Mark Antony A Righteous Avenger Or Ruthless Opportunist

Mark Rekutin, Period 8 Question: Mark Antony: A righteous avenger or ruthless opportunist? Shakti Gawain once said, You create opportunities by asking for them. In Shakespeare’s â€Å"Julius Caesar,† Mark Antony can be described as one who changes his approach to the conspirators and Caesar’s death, questioning his trust. A ruthless opportunist can be described as one who adjusts his values in a certain situation for a certain purpose, uses others for his gain, and does not consider the principles or consequences. Whether it was his persuasion or his passion, Antony knew how to win a crowd and how to manipulate those involved in Caesar’s death such as the conspirators for his own purpose: to gain power. Mark Antony, therefore, can be described as a ruthless opportunist, seeking whatever it may be that will grant him power from the death of Julius Caesar. Two reasons to categorize Mark Antony as a ruthless opportunist was his intention to undermine others and the content in Caesa r’s will, which in Act III he used to instigate sympathy among the people, claiming that he would deliver all the valuables (3.2.240-252). However, in the following act as he has gained power through the leadership of Rome, Mark Antony attempts to figure out a way to cut down what he used as sympathy, claiming, â€Å"Fetch the will hither, and we shall determine/How to cut off some charge in legacies,† (4.1.8-9). These lines demonstrate how after appealing to the audience with ethos, Antony uses this for