How Does Brutus Justify His Actions

From this point on, Brutus has to justify the rest of his actions as honorable and proper for the wellbeing of the Roman citizens. Even though he betrayed Caesar, he has to prove to himself (and others) that he is still an honorable and noble man. The fact that Brutus had to debate whether or not to join the conspiracy influences his later actions that change what happens in the play. One of the most important examples of this is when Cassius urges the group to kill Antony with Caesar. Brutus disagrees by saying “… Antony is but a limb of Caesar. / Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius” (Act 2, Scene 1 Lines 165-166). The decision to keep Mark Antony alive was fueled by Brutus’s naivety and lack of knowledge of what Antony was capable of doing. Furthermore, Brutus did not allow the group to kill Antony because if they did, it would seem as if they were doing this for personal gain and not for the good of Rome. Brutus could not afford to the let people even

think that because he had a reputation to keep.
Allowing Antony to live ultimately led to the civil war in which several of the conspirators take their lives.

Brutus’s last words “Caesar, now be still./ I killed not thee with half so good a will.” (Act 5, Scene 5, Lines 50-51) let the audience know that his inner conflict was never really settled. Brutus addresses Caesar and tells him that his murder has been avenged and that he kills himself more willingly than he killed Caesar. In the end, Brutus realizes that he was mistaken when he joined the conspiracy and that his biggest mistake was trying to mask Rome with his individual views and characteristics. Brutus’s character is a prominent example of the recurring theme of private and public personalities. He gives up his loyalty to Caesar for what he believes will benefit the public as a whole. He is bothered all throughout the play about his decision and tries to correct it with later actions. When Caesar’s ghost appears to him, he faces death bravely because he knows that what he did was

wrong.
Brutus’s inner conflict revolved around his earlier loyalties and what he believed was best for Rome. This conflict and his actions after his decides to join the conspiracy is one of the best illustrations of the theme of personal and public appearance in the play. Brutus’s character is critical to the play because without him, Julius Caesar might have never even been assassinated. This conflict is especially important to the play as a whole since it influences Brutus’s actions and therefore changes the course of the entire play.