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Character of brutus in julius caesar
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In the play Julius Caesar, Shakespeare granted much mercy to Marcus Junius Brutus, but was this how he really identified? Is it apparent that Brutus was really a man that did not want to kill Julius Caesar, and only did it for the good of the people, or did he truly exist as an evil man? Brutus in the play may have been very similar to Brutus in real life. He possessed and great amount of nobility, honorability and a copious amount of pride for his city.
The way Shakespeare wrote, it made Brutus seem like he did not want to harm Caesar. Gaius Cassius Longinus went to great measures to get Brutus to be on his side. It was essential to the plot for Cassius to have Brutus on his side because he was an honest and honorable man that many Romans trusted as well as admired. He carried out procedures like leaving letters for Brutus to discover and comparing Brutus to Julius Caesar to make Brutus think he was Caesar’s equal. The anonymous letters he left for Brutus were composed of degrading things about Caesar to make him come across as a very disliked man. While Shakespeare may have highlighted Brutus and let it be known of his greatness, he also hinted at his flaws. When the death of Portia occurred, Brutus stated that he “had the patience to endure it” (IV.iii.198). Marcus Brutus, like his wife, took his own life. He committed this because he was very loyal to Rome. Like a true Roman would do, he refused to return to his city in shackles; this showed that he had a great amount of pride. This scenario, however, could be take in one of two ways. It could be assumed that he was a very loyal man by this act, or it could portray that he was very stubborn and selfish. Shakespeare interpreted this as him being loyal and honora...
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...would not be able to acquire the time needed to mourn. The response he gave also made it known that he was a man that always stayed focused and placed his priorities in the correct order. While he had his wife’s tragic death haunting his thoughts, he knew it was imperative for him to keep his head in the game, and to focus on what needed to be focused on.
Marcus Junius Brutus was a man of his word that the Roman people loved dearly and looked up to. Shakespeare portrayed him accurately; he described him as honorable and noble. Even though Brutus had his faults and made his mistakes, he was somewhat of an authority figure to Rome, and this had been exhibited in the play and in real life. It is true that Marcus Junius Brutus killed Julius Caesar purely for the well being of the Roman people, and he truly did exist as “the most noble roman of them all” (V.v.73).
Throughout the play many characters are not who they turn out to be. Julius Caesar is a very good judge of character, he does not ruts Cassius, he says “ He thinks too much man, such men are dangerous”( shakespeare,1.2.195). Caesar foreshadows now dangerous Cassius is, Cassius is one person who stabs Caesar. Unlike Caesar, Brutus trusts people too much to see who they are. After Caesar 's death, Brutus trusts Marc Antony to give his speech, but Cassius says “ You know not what you do. Do not consent./ that Antony speak in his funeral. I know you how much the people may be moved/ by that which he will utter.” (shakespeare,3.2.333-335). Caesar was an amazing military leader, Brutus was not. Before Caesar becomes king, he gained land back to Rome “ Julius Caesar has just returned to Rome after a long civil war in which he defeated the forces of pompey” (applebee) Caesar led his military to victory and has the chance to take full control of Rome. brutus is a humble military leader company to Caesar. After Brutus won his battle over Octavius’ army, he left his men begin looting. Instead of helping Cassius’ army “ O Cassius, Brutus gave the word too early,/ who, having some advantages on Octavius/ took it too eagerly. His soldiers fell to spoil/ whilst we by Antony are all enclosed .(Shakespeare,5.3.5-8) Brutus had a bad call when he did not send his army to help Cassius. With Caesars flaw being
When Brutus betrayed Caesar for the good of Rome by killing him, he had no idea that he would regret it later on in his life. Brutus wanted to kill Caesar because he thought that if Caesar became king, he would forget who his real friends are and he would not pay attention to them. He also thought that Caesar would become too powerful and therefore did not want him to be king. This is shown when Portia says, “…Brutus hath a suit / that Caesar will not grant…” (2.4.41-42). Although Brutus had a clear conscience, the people of Rome did not. This eventually led to Brutus being driven out of Rome by the citizens. Not being associated with Rome anymore made Brutus’ life worse and he eventually took his own life as the only way to...
He has two opposing desires that he has to choose between. These are killing Caesar to preserve democracy in Rome and to save Caesar, since he is a friend of Brutus. A quote from J.L. Simmons that summarizes this well is, “Certainly the material lends itself to a conflict between private and public affections” (Simmons 64). Brutus wants to kill Caesar for Rome because the citizens of Rome want to preserve democracy and Caesar is preventing that by being dictator for life. A quote that puts this in other words is, “The ultimate factor in persuading Brutus to join the conspiracy is his belief that his countrymen wish him to act on their behalf” (Shalvi 71). Killing Caesar would be a choice made for not himself, but the citizens of Rome while saving him would be for himself and to preserve his friendship with Caesar. Saving Caesar would be a deed for himself and would strengthen his relationship with Caesar. He could have warned Caesar of the conspirators’ plans and put a stop to them. Brutus ultimately makes the choice of following through and assassinating Caesar. His plan was for this to be a honorable action, but it ended up negative on his behalf. The majority of the citizens in Rome did not take this lightly and wanted revenge for his actions. This is the main mistake made by Brutus that lead to his own
Brutus is a very cautious man. “Into what dangers are you leading me, Cassius, that you would have me look into myself for things that are not there?”(1.2.68-70) This quote is referring to act 1 where Cassius brings Brutus into the room and starts to talk about Caesar. When Cassius suggests to kill Mark Antony alone with Caesar, Brutus says, “Our plan will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius. We cut off the head and then hack the limbs, seem to kill Caesar in anger and then vent malice on his friends, for Antony is only a branch of Caesar.”(2.1.169-172) Brutus doesn’t want to just kill everyone, and be know as a killer, he just wants to do what he thinks is right for the people of Rome. Brutus was cautious, even near the end of the play when he was in his tent talking to Cassius,he told Lucilius and Titinius to go guard the door, until he had finished he conference.
Caesar and Brutus were truly noble people. Caesar was a dignified and courageous man. He gained his power through hard work and courage. However, Caesar was marked by a weakness: he wanted too much power. This weakness proved to be fatal in the play. Brutus, on the other hand, was a strong leader throughout the whole play. People listened to him easily and he showed his nobility by always being open to others. Despite his good character, he did make one fatal mistake in judgment. He killed Caesar thinking he would gain too much power, yet it was truly his friend Cassius’s jealously of Caesar that truly snared him into the conspiracy.
I believe Brutus is a villain. The fine line that distinguishes a person as either a hero or a villain, or even a good and a bad person, is unclear. That makes the play so very unique. You, the reader, have to figure it out for yourself. Since I believe he is a villain, I have to have clear reasons to think so: he killed a man. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? Brutus’s claim was that Caesar’s flaw was his ambition, and he also said that his
In the play the Life and Death of Julius Caesar (just as in all of Shakespeare’s tragedies) there is much death, much tragedy, and of course, a tragic hero. However unlike most of Shakespeare’s plays this time the tragic hero is not particularly obvious. Throughout the play a few main characters present themselves as possibilities for being the tragic hero. But as being a tragic hero is not only having a tragic flaw but also entails much more, there really is only one person to fit the mold. The character Brutus is born into power and is higher/better then we are. He has a tragic flaw that causes his downfall and at the end he realizes his mistake (a trait none of the other characters can really claim).
Brutus was a man of noble birth. He had multiple servants and was often referred to as “Lord”, which indicates a certain level of respect for him. He was a very highly thought of person in Rome. At no point did he ever betray anyone, although he did kill Caesar, he did it to better Rome, not to mislead him. Everything he did was for the advantage of someone else. Even after Brutus dies, Marc Antony says “This was the noblest roman of them all; all the conspirators, save only he, did that they did in the envy of Caesar; he only in a general honest thought and common good to all...” This shows that regardless of brutus killing Caesar, he is still considered noble because he had good intentions. Brutus was also the best friend of Julius Caesar, the most powerful man in Rome. Had he been a commoner, Caesar most likely would not have associated with him or trusted him as a friend.
Brutus put his trust in Antony to not turn on him at the funeral. He was lead to believe that Antony would only speak good of the conspirators and defend them for the actions they have made. He trusted Antony when he told him he would not express such hate and talk of the bad they did and then later turned against them for the vengeance of Caesar. Brutus told Antony, “You shall not in your funeral speech blame us, But speak all good you can devise of Caesar” (III.i.245-246). He told him that the only way he is going to be able to speak at Caesar’s funeral is if he speaks good of the conspirators. After Antony said his speech, the whole crowd immediately switched and sided with him against them. They wanted nothing more than for Brutus, Cassius and the other contributors to be dead. This reveals that Brutus is shameful for putting his trust in someone who was so close to Caesar. Brutus trusted that Antony wouldn't do anything and just imagined he would be to scared to step up and speak out. This leads to Brutus losing the trust he had for Antony and starting a war between the people and the conspirators. As the war was about to proceed, they all prepped for what was about to happen. Antony and his army completely dominated Brutus’ and lead to many of them fleeing for their lives. Many people died by genocide while other committed suicide. Brutus was among the ones of suicide. He no longer wanted to be alive and felt that he had lived and fulfill what he had wanted. People were dead and he knew he was going to be one of them. Brutus’ last words were, “Caesar, now be still; I killed not thee with half so good a will” (V.v.50-51). He wanted Caesar to know that he can now be at rest because the vengeance he was looking for has been given. Because of all the trust he put in the people that were taking advantage of him, he ended up finishing his life. This reveals that Brutus really did
During Caesar’s funeral, he is very respectful to those who mourn and sends his condolences to those who are very lost without their leader. In addition, Brutus knows how hurt Mark Antony is by Caesar’s death, so Brutus lets him speak at his funeral. Also,Cassius theorizes that Mark Antony may be dangerous and that they should kill him along with Caesar. However, Brutus declines his proposal because he thinks that Mark Antony is not a bad man and also thinks that he will have nothing left when his leader is dead. Casca says, “Oh, he sits high in all peoples hearts, and that which would appear offense in us, his countenance, like the richest alchemy, will change to virtue and to worthiness” (I.iii.159-162), this quote basically means that because of his honor, that he was very respected and loved by the people of Rome. Furthermore, Brutus’ honor and respect shows to all the citizens in Rome and he is mainly well known by these two traits. Overall, Brutus perfectly fits into all the categories that define a hero. Brutus is a true inspiration, not only to me, but to everyone who reads the
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...
If then that friend demands why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." (3.2.19-24). His concentration on honor and nobility ends up being used against him by Cassius, who instigates him to kill his best friend. Cassius knows how naive and how moral Brutus is and he uses this information into making him help kill Caesar. Being naive and over trusting causes his first mistake and helps with his downfall when he refuses to listen to Cassius, who wants Antony to be also killed because he knows that he will seek revenge for Caesar. However, Brutus code of honor won 't let him approve the killing of Antony "Our plan will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius. We cut off the head and then hack the limbs, seem to kill Caesar in anger and then vent malice on his friends, for Antony is only a branch of Caesar."(2.1.169-172), he doesn 't want to be seen by the Roman people as a killer, but someone who 's doing what 's right for the people of
Brutus is considered an honorable man by all those who live in Rome. He is a close friend of Caesar, husband of Portia, and is also a Senator. Brutus is drawn into killing Caesar by Cassius, who was jealous of Caesar's degree of power. Brutus was pulled into the scheme by letters brought to his house by Decius to make him think that the people of Rome wanted him to replace Caesar. Brutus also feels that Caesar is being given too much power and will destroy Rome's democracy. Brutus' reason for killing Caesar is to benefit Rome, he proves this when he states"If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." After losing to Mark Antony and Octavious, Brutus runs onto his own sword. He sticks to his beliefs, not altering them for others.
...s’ views and opinions very clearly. We are also able to see the flaws that he embeds. However, Caesar remains a mystery throughout the play as he is slain very early. Caesar enjoys being loved by the people and enjoys holding his status but Brutus wonders how the best power of Rome can be accomplished and turns to assassination and manipulation as it is the only method of removing Caesar. In general, Brutus is moral while Caesar is immoral.
The play Julius Caesar depicts Brutus to be an extremely noble being who is well respected and honored by all Romans, even his enemies. Brutus was a loving friend of Julius Caesar and wished anything but death on his comrade, but his love and dedication to the majestic city of Rome would force him to commit anything. He fights a war to defend Rome from a king or emperor's tyrannical rule. When the war was finished, even his enemies saw that he was the most respectable Roman of them all.