Shakespeare

Many of the relations between people are based on trust. Not all people can be trusted; sometimes it means ones family and friends cannot be trusted too. In two of Shakespeare's plays, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, both have a common theme about not trusting people. In the play, Much Ado About Nothing, Claudio, a soldier who just returns from war, falls in love with Hero, the daughter of Leonato. Don John is angry about losing a war against Don Pedro, who is planning to ruin their relationship in revenge to Don Pedro, but fails at the end. Over the course of the play, Don Pedro set up traps to make Benedick and Beatrice fall in love with each other, and eventually marry each other towards the end of the play. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Caesar return from war against Pompey and the Romans are happy that Caesar won, and wants to make Caesar king. Cassius thinks that the Roman people are treating Caesar like a god and considered a plan to murder him. Cassius wrote letters to Brutus, Caesars best friend, to make him think that the letters are from the Roman people and they want to assassinate Caesar to protect the republic in fear of Caesar will become a tyrant. Brutus later joins the conspirators and murders Caesar alone with the others. Shakespeare uses Don John's lie to his brother, Antony's promise to Brutus about the speech, and the letters Brutus get from Cassius to prove that people cannot be trusted. In his plays, Shakespeare portrays that one cannot trust another even if one knows them in order to tell readers that they need to not trust anyone easily.

The first example Shakespeare gives the readers in the play Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare show that even one's brother can turn their back on oneself. During the party, Claudio asks Hero to marry him and she said yes. Don John on the other hand heard about the marriage and thinks that this is an excellent chance to make some trouble and sabotage the marriage. Don John lies and tells his brother, Don Pedro, and Claudio that Hero is being disgraceful. Don John says "You may think I love you not. Let that appear hereafter, and aim better at me by that I now will manifest. For my brother, I think he holds you well, and in dearness of heart hath hope to affect your ensuing marriage - surely suit ill spent and labor ill bestowed" (Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare, act 3. sc 2. line 88) Don John is saying that he is honest to Don Pedro and he is like a brother to him, but what he actually plan to do is try to stop the marriage between Claudio and Hero. Don John is selfish and lies even to his brother, these people cannot be trusted. Shakespeare's message in this passage is to inform people that trusting people sometime can put one and one's friend in jeopardy; one need to think through if what someone else says is true.

Besides from Much Ado About Nothing, another Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also shares a common theme of not to trust people, even if the person is believed to be. After the bloody assassination of Julius Caesar, Antony, who is also a friend of Caesar, heard about the assassination and comes to the capital. Antony was shocked to see Caesar's dead body. He holds his inside emotion and pertains that he understands why the conspirators murdered Caesar. After gaining trust from Brutus, Brutus gives Antony the permeation to address the people of Rome after him. After Brutus spoke and left, Antony says to the crowd, "He was my friend, faithful and just to me: But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honorable man. He hath brought many captives home to Rome ... Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? When that the poor ... was this ambition? Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; and, sure, he is an honorable man. I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, but here I am to speak what I do know." In Antony's speech, he gives three examples to prove why Caesar was not ambitious. He also links "honorable" and "ambitious" and make the people think that Brutus is the one who is ambitious and Caesar is innocent, and his murder is cold-blooded. Antony said to Brutus before the speech, that he will not dispute with the conspirators, but what he did is the exacted opposite. Antony totally disregarded the trust Brutus puts in him. Shakespeare uses this scene to show the reader that one can not put all the trust into someone they knew, the person they trust may look trustworthy, but you can not always count on them to do what you like them to do.

Finally, Shakespeare gives us an addition example in his play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar about why people cannot be completely trusted, he demonstrates that even something that was wrote down on paper cannot be trusted too. As Cassius is planning how to assassinate Caesar, he wants to make Brutus join the conspirators, and came up with a plan. Cassius says to the other conspirators what he is going to do, "I will this night, In several hands, in at his window throw, As if they came from several citizen's Writings, all tending to the great opinion That Rome holds of his name; wherein obscurely Caesar's ambition shall be glanced at" (The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare, 1.2.316-320) In this passage, Cassius told us that he is going to write letter as if they are from the people if Rome, he will at night throw them into Brutus's home. The letter will be read by Brutus, and Brutus will think that they are from "people of Rome". As he read the letters, he will discover that "people of Rome" thinks that Caesar will become a tyrant. The "people of Rome" wants Brutus to stop this from happening. Shakespeare informed us that what one see is not always true, people sometimes fake writings to let one trust them but at the end, one will be sorry that one trusted them, thus one cannot trust that is writing down.

As has been noted, Shakespeare thinks that one cannot be trusted by another. Shakespeare is trying to connect to the reader about why one cannot trust another even if they are in a close relationship. Shakespeare uses the two plays he wrote to show why not to trust people, he uses Don Pedro and Don John to show even your family cannot be trusted. Shakespeare also uses Brutus as an example of someone who trusted everyone and ultimately puts himself in a horrifying position. As we all know today, one cannot walk up to someone and expected them to lent money to one, most people that one knew, they cannot be fully trusted too. The world is building on the trust between people, and group, how do we determined what is behind, deep in that person's mind, when they use the phrase "Trust me."?