Caesar versus Brutus in Julius Caesar by Shakespeare
Throughout history Marcus Brutus has been blamed for the death of Caesar and
ultimate downfall of Rome; upon taking a closer look Burtus is not entirely to
blame. Brutuses actions were based only for good of Rome, and even then he was acting
on the false letters that were sent to him by Cassius. It can also be said the Cassius was as
much to blame as Brutus, after all he was the one sending the fake letters to him. But
most unlikely of all people, it was Julius Caesar that caused his own death.
Brutus was a loyal and trusted friend of Caesar's and also one of the main players
in the assassination of Julius Caesar. He was also the only one of that bunch the was
doing it for the good of Rome. The thought of the demise of Rome was so great, Burtus
was willing to kill a friend for no personal reason; "I have no personal reason to spurn at
him, but for the General" (II,i,10-14). He once compared him to a "serpent's egg"(II,i,32)
because the egg starts out harmless, but after time it h...
Brutus is loyal to Rome and also to his friendship with Caesar. He wants Rome to be led by a good leader. But he allows himself to be lead away with this thought by Cassius, who tells him that he is the better man and not
Brutus’ flaws are not numerous, but the flaws that he does have are major. He is easily manipulated, as shown by Cassius’ trick letters from Roman citizens. Cassius says, “I will this night/ In several hands, in at his windows throw,/ As if they came from several citizens,/ Writings, all tending to the great opinion/ That Rome holds of his name” (899). Brutus holds the opinions of his fellow Roman citizens in high regard and will defend their views with all his might. Cassius sends him these letters to effectively manipulate him. Brutus also does not make good decisions regarding the conspiracy. He allows Mark Antony to speak after he does in the short time following Caesar’s death. Antony has harsh and unforgiving words toward Brutus and the other conspirators during his speech which cause the ultimate decline of Brutus. His speech is a eulogy to Caesar and a belligerent attack on his enemies. “You all did see that on the Lupercal/ I thrice presented him a kingly crown,/ Which he did thrice refu...
Throughout most of the play Brutus is constantly internally conflicted. Does he do what he believes is best for Rome or stay loyal to his friend and leader? Should he assist in the murder of one person to benefit many? Although killing Caesar was in the end a bad choice, Brutus always tries to do what is best for Rome and for the people. However even though all of Brutus’ motives are good he still has the tragic flaw of pride, which ultimately leads to his downfall. The reason that Brutus gets caught up in the conspiracy is because Cassias appeals to his pride and flatters him with forged letters from the Roman people saying he is a greater leader then Caesar.
Each ruler of Rome seemed to have made poor decisions, and this is exactly what occurred with Brutus. Brutus became very naïve. All of the conspirators confronted Brutus with the idea of killing Mark Antony. They believed he would continue Caesar’s legacy but Brutus thought differently. Brutus added, “And for Mark Antony, think not of him, for he can do no more than Caesar’s arm” (Shakespeare, 24). He proposed that Antony was too weak for them to worry about while this was actually what brought about his fall. When the murder of Caesar had concluded, Antony wished to speak in honor of Caesar. Brutus agreed with the idea but Cassius was hesitant. Cassius insulted, “You know not what you do. Do not consent that Antony speak in his funeral. Know you how much the people may be moved by that which he will utter” (Shakespeare, 44). Cassius feared that Antony’s persuasive speech would turn the citizens against the conspirators. Brutus continued to ignore Cassius’s warning, but was proven wrong immediately. The locals were influenced by Antony and led an angered march to end the conspirators. Brutus caused their arrangement to fail by lack of
Brutus was not a very good military leader. His action when his army first arrived in
Brutus was a noble man, who did nothing but show love and devotion to Rome. He did all that was necessary in order to aid Rome in evolution and progression. He proved his pride and dedication by performing the one of the sacrifices, which was to murder his best friend.
Throughout Julius Caesar Brutus acts in accordance with his morals, which makes his eventual fall all the more tragic as Brutus genuinely believed his actions benefitted the future of Rome. Unlike most of the self-interested people around him, Brutus genuinely cares for the continued well-being of the Roman republic. Brutus sees Caesar's rise to power and imminent crowning as a danger to the freedom of the people in Rome since, "crown [Caesar] that, and then I grant we put a sting in him that at his will he may do danger with. Th' abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power" (2.1.15-19). Brutus knows that many past rulers have turned into tyrants and oppressed their people after gaining substantial authority, and fears that the same tragedy will befall Rome if the Senate crowns Caesar. And although Brutus conspires to kill Caesar rather than finding a peaceful solution to this disagreement, he tells the other conspirators to limit their violence as "this shall make our purpose necessary and not envious, which so appearing to the common eyes, we shall be called purgers, not murderers" (2.1.175-178). Brutus' constant requests to preform the assassination quickly and honorably reveal his concern about the fate of the Romans acts as the motivation behind his actions (unlike the other conspirators who "did that they did in envy of great Caesar") (5.5.71).
A living human will continuously be held accountable for their actions and at times, their thoughts as well. Despite Brutus' influences and manipulation tactics that are in practice regarding Cassius. Brutus is still at fault for the actions that result in death. Depending on impact from others, thoughts, and actions may differ, for instance, Brutus builds a relationship with Caesar. However, Brutus slowly decides to part from his reasoning, and political views provided the love for Rome is astounding. Consequently, Brutus fell into the trap that Cassius plants for the individual, which was to kill Caesar and protect Rome to a greater extent. Unfortunately, Cassius presents a terrible mistake, the conspirators are all wrong. As much as Cassius
Throughout this tragedy Brutus exhibits many character flaws. He starts off by attempting to be too honorable for the adoring people of Rome. He tries to protect him from what Caesar could potentially become, a tyrant. “Wolf but that he sees the Romans as but sheep, he were no lion, were not the Romans hinds”(903). At this point Caesar has not shown any tyrannical ambition. He has been shown to be all for the people without the venture of self gain. “Thrice did I present a kingly crown and thrice did he refuse” (951). He was slightly ambitious, but what human is not? Another flaw we discover in Brutus is that he is an easily swayed man. The truculent and virulent Cassius is able to alter his perception on life especially about his people and the ambitious Caesar. Every move this confused man makes is justified by some flawed logic. This is augmented in his idiotic choice to underestimate Antony and allow him to live. “For Antony is but a limb of Caesar let us be sacrificers not butchers Caiu...
In the play Julius Caesar, Cassius and the other conspirators take advantage of Brutus’ honor. The conspirators wrote Brutus fake letters from the public to get him to join them. Once he joined the conspirators, they used him to bring good to killing Caesar. This idea worked until Antony showed up. That’s when Brutus’ second flaw kicked in (Plutarch).
Brutus has several tragic flaws. One of these tragic flaws is how he trusts people a lot. Brutus says that he “know[s] that we shall have [Antony] well to a friend” (1140). He trusts Antony will be a friend of the conspirators, yet he seems to not realize that Antony is obliviously against them, because they killed his friend. Brutus trusts Antony so much, that he lets Antony speak to the public alone. Antony turns the people against Brutus and the conspirators, leading to the wars where Brutus takes his own life. Brutus also receives letters, supposedly from the people of Rome. As he reads the letter out loud, Brutus remarks “‘Speak, strike, redress!’ Am I entreated to speak and strike? O Rome, I make thee promise, if thy redress will follow, thy receivest thy full petition at the hand of Brutus” (1118).
be better for Rome while the others just did not want him to become more powerful than
Brutus was one of many Romans with noble bloodlines. Although Brutus was noble, he never used it to get ahead. There are many times when Brutus could have used the fact that he is truly noble but he didn’t. Many people argue that a noble man wouldn’t have killed Caesar. In some ways that is true, but Brutus’ case was different. A noble man would only for the good of others and that is what Brutus did. He killed Caesar because 7he was afraid of how powerful he could become. Even then he had a hard time doing it, and that is what separates Brutus from the other conspirators. Every other conspirator had little or no reason to kill Caesar. Brutus was willing to do anything for Rome. During his speech about Caesar’s murder Brutus stated “I have the same dagger for myself when it shall please my country to need my death” (III.ii.45-46). This shows how Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more” (III.ii.20-22). He was too passionate about his country to let Caesar turn it into a dictatorship. Mark Antony and Octavius recognized that Brutus was the one noble roman. In his final speech mark Antony said “This was the noblest roman of them all. / All the conspirators save only he/ Did that they did i...
Brutus has gained the most power by agreeing to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar. By doing this, Brutus has most of the senators wanting him to have the most power. For example, Brutus and Cassius were arguing about whether Cicero would join the conspiracy. When Brutus says, “O name him not! Let us not break with him, / For he will never follow anything/ That other men begin” (A2, s1, line 156-158). After Brutus says this, all of the other men agree to what he has said. This shows that the senators respect and honor Brutus, thus giving him power. They think that Brutus is just as much of a king as Caesar is to the common people. Brutus has also always been seen as honorable and very valuable to the Roman society and to the common people. If Brutus did, in fact, join the conspiracy, the senators believe that the common people will forgive him. For example, when Brutus says, “I know no personal cause to spurn at him, /But for the general: he would be crowned” (A2, s1, line 11-12). This means Brutus has no reason to have anything against Caesar then the wellness of the people of Rome. Brutus is an elected official who wants more for the good of the people of Rome than committing a terrible crime. The people, senators, and everyone in Rome respect and think highly of Brutus. Brutus has the most power in Rome because he is the most honorable person, and he is for the common good. At this time, Brutus has
This (Brutus' body) was the noblest Roman of them all. All conspirators, save only he did that they did in en...