A Truly Selfish Act

Cassius

“I was born free as Caesar.” [Act I, Scene 2. Line 36] Julius Caesar, a play written by William Shakespeare, is about the rise and fall of the ruler, Julius Caesar, and the corruption of the Roman Republic at a time when it was filled with people who were against Caesar and others who supported him. Cassius was one of the people who wasn’t fond of Caesar, and it was he who talked of plotting a conspiracy first. He compares himself to Caesar, this man who had done nothing worthy but became ruler of the Roman Republic, noting that they were equal in terms of achievements. Cassius does not believe Caesar is deserving of the additional power he gained by eliminating Pompey, and, driven by his personal envy and ambition, Cassius is led to conspire against Caesar.

Cassius’s personal envy affects his every thought and decision, resulting him into appearing as an antagonist at first. He is envious of Caesar’s power, especially since he believes Caesar does not deserve it. He compares Caesar to himself and other characters, and then states that there is nothing special about Caesar; that he is equal to everyone else. This envy leads Cassius into being contemptuous, bitter and manipulative. He turns others against Caesar, and primarily manipulates Brutus. Brutus is a well-respected and honorable man who isn’t only respected and trusted by Caesar, but also the whole of Rome. Cassius approaches Brutus during Lupercal, while the two of them are out of Caesar’s earshot. It is here when Cassius first starts to manipulate Brutus into turning against Caesar. He talks about Caesar’s faults; how Caesar is not as Rome sees him and is actually a dependent, cowardly person. Cassius tells Brutus of the time he saved Caesar from drowning in Tiber when there was a storm and the waves were choppy. Cassius proved himself to be more courageous of the two of them and says, “And this man is now become a god, and Cassius is a wretched creature, and must bend his body if Caesar carelessly but nod on him.” [Act I, Scene 2. Lines 114-117] Cassius complains to Brutus that while Caesar had been a coward, and it was Cassius who saved Caesar, Caesar is still the one who gets praised while Cassius must bow down to Caesar as if he was a god. Cassius emphasizes Caesar’s faults and tells Brutus that Caesar is just a mortal and does not deserve to be praised as a god. Therefore, Cassius explains they must work together to take this status away from Caesar. Cassius is not content with only Brutus on his side, and as a result he manipulates others as well, Casca being one of these people. On a stormy night when Casca visits Cassius, Casca talks about his fear of the storm and how this might be an omen that Rome is in danger. But, Cassius thinks otherwise. He sees the storm as an omen that they should indeed kill Caesar for he is the one who is causing Rome to be in grave danger. He again compares Caesar, but this time to himself and Casca, and shows his bewilderment that such an unworthy man deserves such power. “A man no mightier than thyself, or me, in personal action, yet prodigious grown, and fearful, as these strange eruptions are.” [Act I, Scene 3. Lines 76-78] Cassius, in saying this, tells Casca that this man, Caesar, has done nothing awe-inspiring but still receives a formidable reputation, and people fear him as they fear the stormy weather. Cassius, at this point, has not only manipulated Brutus, but Casca as well, and his conspiracy commences as he recruits more people to turn against Caesar. As an overall motivator, Cassius’s envy continues to affect himself and also merges with another motive for killing Caesar: ambition.

Cassius’s ambition influences him to yearn triumph, even though this may make him dishonest and conniving. In order for the conspiracy to be successful, Cassius felt it was necessary to eliminate all possible threats. He wanted triumph over Caesar as he plotted for Caesar to lose not only his status, but his life as well. As Cassius thinks about the tyranny Caesar could cause, Cassius reflects on Caesar’s faults and those around Caesar who may cause for something to go wrong in their plot. His ambition makes him manipulative and dishonest. Cassius, calculating his actions and how others could make his actions seem more honorable, manipulates Brutus since Caesar and Rome respected him. He succeeds in doing so, and in his soliloquy rejoices, knowing Brutus is on his side. “That noble minds keep ever with their likes; for who so firm that cannot be seduc’d? Caesar doth bear me hard; but he loves Brutus.” [Act I, Scene 2. Lines 301-303] Knowing Brutus is a noble man, Cassius predicted that it might be challenging to turn Brutus against Caesar. But with his calculated words, Cassius is able to succeed in doing so and in this soliloquy he says that no one is so incorruptible that they cannot be turned against someone. With Brutus on his side, Caesar will not doubt their actions so much. Cassius’s ambition leads him to being so calculative and wanting to rob Caesar of his power, he makes the noblest of men to turn against Caesar. Cassius wants to make sure that nothing gets in the way of his triumph, and therefore he wants to eliminate all possible threats. As he and the other conspirators talk about their mutiny, he suggests that they kill Antony too. “Let Antony and Caesar fall together.” [Act II, Scene 1. Line 161.] Because Antony is very loyal to Caesar, Cassius sees him as a threat, for he predicts that he will turn against the conspirators and cause chaos. Therefore, he wants Antony to die alongside Caesar. This shows Cassius’s ambition because he wants to make sure he gets overall triumph with nothing getting in the way. He yearns to eliminate all posing threats to fully strip Caesar of his power. Cassius’s ambition is evidence that he, as a schemer, calculates everything that would make his actions seem less suspicious, and that this ambition leads him to aspire for victory over Caesar.

Because Cassius is envious of Caesar, he reflects on all of Caesar’s faults, reasoning that they are evidence Caesar isn’t deserving of this power. His personal envy fuels him to see each of Caesar’s faults, comparing Caesar not only to himself, but to others as well. This makes him contemptuous and conniving, seeking to grab leadership from Caesar. His ambition makes him manipulative and dishonest as he does everything in his power, whether it is noble or not, to gain triumph over Caesar. Overall, Cassius appears to be a very corrupted character, always scheming and always thinking about his own victory. In the end, Cassius only partially achieves his goal because he did eliminate Caesar but he did not gain the power for himself. This was neither a noble nor worthy cause because Cassius mainly wanted to strip Caesar of his power because he was envious, not because he wanted it for the good of others. Therefore, it appears that his plot to overthrow Caesar was mainly for himself without having the good of others in mind.

Empathy Is Still Needed

Think Creatively!
Identify and discuss some of the creative elements of your collage.

To create the collage, I had to think creatively in terms of what pictures to put that would evoke empathy in the people who are looking at it, and where to put the pictures so that it may tell a story. While I was considering the position of the pictures, I thought about where to put the part of the Lost Boys' lives when they were in Sudan and when they were in America. I put flames at the top of the collage to show that in Sudan, people were dying from the burning of their villages. Most of Sudan is also at the top of the collage. I put the pictures of America on the bottom of the collage because I wanted it to seem as if they are finally escaping the hellfire of the Sudan war.

Reason Critically!
How did you use the images and text that you selected to highlight your understanding of the Lost Boy’s situation?

My images show an understanding of the conflicts the Lost Boys faced and the hardships they experienced. Words such as "rebuilding hope," "genocide," and "peace" are words I felt were important to understanding the Lost Boy's situation. The boys were looking forward to a new life in America, where new hopes awaited them, and maybe even peace. As much as I tried to put pictures of hope and peace, I thought it was important to highlight these words to show viewers that the Lost Boys were rebuilding hope as they sought peace. Genocide was another word I felt was important to highlight because the genocide started everything. I put both the words and many pictures of the war to show how heartbreaking and brutal the Lost Boys' lives were as they experienced it.

Communicate Effectively!
Explain how your collage creates awareness for the Lost Boys’ plight.

My collage creates awareness for the Lost Boys' plight because I put pictures that show the pain in the boys' eyes and their experiences. There is a clear path from Sudan, to Kenya, and finally to America showed through footsteps. And at each place, there are pictures of the boys' conflicts. The fact that at each place the boys had to face conflicts should create an awareness in the viewers as they take in the heartbreaking realities the Lost Boys had to endure. When viewers see these pictures, it should evoke empathy, respect, and the urge to help the Lost Boys as they understand their story.

Live Ethically!
Explain how you think your collage demonstrated empathy and might evoke an emotional response from your viewers and/or incite them to act.

A big part of evoking empathy in my viewers would be my memoir because I believe it really shows the difference in the Lost Boys' lives when they were in Sudan and and when they were in America. In Sudan, their lives were almost so disastrous that it was hard to believe that it was their reality. But in America, they were hoping for safety and peace as they started new. Also, I chose the pictures carefully so that they would evoke empathy in my viewers. Therefore, I believe that when my viewers look at each of the pictures, especially pictures of the starving kids with their ribs showing, they will feel empathetic and respect the Lost Boy with the new knowledge of their heartbreaking story.

The Obstacles Just Don't Seem To End

As they heard the loud bursts of gunshots and saw fire encompassing their villages they panicked, running in a flurry. Some of them didn't even see or hear anything; they just came back to their village only to find there was nothing left to come back to. Seeking refuge, they ran away from their destroyed villages encountered thousands of others seeking refuge. They were called the “Lost Boys,” orphaned and with no possessions but their misery and trauma. But it wasn’t over. The abolition of their villages was just the beginning. The journey started off with thousands of Lost Boys, but by the time they reached the refugee camp, so many boys had been lost due to starvation, getting shot at, lion attacks, heat, exhaustion and other annihilating factors. Apart from these factors, the Lost Boys also had to go through another obstacle, the Gilo River. More boys were lost because some didn’t know how to swim and others were devoured by the alligators. When the boys arrived at the refugee camp, they faced more challenges. The food servings were rationed and all the facilities had to be shared. But at the very least, they were safe from the rebel groups who had inflicted the war and genocide upon Darfur. The Lost Boys experienced stepped migration; a process in which the boys moved from one location to another (from Darfur, Sudan, they travelled by foot to Ethiopia, where they had to go to Kenya because Ethiopia was not able to support the refugees). The U.S. Refugee Program also helped the refugees and slowly, by hundreds, boys were flown to America in hopes of better living. Soon enough they were to find that America was not the heaven they thought it would be.

Peter Dut was one of the Lost Boys who was migrated to the United States in Houston, Texas. It was in Texas where he first realized that America was nothing like heaven as was described in Kenya. He had financial problems, and experienced racism and getting robbed. On top of all that was the culture shock of the American ethnography. Although his fellow refugee friends stuck with him through everything, he became annoyed with their lack of urge for a better education. Therefore he moved to Kansas where he enrolled into a public school in pursuit of a better education. (Because it was a public school, he did not have to pay and therefore no money was deducted from his income.) Peter deducted a few years from his estimated age (he wasn’t born in a hospital and therefore had no records) so he’d be accepted in school. Aside from being an ESL student, Peter was successful in school. But many did not expect this success, the school counsellor being one of these people. Peter experienced racism when the counsellor presumed that Peter would not need to take an entrance exam for college since his grades were probably only good enough for community college. But Peter exceeded the counsellor’s expectations. As the counsellor explained that Peter needed an autobiography for his college application, Peter was already one step ahead. He had written it before seeing the counsellor. Apart from racism in school, he also experienced it with his job. He worked with other Sudanese refugees at Wal-Mart as one of the boys who brought the trolleys back inside from the outdoor parking lot. His boss had given the job to him taking into account his color, stating that since he was already “burnt,” he could work outside in the heat because he was used to being under the sun. People also thought he’d steal because he was black.

With his income, it was challenging to balance supporting himself and the people in Sudan. But with Peter’s determination and persistence, he found ways to provide money for the people and himself. In school, Peter pursued basketball in hopes of making the varsity team. He didn’t make it, but that gave him more time to study and work. It helped Peter to have friends who weren’t Sudanese because this helped him assimilate to the American culture as he became more exposed to it. He hung out with friends from school and from that circle of friends, was introduced to more people in a Christian group.

The journey was very challenging for the Peter and the Lost Boys, and each step forward just seemed to be another obstacle. It seemed as if the obstacles never ended. But with Peter’s persistence, he was able to keep moving forward. Peter Dut struggled through times of chaos, and with his persistence and hard work, he survived the storm and the skies gradually became clearer and clearer for him.

Videos of the Darfurians in the refugee camp in Kenya:

Darfurian Voices

Democracy & Marginalization

Discrimination

Message To The World