The tragedy, Julius Ceaser, by William Shakespeare surfaces an interesting idea. The main character Brutus, has the tragic flaw of being too idealistic. That in itself, is perfectly harmless, but as with everything there is a point of excess. His excessive idealism brought down not only him, but the people around him.
To begin with, idealism is the concept of acting according to what you percieve as perfection. Brutus avoided reality by creating a world that he seen fit. During the murder of Ceaser he justified it by calling it a sacrifice, rather than the blood bath it actually was.
Act III Scene 1: (Brutus) “People and senators, be not affrighted. Fly not; stand still; ambition’s debt is paid.” As the audience realizes Brutus’s perception is not as it should be, fear and pity are evoked, making him the tragic hero.
At the same time, idealism can be healthy. Realism, the cotrary of idealism can be harsh and cause unnecessary stress, where as a normal amount of idealism can make life much more pleasant. When everything seems to go your way it may be hard to make responsible decisions. Act III Scene 1: (Cassius) “Brutus, a word with you. You know not what you do; do not consent...” Had Brutus been more aware of what was really occurring, Rome may have been much more prosperous.
As a result of Brutus’s lack of grasp on reality many innocent lives were lost. This is not a normal consequence of idealism, however it’s an example of the possibilities. Act
IV Scene 1: (Brutus) “Yes, Cassius, and from henceforth, when you are over-earnest with your Brutus, he’ll think your mother chides, and leave you so.” Consequently, the conspirators, destroyed the only man who could make calm from chaos, in Rome.
Brutus is the most fit character to be a leader in the entire book. Brutus is a take
Brutus exclaims that the masses are worth more than an individual, that individual who is Caesar. In spite of those beliefs, Cassius offers him salvation. Cassius entices Brutus with the notion of a false faith, the end to his suffering with be at the end of Caesar's life. A dream which Brutus gladly fights when he utters, “ Let us be sacrificers but not butchers, Cassius. And in spite of the men, there is no blood”(2.1.173-175). Brutus offers insight into his notion of worth, he will kill for a righteous deed, an honorable action, but not slay wantonly. Brutus is a true martyr for a deceptive plan, when he says, “I have the same dagger for myself, when it shall please my country to need my death”(3.2.41-43). A person of high moral values, an individual who strive to accomplish his ambition, Brutus was the most honorable Roman. However, many would view
The third and final act Brutus commited that left him with a dishonorable image, was that he ran and then killed himself just to avoid battle. In early Rome a man was thought to be noble and brave if he fell from an enemy’s sword, not if he ran and commited suicide. Any noble man would have found another way.
The infamous line from William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, ”Et tu, Brute?” is seen to be the anthem of betrayal since it’s first appearance in 1599. Every way you look at it, Brutus killed Caesar, period. From an outsider’s perspective, this is seen as betrayal. But this quote from the play proves more so that Brutus wasn’t a traitor. Although the line is said with the sorrow of one being betrayer, it proves as well the love Brutus and Caesar shared. As he died, Caesar didn’t sa...
A few of the characteristics of a tragic hero that Brutus fits are that he is of noble birth, he has suffered a catastrophe, and he has a tragic flaw. Brutus is a descendant of Lucius Junius Brutus who is a founder of the Roman republic and with that had expelled the monarchy in Rome. A quote from Cassius that reveals this is, “There was a Brutus once that would have brooked Th’ eternal devil
Because of Shakespeare's popularity among scholars and literary critics, his plays have been studied time after time. In the four hundred or so years since they were written, Shakespeare's plays and other literary masterpieces have been categorized. Many of them, including Shakespeare's portrayal of Julius Caesar's murder and the resulting events for Rome and for Caesar's conspirators, have been put into the "tragedies" category. According to the specifications and qualifications for a Shakespearean tragedy, Brutus, one of the men who conspired against Julius Caesar, can be considered a tragic hero. Despite the fact that Brutus can be considered a tragic hero, I don't feel that he has the qualities and traits of a true hero.
were all the wrong moves. Brutus refused to admit that he was wrong or listen to other
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).
however, differ considerably. The goal of Utopia is to illustrate the maintenance of an “ideal”
The tragic hero is one of literatures most used (and sometimes abused) characters. The classical definition of a tragic hero is, “a person with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. The person is doomed by the Gods or some other supernatural force to destruction or suffering. The hero struggles against the fate, but due to a personal flaw, ultimately fails in the battle against fate. It is my personal opinion that Brutus,as he is portrayed in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, is a tragic hero by this definition. I came to this conclusion due to the fact that Brutus shares many similarities with other tragic heroes in literature such as Oedipus, Hamlet, and Ralph from Lord of the Flies. All four characters share the two critical traits that are needed to be tragic heroes: a tragic flaw that eventually leads to a tragic downfall. The tragic hero was defined by Aristotle, yet the “invention” of the tragic hero goes to Sophocles.
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).
Moreover, Brutus is considered a tragic hero first because of his numerous character flaws or hubrises. An example is Brutus’s flawed logic. By even deciding to kill Caesar for what he is ‘going’ to do, yet not by what he has done, Brutus sets himself up for failure. “‘And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg which hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous, and kill him in shell’”(911). Brutus’s reasoning for murdering Caesar in such cold blood is because he is afraid of what he could do or what he could become. However, this is clearly faulty logic, fo...
There is no such thing as the perfect person. We may dream of such a person, but sadly, everyone has flaws. These flaws are what make us human. Something else that makes us human is our need for heroes. We attribute 'perfect' qualities to our heroes. In reality even our heroes are flawed. The closest thing to the idealized person, or hero, is the Shakespearean tragic hero. The tragic hero is someone of high standing, good character, and a flaw. While it may be only one flaw, it is often fatal. An example of a tragic hero can be best seen in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. Marcus Brutus is a prominent leader and noble citizen of Rome who leads in the assassination of Julius Caesar. We see that Brutus plays the role of the tragic hero through his noble standing, fatal flaw, and legacy.
will change to virtue and to worthiness" (Act I, sc. III, 157-160). See also. & nbsp ; Brutus is the only conspirator who does not act out of jealousy and envy.
“In the place where idealism and realism meet, that is where there is the greatest evolutionary tension.” Idealism prioritizes ideals, social reforms and morals, by wanting to benefit not just yourself, but the world around you, believing people are generally good. On the contrary, realism gives priority to national interest and security with emphasis on promoting one’s own power and influence by assuming that people are egocentric by nature. Based on the definitions stated above, idealism and realism are significantly different from each other and their divergence of thought is more apparent when various proponents of each such as Woodrow Wilson, Henry Lodge, Barack Obama and George W. Bush have varied outlooks on comparable issues in politics. Subsequently, an idealist’s reaction to a particular issue would be a lot different than a realist’s response. Therefore, idealism deals with normative ideas and allows for improvements in the progress of not only a single state, but the whole world, however realism solely focuses on the benefits of one’s own nation.