Julius Caesar Tragic Hero Essay

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Contrary to the title The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Julius Caesar is not the tragic hero. The real tragic hero of the story is Marcus Brutus who was destroyed by his own idealism. One example is illustrated by supernatural events. After deciding to travel to Philippi to wage war against Antony and Octavius, Brutus is introduced to the Ghost of Caesar. The appearance of Caesar’s Ghost frightens Brutus however he is not deterred. This appearance is ironic because Brutus had stated that he wishes he could kill the spirit of Caesar and not the man when in reality, he killed the man and not the spirit. Even though the Ghost warns Brutus of the battle, he does not heed the warning. If he had listened and been more cautious instead of ideal, …show more content…

One instance of humor was when Casca described Caesar’s refusal of the crown from Antony. Casca explains how he refused the crown three times and how each time he appeared to lust for it more as the crowd cheered out in their rotten smelling breath. This event speaks to Brutus telling him that Caesar could become king very soon. An additional event of humor is after Antony’s speech to the plebeians and the crowd becomes filled with a murderous rage towards the conspirators. They see a man walking and ask his name to which he replies, poetically and indirectly, that he is Cinna the Poet. The people are looking for one of the conspirators, Cinna, and mistook Cinna the Poet as Cinna the Conspirator. Cinna is killed as a direct result of Brutus’s idealist decision to assassinate Caesar. Brutus is convinced that Caesar would not make an honorable king and fears he may become a tyrant if crowned. His idealism tells him that he needs to get rid of that which he considers ambition within Caesar, however he still loves and honors the man. Brutus’ misguided decisions brought on by his idealist views causes a chain reaction that leads to the unfortunate murder of Cinna the Poet and many other innocent

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