1. "A great conqueror, soldier, and politician, Caesar was popular because he gained territory for Rome and because he frequently sent money back to the city to be used for public works or to help the common people. Because of his conquests he was ultimately given the honor of ruling Rome for as long as he lived, but he was still not satisfied; many suspected that he wanted to set up a monarchy so that power could pass to his heirs as well. Caesar was married to Calpurnia, but thus far he had borne him no children" (Miller 376).
In Scene one of Act one, not a lot happens, but enough is said to prove how the people thought of Caesar. They practically worshiped the ground he walked on. They treated him like a god, because supposedly he cared. Like the quote states, he sent money back to the poor common people, and he had gained a lot of territory of Rome. The people thanked him for all that, and therefore he was very popular.
He was handed the honor of ruling Rome his whole life. This probably added to his cockiness along with all the people telling him how great he was anyway. He knows he was a great leader, and he takes advantage of that status. But the ordinary people take advantage of him too. They see that the day depicted in scene 1 as a chance to celebrate and not do any work. They all come out to cheer him on his return back to Rome. They don’t work a lot anyway, but they see this as an occasion to party for days on end.
It wouldn’t surprise me that the people thought that he wanted to set up a monarchy so his name would be carried on. He didn’t want his reign to end, and that’s probably true to every politician in the world. The more power they get, the more power they crave. It’s never enough, and that is so true, especially for Caesar. Since he didn’t have his own family to carry on the name, he wanted to conquer as much as possible. Therefore the people will remember him. He wanted to be in the history books, and if his family name couldn’t be in it, he would just have himself in them. To make up for the loss, he conquers more and gains even more land.
The other politicians such as Flavius and Marullus didn’t like him, and that doesn’t surprise me either. They wanted a chance to reign and conquer, and Caesar would not step aside. They were so jealous of his power, and did what ever they could. They bossed around the commoners on the street, because that’s the only people that they can take charge of. The cobbler and the carpenter don’t exactly listen to them either, and they talk back. They know that Caesar is that man, and they don’t care about the others. Flavius and Marullus try to guilt trip them by saying how they can be so happy when Pompey’s sons have died. But in reality, they’re not happy about that, they’re happy that Caesar won.