Brutus Character Analysis Essay

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.

William Shakespeare illustrates Brutus to have outstanding morals, but also displays Brutus’s naive and over-trusting personality which becomes his tragic flaw. For example, when Brutus suffers from an internal conflict on deciding if Caesar should be emperor or not, Cassius

As a result, Brutus follows his close allies on the path he considered to be the most noble. Moreover, this characteristic of Brutus makes him weak enough to eventually rely solely on the Cassius’ judgment to take down Caesar. Another instance where Brutus exhibits such a credulous personality was his encounter with the letters from what he believes to belong to the Roman citizens. He discovers the letters of the supposed fears of the Roman citizens on Caesar’s ascendance to power. Thus, Brutus feels that he is “entreated / To speak and strike,” and he promises Rome that “if the redress will follow [then] / thy full petition” will be at his “hand” (2.1.55-58). His reaction to those letters showcases his naïve and over-trusting personality due to his overwhelming belief that the letters originate from Roman citizens,however, they were in fact written by the conspirators themselves. Brutus’s credulous personality is a major factor to his future ruin as he is repeatedly manipulated by his closest allies for their

Brutus recognizes that the “enemies have beat [Brutus and the conspirators].. to a pit” and believes it is honorable “to leap in” themselves “than tarry till” the enemies force them (5.5.23-25). Hence, Brutus requests his servant to assist him in committing suicide and finally utters “Caesar, now be still / I kill’d not thee with half so good a will” (5.5.50-51). Brutus’s action exhibits his understanding of the killing of Caesar, and now views it as irreparable. Furthermore, Brutus takes notice of the fights and unending deaths around him all due to his naivety and failure to judge people’s evil side. As a result, Brutus views suicide as the most appropriate “method” to retain his honor and dignity; otherwise, he would have to encounter the Roman citizens’ criticization and would be humiliated for his actions. In addition, Brutus requests Caesar to be done with his vengeance and to forgive him as he acts solely for the best of Rome, displaying Brutus to be a tragic hero who failed doing his best for good. Furthermore, the play ends with Antony’s summary of Brutus’s character leaving the audience to characterize Brutus to be the one who suffered the most and died in a tragic way. Antony describes Brutus to be “the noblest Roman of them all…/ [and have acted] only in a general