Evaluating The Power of Mass Media and Social Media — Cumulative exam
Question 35 • Hopkins FA American Literature (2026-2027)
Read the excerpt from act 3, scene 2, of Julius Caesar.[ANTONY.] For Brutus is an honourable man,So are they all, all honourable men—Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral.He was my friend, faithful and just to me.But Brutus says he was ambitious,And Brutus is an honourable man.He hath brought many captives home to Rome,Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill.Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept.Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,And Brutus is an honourable man.You all did see that on the LupercalI thrice presented him a kingly crown,Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,And sure he is an honourable man.
Answer
A
It is used as a public expression of praise toward Brutus.
B
It is used as a negative and ironic word to describe Brutus.
C
It is used to show Brutus that Antony thinks more highly of him than Antony does of Cassius.
D
It is used to explain how necessary and noble both the conspirators’ cause and Caesar’s death were
Explanation
Antony repeats that Brutus is “an honourable man” while presenting evidence that Caesar was not ambitious: Caesar brought wealth to Rome, wept for the poor, and refused the crown three times. The contrast makes the praise sound insincere and turns “honourable” into a negative, ironic description of Brutus and the other conspirators.
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