Peter Blood Ms. Penta English 1 Honors 4 April 2024 The Value of Life Legacies fade with time, yet Romans honor those whose stories are cut short. In the play, the Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, a tyrant is murdered leading to the downfall of Rome, and the death of hundreds. In this world, men constantly scheme, lie, and betray each other. Brutus, a traitor himself, still believes in honor. Through the characters' actions and dialogue, Shakespeare depicts a society ruled by honor at the expense of life. The successes and failures of characters are defined by their mentalities. Analogies and imagery are used to reveal the thoughts and plots of characters. While Brutus plans the assassination of Caesar, he uses an analogy to …show more content…
Society and common opinion taught Brutus that a commander should give up his life after a defeat. The misguided honor instilled in him by the flawed Roman perspective blinded him. He was not ready for Antony to try to avenge Caesar's death. This leads to the downfall of Brutus’s plot. He trusts Antony will support him now that Caesar is dead, and Brutus allows Antony to speak at Caesar’s funeral. Antony uses this opportunity to question Brutus’s honor. Antony says, “Show you Caesar’s wounds, poor poor dumb mouths, / And bid them speak for me” (III.ii.236-238). Brutus claims to be an honorable man, but the wounds of Caesar speak far louder than Brutus; the simple fact remains that murder is not honorable. Brutus is enveloped in this society of honor in death and detaches from the simple truths visible to the audience. This truth angers the crowd and sets them on a hunt to kill the conspirators. Brutus hides behind his high-minded beliefs and ignores Rome's realities, leading to his downfall. Many believe honor comes from one's actions. However, Brutus gets his honor from his …show more content…
I do fear it” (III.ii.163-164). This juxtaposition of “honorable men”, and “whose daggers have stabbed” shows the absurdity of the conspirators' claims. Dignified men do not kill unarmed men; they do not stab their friends. If Brutus truly desires honor, he must avoid violence. Once Brutus died, the Romans admired his honor. Strato, a servant who assisted in Brutus’s suicide, speaks of him, “For Brutus only overcame himself, and no man else hath honor by his death” (V.v.62-63). These men uphold Brutus’s suicide as a noble action that proves his honor, whereas others view it as a waste of life. Strato thinks Brutus’s death is only a minor achievement to another commander; the only way to make such a life valuable is to end it and deny others achievement. Brutus kills himself to defend his honor in a society that will simply move on. A killer’s honor means nothing to other murderers, no matter how hard the killer clings to his dignity. Shakespeare reveals the dangers of a society that places honor and glory above all else. His message about Rome, and the value of life, is significant to the modern
What is honor? Honor coins an individual’s nature. A principle that exists on the purpose of perception, a martyr willing to conform and accomplish. In the case of Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus was the most honorable of men. A brother to Caesar, but a father to Rome, he persist and perish for the future of his child. The idea of ignorance, and the belief of a false faith, turns this noble man toward a vulgar grave, with virtuous notions.
The second henious act Brutus commits is murder on his dear friend Caeser. After commiting 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". Brutus killed his dear friend because of ambition. If only today’s leaders had some ambition! He said that he love Rome more than Caeser and that is why he commited one of the most dishonorable acts a humn being can commit. After the act, Antony appropriately and sarcastically called Brutus an honorable man. Unlike Brutus, Antony knew what honor was. Even though Brutus knew that Caeser had turned down the crown three times, he still felt he was to ambitious to rule over Rome. If only Brutus would have had a level head on his shoulders like Antony. If anyone can call a murderer honorable, let them be known.
“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
Honor: “Honesty fairness, or integrity in one 's beliefs and actions.” Honesty can be a good and bad trait to have, being too honest can affect a person greatly. In William shakespeare 's play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Caesar returns to Rome having defeated Pompey. The Romans wanted to crown him king. later caesar is killed by conspirators due to his ambition. After his murder common people are enraged and a civil war breaks out across Rome. Many characters die along the way. Throughout the historical play Shakespeare points out many personality traits as characters struggle to gain or remain in power. A closer examination of two main characters reveals the results of human nature. Two main leaders, Caesar and Brutus share similar and
In the end, the characters of Julius Caesar all have more complicated relationships with honor than they appear at first glance. Brutus, while well intentioned and seemingly honorable, cannot see the line that separates honor from murder, Cassius who appears dishonorable in every way aims, at least in part, to protect rome and its people and Portia who appears dedicated loyal and honorable, commits suicide and believes the lies she is told about her self, beneath the surface of these characters, lies complex motives and twisted logic, which makes singling them out as honorable or dishonorable, nearly impossible, as they are very human, and humans are rarely one or the
Greed, ambition, and the possibility of self-gain are always constant in their efforts to influence people’s actions. In Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus, a venerable politician, becomes a victim of the perpetual conflict between power-hungry politicians and ignorant commoners. He is a man of honor and good intentions who sacrifices his own happiness for the benefit of others. Unfortunately, his honor is strung into a fine balance between oblivion and belief and it is ultimately the cause of his downfall. His apparent obliviousness leads him to his grave as his merciful sparing of Mark Antony’s life, much like Julius Caesar’s ghost, comes back to haunt him. Overall, Brutus is an honest, sincere man who holds the lives of others in high regard while he himself acts as a servant to Rome.
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).
Throughout the play, Brutus speaks about honor and his loyalty to his country. These two concepts become major conflicts for him when it comes to his friendship and loyalty to Caesar. Brutus life is conducted by the concept of honor. He constantly throughout the play speaks of how honorable he is and how honorable men should live. He 's very proud of how Romans view him as a noble and honorable man, who fights for what is right and is always following the moral and ethical code. Brutus ends up using the concept of honor and loyalty to his country as a reason why Caesar must die. He 's convinced that his countrymen will thank him for saving them from a tyrant and that Rome would be much better off without Caesar, but it ends up being a big miscalculation
This is just how Brutus plays by the rules, is honest and wins a respectful burial, even though he loses the battle. Brutus was an honorable and noble man with great character. Shakespeare, in his play Julius Caesar, shows readers what it means to be noble using government, politics and Brutuss experience and constant effort to bring democracy to Rome. He reveals what makes Brutus noble from the rest of the Romans and how taking challenges, risks and being strong, honorable, and able to face sorrows and having moral character is what makes someone noble. Brutus faced many challenges and risks to make Rome a democracy and through it he faced his sorrows like a god and held a good reputation in society.
After the killing of Caesar, Brutus realized that it did not make him any happy, but more depressed. Brutus says goodbye to his friends and all the conspirators. He tells Strato to stay by and hold to sword out for Brutus, who says that it would be a good idea. Brutus’s last words to Octavius were, “Farewell, good Strato--Caesar, now be still; / I killed not thee with half so good will” (V.v.50-51). Brutus says goodbye to Strato and that he is a god man. Brutus tells him to turn his head and Brutus runs right into the sword and falls to the ground. Brutus commits suicide because he would rather be seen as a honorable man than a honorable man being dragged through the streets of Rome. Brutus loved the people and Rome and did not want to embarass himself by being dragged through the streets of Rome. This leads him to decide that he would be better just to kill himself. After the killing of Brutus, Antony and Octavius go into the room where Brutus lay dead. Antony, Caesar's best friend told Octavius Brutus did not want to kill Caesar, but was manipulated into doing it by the conspirators. Just like Antony all of Brutus’s friends become more friendly and liked Brutus’s much more when it is dead than alive. “This was the noblest Roman of them all. / All the conspirators save only he / did that they did in envy of great Caesar; / he, only in a general honest thought / and common good to all, made one of them. / His life was gentle, and the elements / so mixed in him that Nature might stand up / and say to all the world, This was a Man” (V.v.68-71)! Antony states that Brutus was the noblest man and the conspirators acted out of jealousy of Caesar. Brutus was the only man to be himself and do what he thought was right for the people of Rome. Antony states Brutus’ weak nature as to the reason for his nobleness. Out of all the conspirator Brutus was the only one to believe Caesar's death was for the good of
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
Having an honorable reputation is the most important aspect of man’s character. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Brutus is an important political figure who is close to his friend and senator Julius Caesar. In spite of that, Brutus and a group of conspirators decide that it would be best for Rome if they were to kill Caesar before he became a tyrant. Undeniably, Brutus is the most noble of the Romans due to his true intent to help Rome and how he took his life to preserve his honor.
Romans place great significance in honor. People such as Brutus from Julius Caesar will sacrifice their honor if the people “choose Caesar for their king” (Shakespeare 1. 2. 81-82). Brutus along with the senators try to save Rome and go to war. Caesar’s increase in power causes the senators to despise him.
Brutus’ speech at Caesar’s funeral is said in order the people of Rome, to better understand why the blood of Caesar was spilt. “Only be patient till we have appeased the multitude, beside themselves with fear” (74). Brutus realizes that the assassination would not look good in the eyes of the civilians; until explained. “Our reasons are so full of good regard that were you, Antony, the son of Caesar, you should be satisfied” (76). He truly believes that what was done, had to be done, for the good of Rome.