Question

read the excerpt from julius caesar, act 2, scene 1.
decius. shall no man else be touched, but only
caesar?
cassius. decius, well urged. i think it is not meet
mark antony, so well beloved of caesar,
should outlive caesar. we shall find of him
a shrewd contriver. and you know his means,
if he improve them, may well stretch so far
as to annoy us all; which to prevent,
let antony and caesar fall together.
brutus. our course will seem too bloody, caius
cassius,
to cut the head off and then hack the limbs,
like wrath in death and envy afterwards—
for antony is but a limb of caesar.
let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, caius.
we all stand up against the spirit of caesar.
which conclusion does brutus’ excerpt best support?
○ mark antony’s life will be spared because he will be
useless without caesar.
○ mark antony should also be assassinated because
he and caesar are so close.
○ all of caesar’s followers should be put to death, not
just mark antony.
○ no matter whom brutus and the others kill, the people
will see brutus and the others as murderers.

Explanation:

Brutus says killing Antony (after Caesar) would make their course “too bloody” and calls Antony “a limb of Caesar.” He argues they should be “sacrificers, not butchers,” implying Antony will be useless without Caesar, so his life should be spared. Other options: Cassius wants to kill Antony (so B is wrong), Brutus rejects killing more than Caesar (so C is wrong), and D is not supported by Brutus’ focus on avoiding excess bloodshed.

Answer:

A. Mark Antony’s life will be spared because he will be useless without Caesar.