Ellie

   Choosing a leader that will do the right thing in the people's eyes is hard to do. That's why this debate made it difficult to choose. All three public relation people did a fantastic job. But done did better than others.
   Antony, the board game was clever and got the point across. The gold coin idea was also a great idea butt backfired greatly. If the purpose was to have more chocolate coins handed out than "fake" coins, then that should've happened. Both of these presentation had great potential buy could've also been supported better with text.
   Brutus, the people supporting Brutus had great ideas. The first day was a mirror, telling us the look in it and see what we were made of. This got the point across and created a good example to vote for Brutus. The second day was the Brutus bars. These were cute and got to the point. They showed that there are good thing to come with Brutus, unlike with the other 2. Although there was a acute representation of text these presentations and objects were cute and to the point.
   Cassius, Elisa had an awesome concept. The looking glasses on the first day persuaded me to consider Cassius. The voodoo dolls were a great idea, and gave people a chance to consider the influences of the other candidates. The second day bag of fate was also a great concept. Reading the bad things of the other candidates influenced me to consider Cassius even more. All together both days had support from the text and made Cassius look like a great dude.
   All the candidates did a fantastic job and representing what they stood for and getting their points across well.

Cristian T.

Before the Debate i had my thoughts all set and was pretty sure who i was picking for the most suitable leader for Rome, but the candidates had a big influence towards my decision. While listening to the debate it was a constant battle in my mind, "Cassius is obviously the best leader" "On second thought, i think its Antony" "Well Brutus does make a point, he deserves it!". Each remark made by the candidates was better than the last and Each Candidate did amazingly well against each other.

My Priority list before the debate was Cassius, Antony, Brutus but my thoughts at the end were surprisingly different. I Chose Cassius as my first because he seemed like the best choice, Persuasive, Intelligent, Knowledgeable.Those 3 traits are what i thought put him at the top for, but Antony quickly made me think otherwise. Antony said that Cassius was manipulative, by making Brutus believe that Caesar was bad.But Cassius rebutted to that by saying that he was just bringing Brutus to a realization of his true potential.

Antony was my second priority because i believed he seemed like the most loyal even though he had a bit of a anger management problem. The other two candidates quickly influenced my opinion greatly by saying his bipolar problem was a great threat for a leader and that he would be unable to control his feelings ((III,i,289-290) "A curse shall light upon the limbs of men; Domestic fury and fierce civil strife Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;...") Antony's rebuttal stated that it was only a emotional reaction to the killing of his best friend Caesar done by Cassius and Brutus.This rebuttal influenced me the greatest by his use of Pathos, stating "What if your best friend was killed and you had a chance to get vengeance? you would most likely do the same".

My last choice was Brutus, mostly because i thought he was a nitwit. The two candidates stated that he was sickly ((II,i,277)"I am not well in health, and that is all") and was persuaded easily. Brutus's rebuttal stated that being sickly was not at all bad and that it didn't take away from being a good leader. He also stated that he did everything for the people. I was hoping that Brutus would bring up that Cassius Deceived him ((II,1,48-49)"Brutus, thou sleep'st. Awake, and see thyself! Shall Rome, etc. Speak, strike, redress!") in order to both, Refute and and Rebute(?) at the same time.

My end choice for leader would have to be Antony, followed by Brutus, and last Cassius. Antony seemed like he would fit for leader the best because of his logical choices.Brutus was second because i felt he did base his choices for the people but his choices still weren't good enough. My last choice was Cassius because he seemed like the most devious and manipulative and overall seemed like a rather sneaky person not fit to be leader.

Vanessa L.

Choosing the best leader suitable to be the ruler of Rome has been difficult for me. Even though I had my mind set on none of them being suitable for the position but each one of them opened my eyes to look deeper into the context and what the words meant and looking at them in different ways I wouldn't even think of.

At first my thoughts on Anthony were of a loving and caring friend towards Caesar, he obeyed and respected Caesar doing exactly what Caesar ordered. Antony even said it himself “when Caesar says “do this,” it is performed(Act 1, Scene 2,line 13). But the mood dramatically changed when Antony found out Caesar had been murdered by the people who Caesar would have considered his friends. He changed into someone who was angry and craving vengeance for the murder of his beloved Caesar, “a curse shall light upon the limbs of men; Domestic fury and fierce civil strife shall cumber all parts of Italy.. That this foul deed shall smell above the earth with carrion men groaning from burial”(Act 3, Scene 1, lines 288-301). I found these words disturbing and frightening but during the advertisement presentation Antony admitted that he did in fact say all these things but it only means that he's human and as humans we regret what we sometimes say. I found this statement to appeal to Nomos making me feel that Antony is just like all the rest of us, human and persuading me into thinking that we are the same and have the same intentions for Rome. I found their arguments eye opening but Anthony would still not be my choice.

I never liked Cassius since the very beginning. He is a manipulating weasel who plants his own ideas into others mind making them do Cassius own dirty work while he watches from the shadows. Cassius did exactly that with Brutus sending him an anonymous letter convincing Brutus that killing Caesar is the best thing to do for the greater good for Rome. Brutus believes he is doing the best thing for Rome, “O Rome, I make thee promise, If the redress will follow, thou receivest thy full petition at the hand of Brutus”(Act 2, Scene 1, lines 59-61). The people that represented Cassius tried to make Cassius look like the actions he took were all for the people of Rome appealing to Pathos but it didn't fit right. Cassius does nothing for the people, he only looks out for himself and his own best interests.

The best choice for Rome would be Brutus. Most would say that Brutus is very easily manipulated and weak to say the least but Brutus just wants the best for Rome even if it meant killing Caesar. He always had good intentions. Cassius was the one who sent Brutus over the edge, planting ideas in his head which weren't entirely his own, and leaving Brutus to take the fall when things got bad. Nonetheless, Caesars murder was inevitable, the only question was who was going to do it. Brutus honored and loved Caesar but as he said in his funeral “not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more”(Act 3, Scene 2, lines 23-24). Brutus always had the people and Romes best interest at heart and that is why Brutus is the best choice.

Correction for Previous Post

Where it says 'After brief discussion' it should say 'After brief discussion following Caesar's assassination.' 

Jeremy's Editorial

Finding the least worst candidate to vote for is difficult, but I am going to vote for Cassius, mostly because I cannot take a trip in a TARDIS to a better place and age. Analysis of each of the three candidates follows below.

Antony: The representatives fail to address that he is a demagogue to the worst degree. Instead, the Media Relations representative used borderline-propaganda appeals of Nomos to make people think that Antony is the only true Roman whilst throwing dirt on the other leaders. They failed to sufficiently defend Antony for this quote: ‘Mischief, thou art afoot, // take thou what course thou wilt [to Rome]!’ and a similar monologue that he gave when Caesar died. They also failed to adequately address the chaos that Antony’s demagogic funeral speech - which was carefully crafted to create the most violent reaction from people - caused. They also failed to acknowledge that in the scene immediately after Antony wished for Rome to burn and ordered a servant to bring him the next man to prop up as leader to further Antony’s goals, a man was brutally murdered just because his name was that of one of the conspirators, Cinna. In addition, they did not address that either Antony is not very perceptive of threats or he is willing to sacrifice the people’s favourite leader for power; either he did not think that Cassius was a threat to Caesar, or he wanted Caesar to die so he could seize power. Either way, Antony’s overall behaviour is not that of a leader who loves his country and is a second coming of Caesar, it is that of a power-hungry demagogue who is a danger to Rome.

            Brutus: The representatives failed to address that Brutus is logically challenged, the biggest reason why he should not be elected. Instead, the representatives used borderline-propaganda appeals to patriotism (as Brutus did in his speech), pathos, and a distracting focus on perception to convince people to vote for Brutus. Brutus shows his logical impairment the most strongly at the beginning of Act II and onward. At the beginning of Act II, he says that Caesar should be killed because he could do some bad things because power could get to his head. That that uncertainty had such weight in Brutus’ mind that it was good enough proof to kill Caesar shows Brutus' inability to think things through properly. His reasoning after killing Caesar leaves much to be desired too. After brief discussion, Brutus basically said ‘Killing Caesar is the best thing we could do for him because now he does not need to worry about death. Now we need to convince the people that we are the good guys even though we killed their favourite leader. So, we should proclaim that we have ushered in an era of peace, freedom, and prosperity by getting our daggers and arms soaked in blood, wave said daggers above our heads while we are surrounded by fans of Caesar, and cry our message out to the masses like a bunch of mad men.’ It should be noted that Cassius thought that this was a good idea too. Brutus also thought that it would be a great idea to let Caesar’s right-hand man have the last say at his funeral. This decision led to the chaos that Antony’s speech created. Brutus makes patriotism look bad, and he should not be voted for.

            Cassius: Cassius is a conniving, manipulative rascal who kickstarted the events that led to Caesar’s assassination and the chaos that followed by planting ideas into Brutus’ brain. Whether that was part of a master plan is unknowable, but he is, unfortunately, the best candidate on the ballot, so vote for him, even though his representatives did not give much of a convincing argument (it mainly said that Cassius is determined and threw dirt on the other two candidates). He should be voted for because he had only a relatively minor role in events once he got them going. After that, he allowed Brutus to take control. Basically, vote for Cassius because not as much bad stuff can be said about him than the other candidates.

Political Cartoons Brantonio

     Hi you guys, these are my pictures for the political cartoons and I'll tell you why I chose these pictures to represent each candidate.

     For the first political cartoon, it is Cassius with a evil smirk while the people are killing Caesar in the background. I chose this picture for Cassius because in the play, he seems to be more manipulative rather than persuasive to people he has encountered.You got to admit, he has a way with words, but he would rather use manipulation to get what he wants. Would you want a leader who in his own personal agenda's want to lead through honest persuasion, not hidden manipulation? In Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 60-68, Cassius states to Brutus," Tis just, and it is very lamented, Brutus, that you have no such mirrors as will turn your hidden worthiness into your eye that you might see your shadow. I have heard where many of the best respect in Rome, except immortal Caesar, speaking of Brutus and groaning underneath this age's yoke, have wish'd that noble Brutus had in his eyes." With this phrase, you could tell that he wants Brutus to join them and kill Caesar. But instead, he strokes Brutus' s ego by saying he would make a great leader than Caesar. Instead of simple persuasion, he instead uses manipulation to get what he wants. A leader must have the qualities to lead the people with the truth, and I'm sorry but Cassius is not one of them.

     The next one is about the honorable Brutus. Brutus is loyal and honorable so he should be leader, right? But Brutus has one major flaw, his honor manipulates and blind his actions. In this cartoon, you see the dog in the beggin strips commercial who wants a strip of bacon. Yum. But just imagine Brutus being that dog wanting a bone that says honor on it. A dog would want a juicy bone, so does Brutus but instead of power, it is honor. In the play, Brutus struggles to retain his honor. In Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 320-322, Cassius states to Brutus," Well Brutus, thou art noble.Yet I see thy honorable mettle may be wrought from that it is disposed." Even when he killed Caesar with his knife, he believed it was the most honorable thing to do. Even so, killing a person who he or she trusts in you is not the honorable thing, just a cold betrayal. You see, Brutus is a good person who believes highly in honor, but it is that "honor" that manipulates him to do such monstrous deeds.

All about Antony @-@

Yesenia Cardenas

                                                               All about Antony

            Perhaps there isn’t a more power hungry character in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar as Antony, Caesar’s supposed right-hand man. His actions and words after Caesar’s death are what make him into an undesirable leader for Rome.  At first, Antony appears to be the perfect wing man to Caesar saying things like,

When Caesar says “Do this,” it is performed. (I, ii, 13)

It makes Antony seem very loyal and dotting to Caesar. It appears that he wouldn’t make such a bad ruler. After that, Antony isn’t mentioned much save for comments on his undying loyalty to Caesar, but we already knew that. But, does it seem like a coincidence to say that after Caesar died is when Antony starts to show his true colors? At least to this Roman, Antony’s performance after Caesar’s death wasn’t at all convincing. When he speaks of Caesar, it seems as if he speaks of himself and his greatness, not of Caesars. Even with the supposed will of Caesar does he relish in the attention he gets from the crowd after being in Caesar’s shadow for so long. It says in the text,

            Will you be patient? Will you stay a while?

            I have o’ershot myself to tell you of it.

            I fear I wrong the honorable men

            Whose daggers have stabbed Caesar. I do fear it. (III, ii, 161-164)

As always throughout his speech, he manages to make it all about him. How he feels or how he is reacting rather than focusing on the people, who have first priority as they don’t have anyone to really rule them. To make matters worse, he obviously doesn’t like the people because as he descends to the public to read the will, the public gets excited and he says this,

            Nay, press not upon me. Stand far off. (III, ii, 179)

Of course, he should be worrying about other things but instead decides to worry about himself. With all of this in mind, I made the political cartoon to display Antony’s true character in the play and not the phony he’s trying to convince everyone of. While he is dressed “luxuriously”, the people are in dirty rags. And to top it all off he is being celebrated and carried by the people to show he thinks of himself as the one who truly matters in this entire dilemma. The question at the bottoms reads, “Is this Rome?” and it is place at the bottom where the people can see it so they rethink their feelings toward Antony. Because of this, Antony is one of the unsuitable successors for candidacy.

            

Yesenia Cardenas

                                                                 Iffy Brutus

            Let’s admit it. Brutus isn’t the most reliable guy out there. I mean, this guys logic is way off it doesn’t even make sense in a parallel universe. And, he isn’t even his own person half the time, but a reflection of Cassius. Because of that, Brutus isn’t qualified to be the next leader of Rome.

            In the political cartoon, Brutus is seen remembering what Cassius told him about the reason for their objective. Then, it is seen Brutus reiterating that to the public. It shows how Brutus can’t really think for himself although he presumes he does. In Julius Caesar, there is an example of this happening. In the play, Brutus receives a letter from Cassius stating the following,

            Brutus, thou sleep’st. Awake, and see thyself!

            Shall Rome, etc. Speak, strike, redress! (II, I, 48-49)

Later on, Brutus uses Cassius’ words to explain his “own” ideas.

            …What need we any spur but our own cause

            To prick us to redress? What other bond… (II, i, 134-135)

Brutus isn’t doing anything but expanding on the ideas Cassius initially planted in Brutus’ mind. Also, after Caesar’s death, Brutus tries to explain to the people why he and the others did what they did and killed Caesar. First he said,

            Though now we must appear bloody and cruel,

            As by our hands and this our present act

            You see we do, yet see you but our hands

            And this the bleeding business they have done.

            Our hearts you see not; they are pitiful;

            … Hath done this deed on Caesar. (III, I, 181-185, 188)

In this, Brutus tries to explain that they did it to rid Caesar of the fear of impending death. Sort of like, “We killed you because we love you. You’re welcome. ” Then, during his funeral oration the Caesar, he says he (and the others) did it for the people and for Rome.

            …If then that friend

            Demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my

            Answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved

            Rome more. (III, ii, 21-24)

Even if he thinks that he’s convincing the audience, it sounds as if he’s trying to justify to himself the act of crime he just committed. That’s why in the audience in the cartoon you see people labeled as “Brutus” because it’s as if Brutus was talking to himself. Brutus is the type of guy that can’t even hold himself together. If that’s true, why should he rule Rome?

Our next Speaker...

..."For he (Mark Anthony) can do no more than Caesar's arm
when Caesar's head is off"...

Political Cartoons
Drawn by Javan Hammer

I apologize for the quality, my scanner has rebelled and no longer works.   

The cartoons above depict characters Brutus (on left) and Mark Anthony (on right). Brutus is shown inviting up Mark Anthony for the funeral speech.  The beheaded "Caesar" represents how "harmless" Anthony, the arm of Caesar, is.

       
The cartoon featuring Brutus shows him inviting up Mark Anthony, the person who would go on to turn all of Rome against the conspirators. Brutus is an absolutely terrible leader due to the foolish actions he chooses to take. This is a perfect example of why Brutus perhaps should not make his own decisions and instead leave them to others.  It was a rather stupid decision to let Mark Anthony speak in front of a crowd of people who can be so easily persuaded. He was after all on of Caesar's closest friends. In Act II, i, 178, Brutus denounced Anthony as little more than a limb of Caesar and thus not worthy dealing with, after Cassius suggested the wiser move of getting rid of Anthony. Any conspirator who knew better would also get rid of the ones closest to the target first. Brutus in Act III, i, 269-276, gives permission for Anthony to speak at the funeral as long as he doesn't blame the conspirators. Okay,  this was straight up boneheaded!  How did he not expect Anthony to betray them? They had just killed his best friend. You think he'll just brush it aside and let them walk away with it?  I don't think so.  This shows how flawed Brutus is as a leader.

The second cartoon shows the arm of a headless Caesar.  This is taken from Brutus' opinion of Mark Anthony in Act II, i, 194, saying he is basically dead without Caesar.  Even though this quote is from Brutus, its directed at Mark Anthony (I bashed Brutus enough in the first paragraph). This picture is meant to show how dangerous and volatile Mark Anthony is. In Act III,i, 269,Anthony had been given Caesar's body and would later use it to set the people against the conspirators who they had only minutes earlier supported.  Anthony was able to use pathos very well in persuading the people, especially in Act III, ii,117 where after speaking about Caesar's good qualities breaks into tears.  Here is where Anthony is dangerous. He's able to lead people through emotions (since most people think with emotions instead of their brains). He can make them do almost whatever he wants them to. In Act III, i, 280-301, Anthony describes what he wants to unleash on Rome. He goes into a rant of how all of Italy would be engulfed in flames and how death,gore, and destruction would be the norm.  He is successful in doing this as in Act III, iii, the citizens of Rome run around killing anyone who they think is a conspirator, as evident in their killing of the poet Cinna (not conspirator Cinna). Does the republic really need a ruler who uses his feigned emotion to win over people and who would make quartered infants (Act III,i,293-294) the normal, everyday part of life?

  

Political Cartoons

Kyra Lyons
March 17, 2014
Period 8

Political Cartoons

Featured above are two political cartoons based on the characters of Antony and Brutus from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. The first shows that Antony is only manipulating the public, not truly persuading them. The second shows that Brutus is simply a man made up of other men's ideas and beliefs. Both of these men are unqualified to rule Rome for those reasons.

In the first political cartoon (left), Antony is shown using a Jedi mind trick on the public, telling them that Cassius and Brutus are not the rulers they should seek for Rome. As you may notice, Antony is far larger than Cassius and Brutus. He is pictured this way because before Caesar's death, he is portrayed as merely a limb of Caesar in Act II, i, 178, "For Antony is but a limb of Caesar." However, after Caesar's death, Antony grows in both importance and influence, even larger than Cassius and Brutus. This is stated by a Plebeian in Act III, ii, 128, "There's not a nobler man in Rome than Antony." What Antony does with this influence is a completely different subject. During Antony's funeral speech, he does nothing but toy with the Public's emotions. He dances around calling Brutus and the conspirators traitors, while reassuring the Public that they were honest men. The Public becomes riled up, and Antony says almost sarcastically, "Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up To such a sudden flood of mutiny." (Act III, ii, 222-223) He plays tricks on the minds of the Public, but not in the good and healthy way a Jedi might. Antony is leading the Public down the path of fear, anger, hate, and suffering through pure manipulation, not to the path of peace and justice that Rome needs.

The second political cartoon (right) depicts several sections of different people pasted together to create one person. It also features the words "Not my ideas." This captures Brutus' essence. He always seems to be coming up with ideas that can be found to have been already created by another character. The caption says Brutus (aka Cassius, Casca, Cinna, etc) because who is Brutus, really? He is only the conglomeration of several other men's ideas put into action. This is clearly demonstrated in Act II, i, 49 when Brutus receives a letter stating, "Speak, strike, redress!" from Cassius, and then Brutus is found later stating in his address to the conspirators, "What need we any spur but our own cause To prick us to redress?" (Act II, i, 134-135) Brutus is contradicting what he is saying through his very action. He is telling the conspirators to act only because of their personal drive and spirit, while he is acting because Cassius told him to act in the letter. Brutus is merely a puppet to Cassius and the other conspirators. He is merely a reflection of the other Romans pieced together to make a man, and that is definitely not a quality you would want to find in a ruler.

Cassius, Antony, Brutus,

I think that Cassius is one of the smartest people Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. He plans many things out in his head to ensure that everything goes according to plan. Because of this, he is not the most straight forward person. I think that Cassius has had the biggest impact on the story because of how he persuades people like Brutus. Cassius is a really devious person and this is shown by him using Ethos in (II,1,48-49)"Brutus, thou sleep'st. Awake, and see thyself! Shall Rome, etc. Speak, strike, redress!".

Cassius made this letter to make it look like it was written by the people, giving Brutus a bigger impact by making him feel like the people want Caesar dead. Cassius uses the credibility of the people to get his persuasive through. This makes me believe that he is both very Smart but at the same time very devious. 

I believe Antony is a great character, and for many reasons. He is a very loyal person and tries to respect others. But Antony can work on taking out his anger in other ways other than by threatening a curse upon all of Italy like he stated in the following lines of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (III,i,289-290) "A curse shall light upon the limbs of men; Domestic fury and fierce civil strife Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;..." I believe that he is a very knowledgeable person because of his use of the persuasive appeal, Pathos. Antony uses emotion to persuade his audience greatly like in the following lines,(III,ii,115-117)" Bear with me; My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, And I must pause till it comeback to me. *He weeps.*". Wether or not those tears were fake or real, it shows that he knows how to use Pathos to his advantage which in my opinion makes him seem like a more intellectual individual.

Although Brutus is not the smartest individual in my eyes i believe he has some sort of potential. I think he is dependent of others due to the fact that he doesn't make decisions for himself. He bases his decision on what other people want him to believe.  in (I,ii,118) Brutus is slowly persuaded that Caesar is like an ordinary man and not worthy to be a king, "Help me, Cassius, or i sink!" this leads me to believe that he is not worthy to become a leader because he is so easily influenced. But in (III,ii,34) Brutus uses Pathos to sort of get it his way in his speech. "Who is here so vile that will not love his country?" Brutus says this after he has given his speech on Caesars assassination to get the people to not respond negatively towards his whole speech. He uses the peoples love for Rome to get them to not say anything against him. To me this shows that he has somewhat of a idea as to what he is doing. 

Cristian Tafolla p8 3-13-14