Julius Caesar Friendships

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Pages: 4

The people who we do not share an ounce of blood with, yet hold the most significant part of our hearts. The crazy ones who love us through thick and thin. The ones who make fun of us all the time, yet can not stand when someone else disrespects you. Those are who your friends are. A theme of friendship is seen throughout the entire play of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, displaying the the pros and cons of important friendships. Individuals need friends in order to live a fulfilling life because friends introduce us to new social experiences, and they provide support and guidance in hard times which leads to a more successful life. Friends can help broaden our social spectrum and introduce us to new experiences. In Source A, an article …show more content…
Although many people think that having friends is necessary in order to live a fulfilling life, many believe this is not the case. In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, the test of loyalty to friendships or the Roman Republic of each character is revealed. An example of when friendships are seen as not necessary for a fulfilling life can be seen in Act two, when Brutus, a supposedly close friend of Caesar, says “Caesar, all hail! Good morrow, worthy Caesar."(2.2. 58-59). He calls Caesar “worthy”, lifting his confidence in their friendship, when in reality, he has already come up with a plan to assassinate Caesar, and is only saying this to increase Caesar’s trust, and betraying him. Brutus betraying Caesar is just one example of how friendships are not necessary because you can never know truly where your friends loyalties lie, further proving that friendships can also have deleterious effects on people. However, this is not the case. Although there might be some harmful effects of betrayals in friendships, the benefits of a healthy friendship greatly outnumber the cons. In a poem by Rudyard Kipling, titled, “The Thousandth Man”, it states “But if he finds you and you find him, The rest of the world don’t matter, For the thousandth man will sink or swim with you in any water.” The “thousandth man” referring to a healthy, strong, friendship, will stay with you no matter what. They will provide guidance and support when nobody else is willing to, making friendships vital to live a fulfilling