Julius Caesar Brutus Traits

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In William Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar” the character, Brutus, is held high in society and is respected; he is always in a high position of power. Before murdering Caesar, Brutus was still entrusted with a fairly large amount of power. It is seen throughout the play that Brutus speaks well, so one can assume that he is well educated. Despite all of these traits that are shown, and despite him appearing as if he is doing the right thing, Brutus was mistaken. Brutus, and his fellow conspirators, were unjust in murdering Caesar. The first reason why Brutus was unjust, was that there was no cause for Caesar’s death. The conspirators were plotting to kill Caesar even before he had the chance to rule Rome. Brutus, a friend of Caesar, …show more content…

Part of him may have even felt that what he was doing was wrong, but he was too brainwashed by what Cassius was saying. Obviously murdering the most beloved person in all of Rome was going to have consequences. However, Brutus was so caught up in the positive effects of the plan, that he completely ignored any of the possibilities where Rome would suffer as a result. He contradicts himself quite a lot. For instance, he murders Caesar, but saves Antony because he wants to be a sacrificer, not a butcher. “Stoop, Romans, stoop, and let us bathe our hands in Caesar's blood up to the elbows, and besmear our swords.” (3. 1. 106–8). When Brutus says this, he contradicts what he said not too long ago in the play about not wanting to butcher people. Boasting about a murder and showing it off to the Romans is not the actions of a sacrificer. The betrayal of Caesar should have been hard for the conspirators to live with, yet, the reader sees Brutus here celebrating the death. These actions show the flaws in Brutus which allows one to perceive him as the …show more content…

The slaughter of Caesar was when the play took a turn for the worse. Following this, Brutus showed a certain recidivism in which he continues to disturb the peaceful life that used to take place in Rome. His character would suggest otherwise, but he is the reason why Julius Caesar is a tragic play.

Works Cited
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Tobin, J.J.M. "Antony, Brutus, and 'Christ's Tears over Jerusalem.' (characters in
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