A good leader uses compassionate power over those he or she rules.
This person exemplifies kindness and justice, all while maintaining a sense
of control. A good leader never lets his or her subjects become unruly. In
addition, a good leader stays aware of what occurs around him or her. This
person knows possible consequences of his or her actions. In William
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Shakespeare presents flaws that cause several
characters to fail as leaders. In contrast to a good leader, Brutus
functions unaware of how his decisions will affect his future. In addition,
Cassius, although an excellent persuader, shows himself to be extremely
dishonest throughout the play. Also, Antony’s manipulative power doesn’t
always succeed for him. Therefore, each character’s major personality flaw
causes him to fail when vying for a position of leadership.
Brutus’ naiveté creates his poor leadership skills
and failure as a leader. Brutus’ ability to be persuaded easily allows
Cassius to convince him to join the conspiracy. As Brutus insists, when
“honor [is set] in one eye and death i’ th’ other, / [he would] look on both
indifferently” (1. 2. 86-87). Cassius simply manipulates Brutus’ love for
honor by saying that “honor is the subject of [his] story” (1. 2. 92), even
though his story is far from honorable. Brutus, therefore, cannot see how
Cassius has manipulated him to join the conspiracy. Brutus also cannot
foresee the real
danger Antony poses. Brutus refuses to kill Antony “For he can do no more
than Caesar’s arm / When Caesar’s head is off” (2. 1. 182-183). Antony,
then goes on to ruin Brutus in his funeral speech by showing the tear in
Caesar’s cloak “through [which] the well-belovèd Brutus stabbed” (3. 2.
177). As this speech sets the crowd off, Brutus’ cause begins to
disintegrate. Eventually, Brutus’ naive acceptance of the intrinsic
goodness of his decision to assassinate a potential tyrant eventually causes
him to lose everything important to him. The two people closest to Brutus,
Portia and Cassius, kill themselves because of the negative psychological
effects of Caesar’s murder. Portia was “Impatient of [Brutus’] absence” (4.
3. 151) while Cassius was afraid “...[his] best friend [was] ta’en...” (5.
3. 34). Brutus, in turn, blames Cassius’ death on Caesar by saying “O
Julius Caesar, thou are mighty yet!” (5. 4. 94). Clearly, Brutus’
obviousness and lack of ability to foresee the effects of his actions causes
his downfall in cases of leadership.
Essentially, despite his ability to ascertain the motivations of those
around him, Cassius’ dishonesty prevents him from becoming a suitable
leader. Cassius’ dishonesty first succeeds in overinflating Brutus’ ego.
When Cassius throws fake notes in Brutus’ window, he makes his best effort
to convince Brutus the conspiracy exists for a
good cause. Brutus not only believes the notes, but he also assumes control
of the plan. He mistakenly decides not to kill Antony who later causes the
conspiracy trouble. “If Cassius might have ruled” (5. 1. 47), Brutus and
Cassius might not be involved in the war. Cassius’ selling and receiving
bribes also causes Brutus to lose trust in Cassius. Brutus would “rather be
a dog, and bay the moon, / Than [be] such a Roman [as Cassius]” (4. 3.
27-28). In the end, the manner in which Cassius contradicts himself
exemplifies his dishonesty. First, Cassius tells Messala that “...[he holds]
Epicurus strong” (5. 1. 76); in other words, he does not believe that the
gods meddle in human affairs. When Brutus comes along, however, Cassius
says that “The gods today stand friendly” (5. 1. 93). Therefore, even
though Cassius wants to believe that the gods have nothing to do with
humans, they are helping Cassius and Brutus win the war. Evidently,
Cassius’ dishonest qualities determine his failure as a leader.
Despite its apparent success, Antony’s power of manipulation causes his
downfall when it fails to work. Antony essentially
stabs Brutus in the back even though Brutus does Antony a favor by letting
him have a funeral for Caesar. After Brutus speaks to the crowd of people
and gets them on his side, Antony takes his turn and swings the mob the
other way. He disproves all Brutus’ statements by contradicting them with
Caesar’s good actions. For example, Antony says that “When that the poor
have cried, Caesar hath wept” (3. 2. 92). Antony then asks how Caesar can
be so “ambitious” (3. 2. 79) when he empathizes with his people. In this
way, as Antony wrecks
Brutus’ reputation, Brutus can no longer show his face in Rome after being
so destroyed. Antony’s manipulative powers also creates mob rule in Rome.
The people vow “Revenge! About! Seek! Burn! Fire! Kill! Slay! / Let
not a traitor live!” (3. 2. 205-206) and then proceed to kill each
conspirator and burn his belongings. Even Antony himself admits that
“Mischief [is] afoot” (3. 2. 261). Antony’s failure to manipulate Octavius,
however, causes Antony to give up hope of ruling Rome. Octavius goes as far
as to oppose Antony before the battle by insisting that Antony “keep the
left” (5. 1. 18). From this point on, as Antony continues to lose control
over Octavius, Octavius eventually overthrows Antony for rule of Rome.
Therefore, Antony
is only successful as a leader when he can manipulate people, otherwise,
when his skill fails, he becomes powerless.
Thus, none of the characters can hold on to his control, no matter how
long, because of one or more personality flaws. None of the characters
realizes his flaw until it is too late. Brutus
and Cassius die for their mistakes, while Antony loses control over
Octavius. A truly good leader does not lie, manipulate, or make decisions
with out considering the consequences. These characters obviously cannot
retain their position because of their lack of the positive qualities
necessary in a strong leader. No matter how noble or honorable their deeds,
the flaws they possess are too great to overcome and thus cause their
downfall as successful leaders.
