It is said that idealism does not protect one from ignorance, dogmatism, and foolishness. In Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", this is exemplified by the character Marcus Brutus. Known as the most complex character in the play, Brutus kills Caesar, whom he loves, for the sake Rome, which he loves more. Though in the end, he is labelled by Mark Antony as "the noblest Roman of them all", Brutus is blinded by his idealistic point of view, and this point of view has a negative impact on himself and others in the play. Firstly, he is naive in his dealings with others, and fails to perceive people in a realistic and practical manner; secondly, he is easily manipulated into treacherous deeds if he believes it is for the greater good; finally, he is willing to do anything for the sake of honour, even if it is dishonourable. A thorough analysis of these points will prove that Brutus' idealism is his greatest flaw.
Brutus's blatant naivety hinders his ability to act practically and causes him to make crucial mistakes. His underestimation of Antony's resourcefulness, intelligence and devotion to Caesar is a prime example of that. When the conspirators discuss the assassination, the threat Antony could pose to them is considered. Brutus does not hesitate to disregard him as threat
"For he can do no more than Caesar's arm / When Caesar's head is off" (2, i, 182-183). Brutus' reasoning for this thought, is that Antony will not retaliate "for he is given / To sports, to wildness, and much company" (2, i, 188-189). He believes that since Antony is a fun, friendly person, he would not be willing to avenge Caesar and disrupt the conspirators plans; even though logically, that is the expected course of action. This is proven when Brutus makes the m...
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...n reason the conspirators want Brutus as an ally is because "...that which would appear offence in us / His countenance, like richest alchemy / Will change to virtue and to worthiness" (1, iii, 158-160). Brutus's presence will only make the murder seem virtuous, not that it actually is.
In conclusion, Brutus' idealistic outlook on life is detrimental to Caesar, the conspirators and above all, himself. He lacks the realistic mind that is needed to successfully execute such a bold political task; he can be manipulated into performing the most treasonous enterprises, if it seems to help Rome; and, he will do absolutely anything for the sake of honour. As noble as he is, Brutus's kind traits result in the downfall of his friends and allies. His character is "Julius Caeser" personifies the very old and very true proverb; the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
After a conversation with Cassius, however, he viewed Caeser to be ambitious. If Brutus would have rejected Cassius’ proposal and stood up for what he believed in, then he could be viewed as an honorable man. The second heinous act Brutus commits is the murder of his dear friend Caeser. After committing 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".
“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
Both Caesar and Brutus have a tragic flaw. In the beginning of the play a soothsayer is telling Caesar to beware the ides of march Caesar Responds “He is a dreamer; Brutus leave him. Pass” (shakespeare page??? line????) When Caesar tells the soothsayer this it shows that he does not believe that he could be harmed. Just like caesar, Brutus suffered a tragic flaw, his being trusting everyone. After Caesar is dead Antony wants to say a speech at Caesar 's funeral, after making the crowd violent says “Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot, take thou the course thou wilt.”(shakespeare3.2.266-264). Brutus trusted Antony to say some nice words about Caesar, instead he turn the crowd violent. Caesar and Brutus love the roman people and would sacrifice anything for them. after Caesar dies Antony reads “ to every roman citizen he gives, to every several man, seventy-five drachmas”( page lines title). Caesar loved the romans so much he gave them all a bit of his money after he died. Even though he was prideful he loved the romans as much as Brutus. Brutus saw that under Caesar 's rule romans were suffering and says” Not that i love Caesar less, but that I loved/Rome more”(?) He Explains why he felt
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 very selfish and self-centered person. He continually ignored Cassius’ and the conspirators’ ideas. He was the leader and everyone was supposed to go along with them. Not to mention that all of his decisions went against Cassius and they were all the wrong moves. Brutus refused to admit that he was wrong or listen to other people.
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.
Brutus has several tragic flaws. One of these tragic flaws is how he trusts people a lot. Brutus says that he “know[s] that we shall have [Antony] well to a friend” (1140). He trusts Antony will be a friend of the conspirators, yet he seems to not realize that Antony is obliviously against them, because they killed his friend. Brutus trusts Antony so much, that he lets Antony speak to the public alone. Antony turns the people against Brutus and the conspirators, leading to the wars where Brutus takes his own life. Brutus also receives letters, supposedly from the people of Rome. As he reads the letter out loud, Brutus remarks “‘Speak, strike, redress!’ Am I entreated to speak and strike? O Rome, I make thee promise, if thy redress will follow, thy receivest thy full petition at the hand of Brutus” (1118).
Brutus is a good man who is easily turned evil by men filled with abhorrence and jealousy. In the play, Julius Caesar, Brutus is a Roman who is easily manipulated, decisive, and proud. These contradicting traits of Brutus show us why the reader does not want to believe that Brutus is an antagonist in the story.
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’ final flaw is his idealism. His idealism leads him to believe everything that everybody tells him. His idealism causes him to believe in Antony and Cassius. Cassius uses Brutus’ idealism by getting him to believe that they are killing Caesar for the betterment of Rome. Antony uses the idealism to get to talk to the com Brutus’ tragic flaws are part of what makes him a tragic hero. In Julius Caesar, Brutus is a great example of a tragic hero. His tragic flaws are honor, poor judgement, and idealism (Bedell). In Shakespeare’s plays, the tragic hero and his flaws cause the downfall of the play (Tragic Flaws).
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.
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.
Brutus’ tragic flaw was his perception that all men were identical to him in their motives. This factored allowed his decisions to be easily influenced by others whose motives were devious. Cassius was able to convince Brutus to join the conspiracy because Brutus thought the only reason behind the conspiracy was to prevent one man from becoming “Rex.” He allowed Antony’s speech to occur because he was sure that Antony was motivated by the same “honor” which motivated himself.
Brutus commits three costly mistakes during the play. The first mistake that he makes is that he participates in the assassination of Julius Caesar. “People, and senators, be not affrighted. /Fly not; stand still; ambition’s debt is paid”(938). In doing this, Brutus does just the opposite of what he set out to do which is to protect Rome from the ambition of humans. This action also perpetually gives him the name of a traitor. The second and most important mistake that Brutus makes is that he allows Antony to speak at Caesar’s funeral. “And you shall speak in the same pulpit whereto I am going /After my speech is ended”(945). Not only does Brutus allow Mark Antony to speak after Cassius tells him not to let him have such a right, but he gives him the better time to do it as well. Speaking second is more strategic than first because of the fact that the man or woman that speaks second is delivering the speech that the audience will remember. The citizens most likely will not remember Brutus’s meager speech that is soon disregarded after Antony begins to speak. This act of arrogance is actually the backbone to the downfall of Brutus. The third mistake that Brutus makes is tha...
In his apostrophe, Cassius admits, “Well, Brutus, thou art noble; yet I see / [t]hy honorable metal may be wrought / [f]rom that it is dispos[e]d” (1.2.306-8), showing that he can see that Brutus is noble, but also that Brutus can be manipulated. Cassius can tell that he will be able to use Brutus’s patriotism and honor against him by convincing him that Julius Caesar’s death is best for Rome. Brutus loves his country above all else; his patriotism can be easily exploited. When Antony asks if he can speak at Caesar’s funeral, Brutus agrees, but adds, “You shall not in your funeral speech blame us, / [b]ut speak all good you can devise of Caesar / [a]nd say you do [i]t by our permission” (3.1.245-7). Brutus assumes that if he sets requirements for Antony, Antony will obey because Brutus is so innocent that he expects everyone to be as honorable as he is. Brutus believes that Antony will follow the guidelines he has set, showing that his naivety makes him too trusting; his kindness, which would be a good choice in general, is a fatal choice in politics. The innocence Brutus displays shows his fellow politicians how his strengths can be turned against him, which proves that he will not make an acceptable