Why do Cassius, Brutus, and Caesar make misinterpretations?
Persuasion and suggestion are rhetorical skills that play centrally in Julius Caesar, but they also highlight the willingness of individuals in hard times to listen for what they want to hear. It’s often unclear whether characters are manipulated by others, or simply find in the speech of others an invitation or inspiration to do what they might otherwise have been too afraid to do. CASSIUS I will this night, In several hands, in at … his windows throw, As if they came from several citizens, Writings, all tending to the great opinion That Rome holds of his name, wherein obscurely Caesar’s ambition shall be glanced at. And after this let Caesar seat him sure; For we will shake him, or worse days endure. (1.2.315) Thought: Cassius hopes the voice of the people, even if it’s fabricated, will persuade Brutus. Cassius takes a condescending approach: this is what the people would think, if they were smart enough or knew what was good for them.
