In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, the reoccurring dog image is used to show the reader a theme of stupidity. In an archetypal sense, the dog is a symbol for loyalty, a friend to mankind. It can also be stupid, vicious, and irrational. Shakespeare chooses to use the destructive image of the stupid dog to represent mainly the peasants, but also to represent anyone who behaves in a primal, instinctive way. For instance, in Act II, the soothsayer relates the crowd that follows Caesar to dogs that follow at the heels of man. Next, in act IV, Brutus states that he would rather be a dog than a Roman who takes bribes in response the accusations of Cassius. Finally, in Act V, Antony compares the senators to dogs because of the way they betray Caesar, calling them dogs that fawned at Caesars feet.
Dog imagery is used in Act II to represent the many people who blindly follow at Caesar's heels. The town soothsayer warns Portia to get off the streets because, “The throng that follows Caesar at the heels, of senators, of praetors, common suitors… could crush a man” (II; iv; 35-37). A dog can not live by itself. It is a pack animal, and it thrives through the relationships it has with companions. Together, the dogs are much stronger than if they were one, but they also are more primal, more instinctive, because they must compete with the others in the pack.
The citizens of Rome are the same way. While they may not be competing with each other, mob mentality takes over, and as the number of people in the “pack” increases, the group IQ goes down. The mob mentality is a primal instinct that lives inside every living creature, including the dog. As one member of the pack begins to do something, the other members see it as being a good idea, and will generally follow. The citizens begin to act on instinct, often irrationally following what seems to be a good idea, just because the rest of the group believes that it is. As the quote says, the mentality affects everyone, even the senators.
However, the senators seem to think that they are above the metaphorical dogs, the lowly citizens. In Act IV, after Cassius accuses him of taking bribes, Brutus replies, “I had rather be a dog and bay the moon than such a Roman” (IV; iii; 26-27). By mentioning the dog howling at the moon, he is making a reference to the uncivilized nature of the dog. A truly educated, noble Roman would never resort to that sort of behavior, at least in Brutus' mind.
Even though they see themselves as being more civilized than the commoners, the senators are accused by one of their fellow noblemen, Antony. Just after the two armies confront eachother in Act V, Brutus and his fellow conspirators are accused of having, “fawned like hounds, and bowed like bondmen, kissing Caesar's feet,” (V; i; 41-43). In this passage, the hound is a metaphor for the peasants, because of the way that the murderers betrayed Caesar, much like a dog would kill a companion in an act brought on solely by power for hunger. It is in a dog's primal instinct to do what is best for itself, without thinking of others or the consequences of its actions. The senators were thinking only of the present and acting on instinct, rather than realizing that the murder would lead to civil war.
Shakespeare uses the image of the dog again and again to illustrate the primal, stupid nature that can take over anyone. It is not only the commoners who we see as having this harmful attribute, but the senators and the generals as well. Shakespeare incorporates this image into his play to warn Elizabethan England against doing what the people have the power to do. At any moment, in an act of complete instinct, Elizabeth could have been murdered, like Caesar, and it would have plunged England into civil war. While the dog is man's best friend, we must realize that it is in the dog's nature to act without thinking, and that is the way it is supposed to be; but if man acts in the same primitive way, the repercussions can be devastating.
