Fate vs. Free Will
In William Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar, two interesting forces, fate and free will, are shown competing for prominence over the other. Fate was exemplified in the many prophecies and omens the characters viewed throughout the play. Free will was the characters abilities to overcome and defeat their fate. Many characters have struggles with the power of their free will overcoming their fate, namely Caesar, Cassius, and Brutus. Although in the end all three of those characters succumb to their fate, Shakespeare shows that there is a delicate equilibrium between the two forces. Of the three men, Caesar's fate seemed most obvious to him and to the reader. However, Caesar used his free will in many instances to in large part ignore his destiny, which fate has presented. On one occasion in the beginning of the play, a soothsayer warns Caesar to "Beware the ides of March" (I. i. 23). Caesar pays more attention to the appearance of the soothsayer then to the warning; and, finding the appearance not to his liking, Caesar ignores the warning and passes him off as a dreamer. Later, on the Ides of March, he confronts the soothsayer, and says that "the ides of March have come" (III. i. 1). Caesar was confident t
Caesar was never very strong in using his free will, but chose a nobler route to defying his fate. Even on the trip to the Senate, he had an opportunity to see the exact plan for his death. Cassius, up to the end of the play, was very aware of his fate and took the largest strides to overcome that. Because of this belief, he never resigned himself to live in the world in its current state. Using all three of their deaths as an example, it seems Shakespeare was showing that free will must be used vigilantly, and if one was to let their guard down, fate will overcome all efforts of will. He was forced to write fake letters so that Brutus could see a reason to act on Caesar becoming emperor. This stance is what required Cassius to go through so much effort to persuade Brutus to join the conspirators. This is due to the fact that Cassius followed the Epicurean philosophy, which believes that the gods do not involve themselves directly in the fate of man. The ghost of Caesar had visited him twice and had affected his rationalization that he told Volumnius "I know my hour is come" (V. However, his pride presented itself as Decius Brutus gave him an alternate way to interpret the dream.
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