same day. I would kill them in their houses and act like I came by for “visit”. When asked about the assassinations, I would then tell the truth about what happened and why I did it.
eo95@ymail.com
I think the conspirators were pretty stupid in their plans. From the beginning they were not thinking, such as when they snuck to Brutus's house in the middle of the night together, all wearing hooded cloaks. Then they killed Caesar in broad daylight and did not even think about covering it up. In fact, Brutus went up and made a speech about it! They should have been much more secretive, cautious, and sneaky about the whole enterprise. They also never should have let Antony finish up the speeches. It gave him a perfect oppurtunity to mold the plebeians' minds. Even if they allowed him to go last, they should have at least stayed to listen to make sure he was not saying anything to stir up the people. Instead, like fools, they went home thinking they were in the clear.
If I was leader of the conspiracy, I would have devised a devious plan that would leave no piece of evidence pointing to me. Lizzy's idea of giving Caesar a trial might be democratic and all, but it would have given Caesar a chance to retaliate in the future by some chance. I would have grabbed him in the dead of night, killed him without a sound, and dump his body in the Mediterranean. It may be a little gruesome, but it is effective. No one would know what happened and people would be confused, leaving an opportunity for us, the conspirators, to take over. I would have also killed Antony in case the people went to him for help, seeing as he was Caesar's best friend. Antony might have tried to find some evidence putting the blame on us, so it would be better to remove him from the picture. It would be the perfect assassination.
Agreeing with Ashley, I also believe that the conspirators' plan on killing Julius Caesar in public was a stupid idea. It caused so much of a scene that now the Plebeians don't know what side to take or believe because they are so easily persuaded. If the conspirators' just killed him somewhere other than the public, it wouldn't have cause so much of a scene. The conspirators should have thought their plan over better, so that the Romans weren't so uptight about the killing of Caesar. I also think that the conspirators' should have also killed Antony along with Caesar because now that his friend is gone, he has no one and can suddenly strike back. For example, like in his speech at Caesar's funeral. He sneaked in techniques to persuade the Plebeians and now everything might backfire all on Brutus.
If I were Cassius or Brutus, I would have made a more secretive plan to kill Caesar. First off, I would rather kill him somewhere private where nobody but the other conspirators saw. I would plan ahead and make sure that there would be no left over evidence on his killing. If I didn't want any commotion to start, I would probably end up hiding Caesar's body, but I'm not sure where. Overall, the perfect assassination would be the one that doesn't get caught and very sneaky with the killing.
The first things that I believe went wrong with the conspirators' plan was killing Caesar in a public setting. I have to agree with Ashley when she makes the point that this causes uproar throughout the crowd and it invokes fear amongst the plebeians. The pros to killing Caesar in private would be: one the crowd would not know for certain how Caesar was killed and whether through the means of brutal force or a "more gentle manner". Therefore Anthony would not be able to conjure up the exact killing of Caesar in the plebeians' minds. I think that witnessing how something happens leaves a person more vulnerable. Knowing and seeing something gruesome happens can sometimes leave a person stained mentally and physically. Take for example someone is killed like Caesar. If one hears about it, it does not affect someone as much as actually seeing it and knowing it for certain. Another part of the plan that goes wrong is when Brutus leaves Anthony to speak to the crowd unsupervised. If Brutus were to stand next to Anthony along with the other conspirators he would not have been able to utter the words that he did. They could have prevented the persuasion of the crowd by making their presence known to Anthony and intimating him. Lastly I think that the conspirators' plan was a bit too obvious. Caesar almost receives a letter exposing the plan, meaning someone found out about the plan to murder him. Brutus also tells his wife of the plan. It should have been kept confidential and completely secret. . I think that they should have also not met in places that are obvious such as Brutus' house, yet instead met in very discreet places.
If I were in Cassius and Brutus' place I would have killed Caesar in a private place along with Anthony and staged it as a terrorist attack or a treasonous act. I would have framed innocent men as being the killers, and then use Brutus' loyal name to put him in Caesars place. That way the people would think the conspirators as the heroes not the killers, and Brutus as their salvation.
I think that the biggest mistake was that they did not kill Antony as well. Antony was the reason that after Caesar's death that all the conspirators were chased out of Rome. Had they have taken him out as well he would not have been able to make a speech to persuade the plebeians to chase out the conspirators. I also agree with Bianca when she says Caesar should have been taken out without any evidence remaining. If they had taken him to a remote location and hid his body it would seem as if he disappeared without a trace. I also like Bianca’s idea of a back up plan. If at first they were not able to kill Caesar they would have to have an alternative plan of action to make certain Caesar is slain. Something like this needs a lot of time to plan which is why most assassins are caught and eventually tried and killed or sentenced to life. This can be avoided if the proper amount of effort is put in to plan it. If so the result will be much more rewarding.
I agree with Ashley and Julian that the conspirators biggest mistake was killing Caesar in public. If you are going to kill someone or do anything else illegal, the number one rule is to not get caught. The conspirators should have thought out their plan. They assumed that everyone would be happy with what they were doing. They could not be sure that everyone would be happy with what they are doing because the majority of people liked Caesar. They could have easily killed Caesar without making it public and still took his place without anyone knowing. When they killed Caesar, they should have tried to conceal their indentities in some way. Another mistake was letting Antony speak to the crowd. The conspirators should know how easily persuaded the Plebians are. Antony easily turned the Plebeians against the conspirators.
If I were in Cassius and Brutus' place, I would have done it a lot different. If I am the leader and I know people are following my orders, I would look out for myself first. The whole conspiracy is illegal and dangerous so I would make other people do the dirty work. I would have picked only one person to kill Caesar. I would still keep him out of trouble after committing the murder but he would be the one to take all the blame if things did go wrong. I also would not have told anyone no matter what. If my wife had begged me to tell her, I would make up a fake story instead of telling her the truth. Last, I would never tell people the reasons for his death. I would try and pretend to be confused as to why everything happened when addressing the crowd so that no one else would ever learn about the conspiracy.
In the assassination of Caesar, several mistakes were made. To begin, the murder was too public. This murder is no different then what is done now a days too. Some people just seem not to care whether the public knows about the murder or not. But in a case such as Brutus' it was not a good idea to make it so public. Since he was known as a man to look up to and he was so respected, he hurt his reputation for killing someone so important to Rome. Also like Cesar said, Antony was another big mistake. The conspirators should have also killed Antony while they had the chance to. Brutus and the conspirators would not be in the bad position they are in if it weren't for Antony messing with the plebeians minds. Now that Antony talked to the crowd of plebeians they are now going against all the conspirators. This is not a good situation for Brutus. Brutus is trying to get to the public that he did not do this out of hate, but instead Caesar was killed to protect Rome. The plan should have been alot more thought out. But the whole plan to kill Caesar seemed to be done at last moment and because of this the plan seemed to back fire. Now the plebeians think less of the ones that used to be very respected.
If I was Cassius or Brutus, I would have held more meetings to talk about what exactly would happen when killing Caesar. Also I would bring up the idea about, what if they got caught. This possibility could not have been out ruled simply for the fact that it was a bound to happen because Caesar was a very important figure to the Romans. Since he was an important figure, the possibility of getting caught is alot higher. For example this is like if President Obama was murdered. The nation would do anything and everything to find out how murdered him. If I was in the situation Brutus is in, I would have done anything in my power to cover up the murder. This way the people of Rome are saved and so am I. The perfect murder is the one that results with everyone being happy.
ecanancy@hotmail.com
The conspirators have made many mistakes leading up to as well as after Caesar's death. In my eyes, the first wrong decision made happened before the death of Caesar. Brutus did not want to kill Antony because he thought that Antony would not even be a slight problem. Brutus believes that without Caesar, Antony is nothing. Apparently he is wrong. After Caesar's death, Antony wanted nothing else than to get revenge. He completely convinces the Plebeians that the conspirators murdered the one person who wanted to do good for them: Caesar. Antony was able to almost immediately get the entire crowd on his side which shows that Brutus underestimated Antony. If I were in Brutus' position, I would have assumed that Antony would not be okay with me killing his best friend and kill him also. Another bad decision made on Brutus' part happens during the funeral. Brutus chooses to speak first at Caesar's funeral. The Plebeians tend to change their minds very easily and the last thing said at that funeral would be the one thing that stuck in their minds which means Antony had the upperhand. If that wasn't bad enough, Brutus also decided not to listen to what Antony had to say during the funeral. Antony could have made up any lie that would make the crowd side with him and there would be no one to counter argue anything that was said. I would have Definately chosen to speak last at the funeral so that this entire problem would not exsist. After listening to Anotny's speech, I would be able to discredit anything that he had just said.
If I were in Brutus' position I would have executed the murder a little differently. First off, I would choose to murder both Caesar and Antony. When Trebonious takes Antony off to the side to distract him, I would just let him murder Antony himself. I would keep the way Caesar died the same. This just would not be such a public event. This way, at the funeral, there would be no problems during the funeral or after.I agree with Kristy when she says that killing Caesar publicly was not smart. This left the people of Rome confused and caused chaos throughout the streets of Rome.
Jazzyjass6@verizon.net
There were many mistakes made by the conspirators in Julius Caesar. First of all, the whole conspiracy towards Caesar was a mistake. There was no need to murder Caesar just because they thought he was going to do something. However, if they wanted to go about the murder correctly, they would have avoided many other things that should have never happened. They should have never made Brutus head of the Conspirators because he thought he was doing something right but he actually had absolutely no idea what he was doing. They should have put someone with brains as the head so that he could be smart with all the decisions. Second, I agree with Nancy in that the conspirators made the murder too public, there was no need for everyone to see Caesar get killed. They could have just killed him and made it look like an accident if nobody had seen it. Finally, in the end, the conspirators should have gotten rid of Antony because if they were smart they would have thought of every threat that Antony proposed but since they listened to Brutus, their plan was ruined!
If I was in the conspirators position, first of all I would have never murdered Caesar because I am not the type of person to murder someone. However off the record, if I was FORCED to kill Caesar then I would have gone about the whole thing differently. First of all, I would have kept it as secret as possible. Then, I would have murdered Caesar in his sleep or poisoned him to make it look like an accident and not in front of other people. That way, there is no need for explanation to the plebeians and everyone thinks that Caesar died by accident. Lastly, I would have gotten rid of Antony because unlike Brutus, I believe that I would be smart enough to realize every threat that Antony poses and I would not want him to be around to make me look bad in front of the plebeians. Again I repeat, I WOULD NEVER EVER EVER EVER KILL ANYONE BECAUSE I AM NOT A MURDERER AND NEITHER DO I HAVE A SICK AND TWISTED MIND.
Grlzluvemplaya1@aim.com
I agree with Nancy. One of the major flaws in the conspirators plan was to kill Caesar in public. Murder is not something that people take lightly. It is obvious that it would result in a negative way amongst the plebeians, so why not plan to do it once they left and the conspirators had Caesar all the themselves. It was also a bad idea because up until this point no one in Rome other than the conspirators knew that Brutus was one of them. Many trusted Brutus until he did this. They had a poor assumption that because the plebeians were easily persuaded, it would not matter that they saw Caesar being murdered because they could easily just tell the plebeians that it was for their own good. The conspirators and Brutus also told too many people about their plan. If you are planning a murder, it is best to keep it to yourself and not inform your family because they will talk you out of it for your own good. It is hard not to when you have such a guilty conscience, but if that is the way you feel then you should not carry out with the murder.
If I were the leader of the conspiracy the first thing that I would do to plan the murder would be to make everyone sign a pact to not tell anyone on "the outside". This would be for the good of the people on the inside because they would have less of a temptation to tell their families and friends. Then I would plan to kill Caesar after everyone left the Capitol including Caesar. I would set a trap to lure him into a small alley and kill him there. I would purposely do it alone in privacy because there would be no gossip or misunderstanding. I would then plant the weapon in a gutter or trash to clear the evidence so no one would know that it was me. I would dispose of the body in a river.
syd1194@aol.com
Considering the time place and situation, the conspirators went about the killing in the best way they knew how. Even though almost everyone said it, I think the killing should not have been publicized. And on top of that, the conspirators went around and told the plebeians that they did it even though they explained. They could have gone about the whole murder surruptiously. And even if someone were to find out about it, considering how easily persuaded the plebeians are, it could have been played off as an accident of some sort. I also agree with Angelo in the sense that Caesar shouldn't have been killed in the first place. Because Caesar was yet to do anything. So a person should not be killed because of something they might do. If I were Cassius and or Brutus, I would not decide to form a whole group of conspirators. It does not take about seven people to stab and kill one man. Secondly, I agree with Nick when he says using poison of some sort. If his food were to be poisoned the only person who would be most probable to figure out it was poisoned is his wife. And she could probably be blamed because it was his food that would be poisoned.
The conspirators plan was poorly planned. I did not like the way they executed the plan. I would have had made it completely different. The murder should not of had been in broad daylight. It should have had been in secret. Brutus and the rest of the conspirators wanted to show that they were behind this murder, but telling everybody that you murdered someone is only bad karma, and in this case bad omens. They should have had killed him secretively with as few of people knowing.
Then when the conspirators finish killing him, they would come out the next day or so and say that it was a good thing that it happened. Instead of telling the whole world that they did it, they should of just said it was a good thing, and crowned Brutus king, and show that he would have had been a better councilor.
Just as Ashley said, the plebeians would be scared of the new leaders, and it would cause chaos. Also just as Julian said their only goal was to knock Caesar out of power, but to do that you do not have to make it a big show for everybody to see. If someone has a secret hate towards someone, then deal with it secretively. There is no need to let everybody know about one’s selfish ideas.
Joepedo@ymail.com
In my eyes one of the first mistakes of the conspirators was killing Caesar publically as Ashley said. The plebians are simple people who would obviously be shaken and scared when the conspirators murdered Caesar. They should have know that public murder would have just made people fear them. Another mistake made by the conspirators was that they didn't kill Antony. Cassius had suggested they kill Antony, but Brutus said it was unnecessary. Obviously by his speech he was a threat to the conspirators plan, and should have been killed right when Caesar was killed.
If I was in the conspirators shoes I would have gone about the murder completely differently. Like I said I would have killed Antony along with Caesar just to make sure there were no problems. Secondly I would privately kill Caesar. The other conspirators, and I would plan a time when we could be alone with Caesar, and kill him and Antony. Then we'd bury the bodies, and make up some ridiculous story for their deaths that the plebians would obviously believe. Letting the plebians see Caesar's dead body was another obvious mistake the conspirators made. It's obvious whenever you see a dead body you feel remorse for that person. All in all I feel that the conspirators made alot of mistakes in their plan to kill Caesar.
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