F. Scott Fitzgerald once said “Show me a hero and I’ll write you a tragedy” Most heroes possess tragic flaws and character traits that make them tragic. Literature throughout history depicts archetypal tragic heroes and qualities which are illustrated in William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Although Brutus takes part in killing Caesar, he remains the focus as a tragic hero of the Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare because of his naivety, internal struggle, and noble character.
Brutus’s naivety and trusting nature leads him to getting manipulated by cunning conspirators which illustrates his tragic flaws and disposition. At the end of the play when Brutus kills himself, he concludes that no one ever seemed
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deceitful and dishonest even though people manipulated him numerous times. Brutus says, “My heart doth that yet all in my life, I found no man but he was true to me” (V, V, 34-35).Brutus’s naivety and innocence blinds himself and allows him to get manipulated by cunning conspirators like Cassius . He develops trust with Cassius and others but gets tricked by their malevolent attitudes. His naivety is the reason he becomes the focus and tragic hero of the play. He tries so hard to establish trust between him and other people but it leads him to his own calamitous downfall. People betray him and remain deceitful while he stays loyal and committed to his cause. Brutus struggles with his internal conflict between his noble standards and guilt of killing Caesar which emphasizes his tragic qualities. On the day of the Luprecal, Rome’s citizens seem excited that Caesar plans to take the crown, but Brutus and some others disagree. Brutus and Cassius discuss this, and it reveals Brutus’s inner dilemma. Brutus says, “I would not, Cassius, yet I love him well./…What is it that you would impart to me?/If it aught toward the general good,/Set honor in one eye and death I’ th’ other.(I,ii, 82-86). This dialogue by Brutus demonstrates that he struggles between his friendship with Caesar and the fact that he knows that Caesar seems like a tyrant. This quote just introduces his inner conflict which leads to him to his downfall at the end of the play. Throughout the play, he seems guilty of killing Caesar but also thinks that it benefits Rome. As Cassius tries to convince him of going against Caesar, he starts to question himself about what decision to take. He seems to not sleep for days and it really bothers him. This internal struggle follows him until he takes the decision to kill himself at the end of the play. Shakespeare characterizes Brutus as a tragic hero because he deals with this conflict that reveals a lot about him and reasons for his downfall. Brutus illustrates his internal conflict at the end of the play when he kills himself. Brutus kills himself and says this before he dies. At the end of the fight between Anthony and him, his internal struggle comes to an end. “Caesar, now be still;/I killed no thee with half so good will.[Dies]”(V,iii, 50-51). This statement concludes the end of his internal conflict. He becomes very emotionally exhausted between encountering the guilt of killing Caesar and his noble standards that it seems like the only solution to his struggle is his death. This shows that Brutus remains as the tragic hero throughout the play. Through his many obstacles and tragic flaws, his struggles and life end. However, he dies with pride and also guilt shown by this statement. Brutus’s noble character and devotion to Rome’s citizens contributes to his downfall which makes evident of his tragic qualities because he remains focus of the play.
Brutus delivers a speech in front of the plebeians in the form of a monologue after the conspirators kill Caesar. He supplies the mob and Anthony with an understandable reason for killing Caesar. He wants to justify his acts so the plebeians as well as the rest of Rome take his side and come to an understanding. Brutus says,. “…this is my answer: Not/ that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.”(III,ii, 21-22).This quote emphasizes that Brutus possess the qualities of a noble character. Even though, he adored Caesar, his noble character and beliefs make him oppose him for the benefit of Rome. These character traits emphasize his hero like qualities that lead to his catastrophic downfall. He justifies his act in front of an angry mob of plebeians to show his loyalty to Rome. Later in the play, he follows through with the fight against Anthony knowing that he will die. Brutus knows of his noble beliefs and kills himself knowing that he devotes his life to Rome and its people. Brutus commits suicide because his noble personality. After he commits suicide, everyone gathers around him including Anthony, the leader of the opposing side. Anthony respects Brutus because his motives seem different from the others. His actions show that he possesses characteristics of a true Roman. Anthony says, “This was the noblest Roman of them all.”(V,iii,68). Shakespeare directly characterizes Brutus in this quote. As seen in the beginning of the play, he always put his loyalty for Rome before anything else. The others contained a great amount of envy for Caesar while Brutus only fought for the citizens of Rome and nothing else. This characterizes Brutus as a tragic hero because he finished what he started knowing that it contained a huge chance of him dying. Nothing stopped him and his noble character
blinded him from thinking practically. This unpractical thinking derived from his noble character resulted in his death which characterizes him as tragic hero and the focus of the play. Therefore, Readers perceive Brutus as the focus and tragic hero of the play because of his trusting nature, honorable personality, and internal predicament. These qualities contribute to Brutus’s downfall which characterizes him as a tragic hero and the focus of the play. Although readers perceive heroes as perfect and ideal, their tragic flaws always lead to an emotional or physical fall which makes them the focus or tragic hero of the story.
In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar could definitely be thought of as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is a character in a story that is high standing in society, but has a flaw that inevitably leads to their downfall. Julius Caesar definitely fits this description. He is a leader in Rome and has everything he could ever want. However, he does have a weakness which will be devastating to his life. There are many people who would like to kill him but Caesar is not worried. Julius Caesar’s flaw is arrogance and believes he is invulnerable. He also, right before his death discovers a discernment more devastating than the knife wounds, and finally he is and unsympathetic character because of many reasons.
...ymen, my heart doth joy that yet in all my life I found no man but he was true to me” (996). Because of his downfall, the punishment no one deserves, and his enlightenment the audience is meant to pity him and feel sympathy for him, for the writer will be effective in receiving the audience’s grief when a character faces trial the audience could not bear to think of such scenario. Brutus is a sympathetic character who is worthy of pity.
As a “speculative man of high motives and refined sensibility”(Catherine C. Dominic) Brutus does have his confusion of motives. Act I, scene ii, is the first we see his weakness, “his concern with reputation and appearance, his subtle vanity and pride”(Gayle Green). Yet the main bases of Brutus’s bewilderment of motives takes place in Act II, scene I, with his famous soliloquy beginning with “It must be by his death”. This speech may be the turning point in which Brutus feels better about the assassination of his once called friend.
Brutus’s tragic flaw is that he is very easily manipulated and persuaded. He is very naïve and allows others to swindle him because he feels that no one would ever lie or deceive him since he didn’t do that to anyone. His first mistake is believing the forged letters from the conspirators. This was all ...
The second reason why Brutus should not be a tragic hero is because he has a tragic flaw and this flaw leads to his ultimate downfall. The tragic Flaw for Brutus is his idealistic view of the world. He contracts this view about Caesar after Cassius persuades him by saying that Caesar will be a tyrant. Because of this, Brutus joins the conspirators and kills Caesar. This shows that Brutus, like other tragic heroes uses his tragic flaw and thus will cause his eventual defeat. Later in the play Brutus directs, as any ideological man would, to charge rather than wait for the enemy to attack. This is an excellent exemplar of the Brutus’s tragic flaw since Brutus did this so that he would not lose support in Rome.
Brutus emerges as the most ambiguous and complex character in Julius Caesar and is also the play’s tragic hero. In his soliloquies the audience gains insight into the complexities of his motives. In Brutus’s first soliloquy he states “It must be by his death and for my part I know no personal cause to spurn at him But for the general”(Act 2,scene 1, Julius Caesar). This highlights the internal struggle brutus is going through. He loved Caesar as a friend but yet he loved Rome more, he had to make a decision to kill his best friend for the good of the Roman empire.
Ultimately, Brutus’s tragic flaw was his honor, and his demise was his death. Brutus shows that he is honorable through his choices to murder Caesar. Caesar was his close friend, and Brutus cared for him. However, Brutus joined the conspirators because of his honor towards the Roman people. Cassius and the other conspirators had faked and sent letters to Brutus that made him believe that the public did not like Caesar.
A tragic hero is defined as a person of high social rank, who has a tragic flaw or flaws that lead to their downfall. These heroes’ downfalls are usually either complete ruin or death. Tragic heroes face their downfall with courage and dignity. While many characters in Julius Caesar could fit these conditions, the person who fits the role of a tragic hero the best is Marcus Brutus. Brutus develops into a tragic hero throughout the play, and this is shown though his qualifications of a tragic hero, his high status, his tragic flaws, and his courage in the face of his death.
In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, I saw two main characters as tragic heroes. First, I saw Julius Caesar as a tragic hero because his will to gain power was so strong that he ended up losing his life for it. The fact that he could have been such a strong leader was destroyed when he was killed by conspirators. I saw Marcus Brutus as a second tragic hero in this play. Brutus was such a noble character that did not deserve to die. The main reason why he did die, however, was because he had led a conspiracy against Caesar and eventually killed him. These two characters were the tragic heroes of the play in my opinion.
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).
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is the story about the men who conspired and followed through with the assassination of the great Julius Caesar. These men fear that Caesar will take the crown and become the next king of Rome. The roman people had a true averse feeling toward the idea of monarchy. So in order to prevent this they come up with a plan to end Caesars life, which is duly followed through on March 15, 44 B.C. Out of these conspirators there is one man that stands out to be a tragic hero, and that is a man by the name of Brutus. He was a great friend of Caesar who ultimately became one of Caesars worst adversaries. He betrayed Caesars trust and friendship when he agreed to be part of the assassination plot. A tragic hero is someone who is in a place of high standings or a place of power. This leads to a huge fall from greatness to death. A tragic hero must have many deep complex character flaws that are revealed throughout the course of the story. They then must ultimately accept responsibility for their mistakes; along with being humbled and enlightened. Brutus demonstrates all of the attributes of a tragic hero.
Throughout many of Shakespeare's plays, a tragic hero is identified; a heroic figure that possesses a character flaw that leads to his defeat. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, there has been controversies over who is actually the tragic hero. Many people agree that Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero. However, others argue and identify Julius Caesar as the tragic hero. After examining these two characters, a conclusion is easily drawn. Brutus is the tragic hero of this play because when a person who possesses such heroic qualities dies, it is a true tragedy.
In conclusion, Brutus is a tragic hero in this awe-inspiring play because he is burdened with countless character flaws that engender his inevitable awakening, enlightenment, and death. They also lead to his dramatic change from a despicable fiend, to a loved companion of Rome. Through massive loses, and profound change in character, Brutus is transformed into a kingly tragic hero.
A tragic hero is the character whose actions deeply affect the other characters and who creates a series of events that eventually lead to the character’s downfall and the downfall of his loved ones. Such a hero possesses a flaw in character that influences his actions and thinking and especially his judgments. In logically determining who the hero in Julius Caesar is, one simply must find the one character who fits the above guidelines. Marcus Brutus is the only one, and, thus, he is the tragic hero.
For even his good intentions and conviction that "did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake" could not convince the Roman people to adopt his worldview (4.3.19). And, despite the fact that Brutus "only, in a general honest thought and common good to all, made one of [the conspirators]," he had to die with his vision unfulfilled and with the Roman republic in a worse state than it started the play in (5.5.72-73). Due to the errors Brutus makes throughout the play and the harm that befalls him as a result, he represents the true tragic hero of Julius Caesar. For despite holding one of the few sets of good intentions in the play, Brutus ultimately suffers and dies farther away from achieving his dreams than he started from.