Character Analysis for Brutus

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The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a famous play written by William Shakespeare in 1599. The story is about the conspiracy and assassination of Julius Caesar and it is based on the true events of Roman history. Marcus Brutus, one of the conspirators against Julius Caesar, is first introduced as a friend of Julius Caesar and Cassius. Although Brutus is an introvert and looks very shy, he is very intelligent and has his own way of thinking. Once he has made a decision, he will follow through and overcome all obstacles and oppositions he encounters. As the play progresses, Brutus’s character develops vividly. We see that he is a noble, intelligent, and loyal person. Brutus is a man of high integrity, and wins the trust of his people. Moreover, he is a good husband, a powerful military leader, and also a caring friend. Brutus does have his weakness also and that is, making bad decisions. His biggest bad decision made is not to kill Antony, and that leads to his downfall and death. Unfortunately, Brutus is torn between his loyalty to Caesar and his allegiance to the state. He emerges as the most complex character in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar and also the play’s tragic hero.
Brutus comes from a significant noble family in the history of the Roman Republic. One of Brutus’s ancestors is the founder of the Roman Republic. This noble ancestor drives the last of the ancient kings out of Rome. Cassius, one of the conspirators and enemies of Caesar, tries to manipulate Brutus’s noble character says, “O, you and I have heard our fathers say / There was a Brutus once that would have brooked / The evil devil to keep his state in Rome / As easily as a king.” (1.2.158-161). After being constantly reminded of his noble family lineage, Brutus feels...

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...ip, for he strongly believes that the assassination of the ambitious Caesar will bring freedom to the people and a better republic. When he makes a decision after careful thinking, he will follow through it and overcome all obstacles and oppositions. Brutus is also a noble man of high integrity and his people trust him very much. However, his trustworthy and honesty characteristics are often taken advantage of, and Brutus was beguiled at last. Finally, his poor judgment on people and being easily manipulated by his comrades lead to his tragic failure and death. Torn between his loyalty to Caesar and his allegiance to the state, Brutus becomes the tragic hero of the play. Although the play is not named after Brutus and he is not the protagonist, yet he plays a very significant role in it. Without him, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar cannot be so seamlessly well written.

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