Discuss some of the "mob scenes" in Julius Caesar. Where and when do they happen? Do such events still happen? Can you think of any recent events that resulted in a crowd of people behaving in ways that, alone, none likely would have behaved? That's "mob mentality."
In the Shakespeare version of Julius Caesar’s rise to power there are countless mob scenes. One of the gigantic mob scenes that occur in this tragedy is in the beginning, where a mob of people surround him and Antony. After they surround him, Antony proceeds to offer Caesar the crown three times. Julius Caesar turns it down each time with a little more lenience in his voice and actions. Each time as he turned it down, the mob began to hoot and holler. As they did so, the smell of a fowl odor filled the air, which almost caused Caesar to faint and send him into a convulsion spell.
ReplyDeleteAnother instance of a mob scene was when Antony and others were involved in a sort of “games”, such as the Olympic Games. A mob surrounded the playing field and streets that they were running through. They were so close to the action that Caesar’s wife, Calphurnia, was almost grazed by the leather straps of the athletes clothing, which was thought to make the infertile women fertile if they were touched. The mob conjured up many yells during it, according to Brutus and Cassius.
Today’s world has many mob instances. One place that they occur is after sporting games or events. There are many mob scenes after college football games. For example, after every Auburn University football home win, the students and fans roll a certain section of trees called Toomer’s Corner. Mob scenes also occur after championship wins, such as after the World Series in baseball and the World Cup in soccer.
Mob scenes can also be seen at certain political events or exercises. One example is at the Presidential Inauguration. The past inauguration saw one of the biggest crowds in history because the first black president came to power. Another example of a mob scene is when a certain political activist group disagrees with something going on in the government and they proceed to protest and “fight the power”. This doesn’t occur often in the United States of America, but in foreign countries, the chances of this happening are very likely.
Mob scenes have been occurring throughout history all the time. They have influenced decisions in government and political matters. Mobs have also been a major cause of school pride among colleges and high schools everywhere. Julius Caesar has many examples of both of these and they are shown well in the sense that you can actually see and hear the actions and responses of the mobs. Mobs play a big role in everyday matters today and they also did long ago.