Question

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Read the passage.

A group of nobles who feared Caesar’s growing power have murdered him. Caesar’s adopted son Octavius arrives. He, Antony, and Lepidus lead an army against Cassius, one of the main instigators of the murder plot, and Brutus. Now their fates hang on the outcome of one battle. Octavius's army is triumphant.

Before the battle, Cassius speaks to Messala, Brutus’s friend.

excerpt from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

CASSIUS
Messala!

MESSALA
[Standing forth] What says my general?

CASSIUS
Messala,
This is my birth-day; as this very day
Was Cassius born. Give me thy hand, Messala.
Be thou my witness that against my will.
As Pompey was, am I compell'd to set
Upon one battle all our liberties.
You know that I held Epicurus strong
And his opinion: now I change my mind
And partly credit things that do presage.
Coming from Sardis, on our former ensign
Two mighty eagles fell, and there they perch'd
Gorging and feeding from our soldiers' hands.
Who to Philippi here consorted us:
This morning are they fled away and gone;
And in their steads do ravens, crows and kites
Fly o'er our heads and downward look on us
As we were sickly prey. Their shadows seem
A canopy most fatal, under which
Our army lies, ready to give up the ghost.

MESSALA
Believe not so.

CASSIUS
I but believe it partly;
For I am fresh of spirit and resolved
To meet all perils very constantly.

What is the effect of Cassius's story?

A.The bad omens of scavengers foreshadow his defeat.

B.It creates suspense because Messala may decide not to fight after hearing about the omens.

C.The mixed omens illustrate his confused feelings.

D.It builds tension because Cassius withholds the fact that he planned Caesar’s assassination.

Answer 1

Answer: A. The bad omens of scavengers foreshadow his defeat

Explanation: In "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, the effect of this story told by Cassius is the bad omens of scavengers foreshadow his defeat. Cassius first says that some birds have been eating from the soldiers's hands and now have left. In their place ravens, crows, and kites have been circling overhead the day of the battle. He interprets this as a bad omen for the battle's outcome. He thinks that these birds are looking at them as "sickly preys".