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Julius caesar assassination essay
Julius caesar assassination essay
Argumentative essay about Brutus
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The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare has two characters that make a good case for a tragic hero - one being Brutus and the other Caesar. Brutus has the better argument because he falls the farthest. In Shakespeare’s play Brutus and Cassius are best friends. Brutus has a fear that ambition will make him King of Rome, which Rome had not had. Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero is a character of high esteem that has a flaw in logic, which leads to their downfall. While in the process the character is enlightened of their mistakes and after the play is often viewed with pity. The protagonist, Brutus, is the tragic hero because he is easily persuaded, has flawed logic, and falls from high standing.
In Act I, Cassius convinces Brutus to assassinate his friend Julius Caesar. “I am glad that my few words have struck but this much show of fire from Brutus” (894). The few words Cassius speaks gets Brutus’ mind turning. Thus showing how Brutus is easily swayed to make decisions. Another flaw Brutus has is flawed logic. “And therefore think him in serpent’s egg which hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous, and kill him in the shell” (911). Brutus is basically saying let’s kill him before he climbs any higher on the power ladder. This is faulty logic because we cannot clearly discern whether Caesar is going to take the position or not. Brutus also calls Mark Anthony a limb of Caesar. “And for Mark Antony, think not for him; for
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he can do no more than Caesar’s arm when Caesar’s head is off” (916). The logic here is that if Caesar is dead, Mark Antony is powerless.
The fall of a tragic hero is a major part in the character’s enlightenment. At the beginning of Act I, Brutus stood with Caesar at Senate h...
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...eam of keeping the Republic alive goes down the drain. With the fall of Brutus, Caesar is finally avenged. “Caesar now be still, I killed not thee with half as good in will” (997). The final words of Brutus are spoken to Caesar. The death of Brutus marks the end of the conspiracy and brings on the end of the Roman Republic.
The tragedy of Julius Caesar is a story of betrayal and death. In a tragedy there must be a tragic hero. Brutus fits the mold well; being of high society and falling far down and untimely death. Death by the very sword used on Caesar. Brutus is the tragic hero of this play because he is pliable, his logic is flawed and he plunges the farthest from Caesar’s friend to death by suicide. The play is best summed up Titinius. “The sun of Rome is set” (991).
Works Cited
Elements of Literature. Orlando: Holt, Winston, Rinehart, 2007.
A tragic hero must be a person of importance at the opening of any story. The story must then ultimately end in their demise. Brutus is a mighty man of Rome who is used to living in opulence at the opening of the play. He is not only well beloved by the Roman people, but he is also well loved by Julius Caesar himself. The Brutus is portrayed as an honorable man who is held in highly extolled among the people of Rome. He is even compared to the greatness of Caesar. “Brutus and Caesar—what should be in that “Caesar”? Why should that name be sounded more than yours? Write them together, yo...
For even his good intentions and conviction that "did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake" could not convince the Roman people to adopt his worldview (4.3.19). And, despite the fact that Brutus "only, in a general honest thought and common good to all, made one of [the conspirators]," he had to die with his vision unfulfilled and with the Roman republic in a worse state than it started the play in (5.5.72-73). Due to the errors Brutus makes throughout the play and the harm that befalls him as a result, he represents the true tragic hero of Julius Caesar. For despite holding one of the few sets of good intentions in the play, Brutus ultimately suffers and dies farther away from achieving his dreams than he started from.
Shakespeare’s complex play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar contains several tragic heroes; a tragic hero holds high political or social esteem yet possesses an obvious character flaw. This discernible hubris undoubtedly causes the character’s demise or a severe forfeiture, which forces the character to undergo an unfeigned moment of enlightenment and shear reconciliation. Brutus, one of these tragic heroes, is a devout friend of the great Julius Caesar, that is, until he makes many execrable decisions he will soon regret; he becomes involved in a plot to kill the omniscient ruler of Rome during 44 B.C. After committing the crime, Mark Antony, an avid, passionate follower of Caesar, is left alive under Brutus’s orders to take his revenge on the villains who killed his beloved Caesar. After Antony turns a rioting Rome on him and wages war against him and the conspirators, Brutus falls by his own hand, turning the very sword he slaughtered Caesar with against himself. Brutus is unquestionably the tragic hero in this play because he has an innumerable amount of character flaws, he falls because of these flaws, and then comes to grips with them as he bleeds on the planes of Philippi.
A tragic hero is the character whose actions deeply affect the other characters and who creates a series of events that eventually lead to the character’s downfall and the downfall of his loved ones. Such a hero possesses a flaw in character that influences his actions and thinking and especially his judgments. In logically determining who the hero in Julius Caesar is, one simply must find the one character who fits the above guidelines. Marcus Brutus is the only one, and, thus, he is the tragic hero.
“Brutus, a Tragic Hero” Tragic heroes are composed of the following characteristics: nobleness/wisdom by birth, a tragic flaw, reversal of fortune by the tragic flaw, and anagnorisis. Being excessively honorable can be a person’s tragic flaw. In Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, Brutus is shown to be a tragic hero. Born a nobleman, Brutus was Caesar’s close friend. However, he betrayed and murdered Caesar, which eventually led to Brutus’s death.
The defenition of a tragic hero a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. This defenition is perpetuated most clearly by one of the major characters. This character is the noble roman Brutus. Brutus is the tragic hero because of the fact that he fulfills the requirements of a tragic hero. He is a person of noble bith. He does have a tragic flaw, he does come to some understanding, and he does finally meet his end due to his tragic flaw. The tragic flaw of Brutus is his idealistic view, which ultimately leads him directly and indirectly into his death.
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.
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).
In conclusion, Brutus is the real tragic hero because throughout the play he is battling himself over good vs. evil. Even though he has tragic flaws he is still seen as a noble and respected figure in Rome both by those who wanted Caesar dead and those who did not. His ability to be easily manipulated led to the death of Caesar, himself, and countless others. If he had made his own decisions, he would not have ended up causing the chaos and tragedy he did. But, on the other hand he did have his own personal reasons for killing Caesar.
The William Shakespeare play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar tells the story of the assassination of Julius Caesar and the eight conspirators behind it. The play takes place in 44 B.C. in Rome. Marcus Brutus is the protagonist and face-man of the insidious conspiracy. He is also the tragic hero in this classic work of literature. Aristotle’s definition of the tragic hero is a character that has a character flaw, also known as hubris, and experiences a downfall from a high position in society due to this flaw. After this downfall, a tragic hero experiences an enlightenment. Brutus fits Aristotle’s description perfectly. Brutus has a severe character flaw and experiences a downfall from a high position in society. However, he is an honorable character that truly provokes sympathy from the audience.
William Shakespeare wrote Julius Caesar around 1599. The role of the `tragic hero' is extremely important as many of the characters in Julius Caesar exemplify the `tragic hero' qualities. Marcus Brutus, and Julius Caesar, display all the qualities of the `tragic hero': they are great men, with character flaws, and as a result of a mistake in decision-making many people suffer. In Cassius one can see these same qualities. Cassius can be seen as another tragic hero in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
In tragedy plays, there is a character who suffers from a tragic flaw in his or her personality may it be excessive pride, poor judgement, or both which eventually leads to the hero’s downfall and makes the character the tragic hero. In Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero of the play due to his tragic flaw which is his naïve and over-trusting personality, which he eventually realizes too late but still aims to prevent his loss of dignity.
Julius Caesar may have been a noble person, but the people of Rome did not think so. In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare shows the Caesar comes to an unhappy end when he is murdered by the people he loved most. Within this play Julius Caesar is portrayed as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is defined as “the main character of a tragedy [who is] usually dignified, courageous, and high ranking” (Novel Study Guide). Also vital to defining a tragic hero is that, “the hero’s downfall is caused by a tragic flaw” (Novel Study Guide).
There is no such thing as the perfect person. We may dream of such a person, but sadly, everyone has flaws. These flaws are what make us human. Something else that makes us human is our need for heroes. We attribute 'perfect' qualities to our heroes. In reality even our heroes are flawed. The closest thing to the idealized person, or hero, is the Shakespearean tragic hero. The tragic hero is someone of high standing, good character, and a flaw. While it may be only one flaw, it is often fatal. An example of a tragic hero can be best seen in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. Marcus Brutus is a prominent leader and noble citizen of Rome who leads in the assassination of Julius Caesar. We see that Brutus plays the role of the tragic hero through his noble standing, fatal flaw, and legacy.
Throughout many of Shakespeare's plays, a tragic hero is identified; a heroic figure that possesses a character flaw that leads to his defeat. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, there has been controversies over who is actually the tragic hero. Many people agree that Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero. However, others argue and identify Julius Caesar as the tragic hero. After examining these two characters, a conclusion is easily drawn. Brutus is the tragic hero of this play because when a person who possesses such heroic qualities dies, it is a true tragedy.