Into the Inferno
Judas Iscariot, the man who killed Jesus of Nazareth, the son of god. Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius, two men who are known far less, but are no less important in the formation of history. These humans are all seen to have met the kiss of death with heinous acts left untouched upon their shoulders. Though Cassius and Brutus were not necessarily unjustified in their actions. The ninth layer of hell, as illustrated by Dante Alighieri, is reserved for those who betray their master. Though, unlike Judas, Cassius and Brutus did not betray their master, for they were members of the senate, speakers of the people. Ultimately, Brutus and Cassius were forced to make a bitter decision, but their master was the republic of Rome, not
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As the conspirators of Caesar’s death moved in to take his life, they wished not to take the life of man, rather they wished only to allow the life of Rome to prosper. The conspirators were educated nobility, and were elected by the people to speak for the people. It was the duty of the senate to keep the people of Rome on track for what they want, and to correct them if they strayed off of the path of Rome, for the people are the power of Rome, it is important to keep them in check, to keep them understanding of what’s best for the society. As what the people want is not always what the people need. In addition, after having killed Caesar, as Brutus was forced to his final lines of defence, he was left to kill himself as he felt both cornered, and unsure of his previous enterprise. As Brutus moved to kill himself, he spoke to his servant, stating that he “kill’d not [Caesar] with half so good a will.” (Shakespeare 78) Brutus says this because he …show more content…
For these reasons, Judas’ actions were unwarranted as he had not noble intentions, nor purpose in betraying Jesus. Jesus was known for being “good, [and] giving protection in times of trouble” he was not a man who was deserving of death, he was a man who would have contributed to the lives of many (Naham 1:7). Also, based on this proclamation, Jesus would have undoubtedly gone on to change the world for the better. Furthermore, Judas was very covetous in his betrayal of Jesus, having been covenanted for a mere “thirty pieces of silver” he wished only to be wealthy, not caring for whose life he may change when Jesus was removed from the world (Matthew 26:15). Many people would have been touched by the altruism of Jesus had he not been betrayed, however Judas was selfish, only caring about how he would benefit from Jesus’ death in the moment, as opposed to how everyone would benefit from Jesus’ life in the future. As Judas realized the magnitude of his betrayal, he had been “condemned, [and] was remorseful, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver...saying ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood...’ and [he] went and hanged himself.” (Matthews 27:3-5) It is evident that Judas had recognized his misactions, however they weren’t for the right reasons, he was only apologetic because he had been condemned, it was too late for him, and any aspiration of living a meaningful life had been led
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is the story about the men who conspired and followed through with the assassination of the great Julius Caesar. These men fear that Caesar will take the crown and become the next king of Rome. The roman people had a true averse feeling toward the idea of monarchy. So in order to prevent this they come up with a plan to end Caesars life, which is duly followed through on March 15, 44 B.C. Out of these conspirators there is one man that stands out to be a tragic hero, and that is a man by the name of Brutus. He was a great friend of Caesar who ultimately became one of Caesars worst adversaries. He betrayed Caesars trust and friendship when he agreed to be part of the assassination plot. A tragic hero is someone who is in a place of high standings or a place of power. This leads to a huge fall from greatness to death. A tragic hero must have many deep complex character flaws that are revealed throughout the course of the story. They then must ultimately accept responsibility for their mistakes; along with being humbled and enlightened. Brutus demonstrates all of the attributes of a tragic hero.
The second henious act Brutus commits is murder on his dear friend Caeser. After commiting the crime he said "If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of Caeser’s, to him I say that Brutus’ love to Caeser was no less than his". Brutus killed his dear friend because of ambition. If only today’s leaders had some ambition! He said that he love Rome more than Caeser and that is why he commited one of the most dishonorable acts a humn being can commit. After the act, Antony appropriately and sarcastically called Brutus an honorable man. Unlike Brutus, Antony knew what honor was. Even though Brutus knew that Caeser had turned down the crown three times, he still felt he was to ambitious to rule over Rome. If only Brutus would have had a level head on his shoulders like Antony. If anyone can call a murderer honorable, let them be known.
In Act 1 Scene 2, we see that Cassius is jealous of Caesar and detests
“Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (3.2.24) This quote reflects the motive of Brutus for the assassination of his friend, Caesar. I believe Brutus killed him not out of disrespect, but in a selfless act to protect Rome from the decree of Caesar yet to come. I also believe that he did this out of force from the manipulation from his “friend” Cassius. In Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar”, Brutus’ two most significant characteristics are virtue and unconscious hypocrisy. In order to fully understand these characteristics, it is necessary to analyze all other contributing characteristics, the manipulation of friendship that Cassius uses against him, and the motivations for
Brutus turned on his best friend and stabbed him in the back. In Julius Caesar’s final moments he noticed his best friend as a traitor. “Et tu, Brute! Then fall, Caesar”, these are Caesars last words as he is stabbed in the back by his friend. Since Brutus thought what he did was for Rome, he did not kill his best friend out of spite or hate he killed his best friend Julius Caesar so that Rome could live. Brutus was tricked into believing that Caesar would not be fit to be king, and would destroy the place Brutus loves, Brutus killed Caesar to protect Rome. Despite what Brutus did, he did only what he thought was the only thing he could do to save Rome. He thought not about his position he thought about the people. Yet he killed Caesar off
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
The tragic hero is one of literatures most used (and sometimes abused) characters. The classical definition of a tragic hero is, “a person with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. The person is doomed by the Gods or some other supernatural force to destruction or suffering. The hero struggles against the fate, but due to a personal flaw, ultimately fails in the battle against fate. It is my personal opinion that Brutus,as he is portrayed in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, is a tragic hero by this definition. I came to this conclusion due to the fact that Brutus shares many similarities with other tragic heroes in literature such as Oedipus, Hamlet, and Ralph from Lord of the Flies. All four characters share the two critical traits that are needed to be tragic heroes: a tragic flaw that eventually leads to a tragic downfall. The tragic hero was defined by Aristotle, yet the “invention” of the tragic hero goes to Sophocles.
Brutus was a devious man, even though what he thought he was doing was right. Brutus told his fellow conspirators to kill Caesar “boldly, but not angerly.”(3.1.256-257) Brutus was one of Caesars right hand men, and yet Brutus kills his own friend. When Antony asks to speak at Caesars funeral, Cassius says no, but Brutus tell him that Antony will speak, but only what Brutus tells him to say. Brutus also embraces the fact that he just killed his friend, and also tells the senators who had just witnessed it to not be afraid, but to stay because ambition has paid its debt.
Specifically, Brutus has too much pride in himself to realize that he might have a wrong political standpoint, and that killing Caesar might not have been the best option. “Stoop, Romans, stoop, and let us bathe our hands in Caesar's blood up to the elbows, and besmear our swords. Then walk we forth, even to the marketplace, and, waving our red weapons o'er our heads, let's all cry "Peace, freedom, and liberty” (3.1.117)! Brutus shows pride in his actions and thinks it will only bring out great in the world. However, Caesar is going to take the crown when he is slain by Brutus and the conspirators. Turmoil is inevitable which causes a war to break out and many people to
Brutus exclaims that the masses are worth more than an individual, that individual who is Caesar. In spite of those beliefs, Cassius offers him salvation. Cassius entices Brutus with the notion of a false faith, the end to his suffering with be at the end of Caesar's life. A dream which Brutus gladly fights when he utters, “ Let us be sacrificers but not butchers, Cassius. And in spite of the men, there is no blood”(2.1.173-175). Brutus offers insight into his notion of worth, he will kill for a righteous deed, an honorable action, but not slay wantonly. Brutus is a true martyr for a deceptive plan, when he says, “I have the same dagger for myself, when it shall please my country to need my death”(3.2.41-43). A person of high moral values, an individual who strive to accomplish his ambition, Brutus was the most honorable Roman. However, many would view
First of all, Marcus Brutus has the character flaw of poor judge of character. He cannot discern a person’s character or true motivation. He, however, acts on his judgments, regardless of whether they are true or not. Brutus feels that Caesar is too ambitious for power, and that he, along with the other eight men plotting the demise of Caesar, must prevent it, “And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg— / Which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous— / And kill him in the shell” (911). Brutus decides that Caesar must die because he ambitious. Ambition is not necessarily an evil and virulent thing. Ambition causes men and women to strive towards reaching an attainment. Brutus assumes that Caesar will turn his back on his supporters due to this ambition. One of the most famous lines in Julius Caesar is the dying words of Caesar: “Et tu, Bruté?—Then fall, Caesar” (938). If Caesar had truly turned h...
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...
Throughout the play, Brutus speaks about honor and his loyalty to his country. These two concepts become major conflicts for him when it comes to his friendship and loyalty to Caesar. Brutus life is conducted by the concept of honor. He constantly throughout the play speaks of how honorable he is and how honorable men should live. He 's very proud of how Romans view him as a noble and honorable man, who fights for what is right and is always following the moral and ethical code. Brutus ends up using the concept of honor and loyalty to his country as a reason why Caesar must die. He 's convinced that his countrymen will thank him for saving them from a tyrant and that Rome would be much better off without Caesar, but it ends up being a big miscalculation
The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius being the most important, assassinate Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, better known as Antony, and Octavius Caesar, Caesar's heir to the throne, revenge Caesar's death. Antony convinces the Roman populous to destroy the conspirators and eventually begins a war with Cassius and Brutus' armies. Both Cassius and Brutus commit suicide to save their honor, and Antony and Octavius win the war. The characterizations of Brutus and Cassius show a distinct contrast in their character traits and motives for the assassination of Julius Caesar. The play Julius Caesar depicts Brutus to be an extremely noble being who is well respected and honored by all Romans, even his enemies.
The injustice that Orestes and Electra mete to Aigisthos and Clytemnestra is similar to the injustice that humanity deals to Jesus. In Electra, Orestes states that he must "kill [his] father's murderers" (El. 287) upon Apollo's command. Upon murdering their mother, however, Electra and Orestes regret what they have done. Similarly, Jesus tells his disciples that "he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed" (King James Version, Matt. 16. 21). Jesus' murder is ordained by God, just as the murders of Aigisthos and Clytemnestra are ordained by a god. These murders are particularly brutal, suggesting that the murdered must experience gratuitous suffering in order for salvation to be attained. But the murderers are not spared from their own lot of suffering, either. Orestes and Judas confess strikingly similar regrets about their actions. Judas says, "I have sinned in that I hav...