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Critically analyse the role of brutus in julius caesar
Analysing brutus character
Analysing brutus character
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The plan, that Casca describes, that includes Brutus causes an abundance of pros and cons in the conspiracy. Casca comes up with the idea to add Brutus into the plot to take down Caesar because he knows Brutus is loved by many and is very popular. The conspiracy was that Caesar was not fit to be dictator of Rome. This, overall, lead to many advantages and disadvantages. One of the pros to adding Brutus into the plot to dethrone Caesar would be that, since Brutus is loved by majority of Rome, the people would listen to him. This is the main reason Casca wants to add Brutus into the plan. Another pro would be that it would be easier to for Brutus to get closer to Caesar, than it would be for Casca or Cassius to. This is evident as Casca states,
"Oh, he sits high in all the people's hearts/And that which would appear offence in us,/His countenance, like richest alchemy,/Will change to virtue and to worthiness. (I:iii:159-162)" Casca and Cassius are so set on dethroning Caesar, that they do not care how the people of Rome, that support Caesar, would feel. With Brutus on Casca and Cassius' side, they could convince the people of Rome to do and/or believe anything they come up with. While there are a handful of pros to adding Brutus in the plan for the conspiracy, there are more cons. One con would be that if they convince Brutus to be disloyal towards Caesar, then Brutus would be looked down on as a untrustworthy person. In scene two, Brutus explains to Cassius that he should be loyal to their new leader. Another reason would be if they were to succeed and dethrone Caesar, Rome would be led without a dictator. A country without a leader will not succeed in any means. Another con deals with the fact that Casca and Cassius are Cassius lies and rumors in order to convince Brutus to join their side. In the end, the cons will win. There is no way for a country to succeed with unloyalty. Casca's plan to use Brutus' popularity in order to dethrone Caesar will ultimately backfire. Rome, a the people know it, will crumble around them all.
Brutus and Caesar both want to be the rulers of Rome, however, the people want things a little different. In Act I Scene III Casca states they need Brutus in the plot because of his popularity with the people. Caesar and Brutus are firmly good friends. However, both of them can not be rulers of Rome. Casca wants Brutus in the plot because the people enjoy Brutus.
Summary opinion: Cassius is guilty with extenuating circumstances. He is overwhelmingly jealous of Caesar’s popularity and believes he must stop it by convincing Brutus to join his side. He does so by sending fake letters and speaking about the dictatorship of Caesar. His actions play the most prominent role for the cause of Caesar’s death.
Throughout most of the play Brutus is constantly internally conflicted. Does he do what he believes is best for Rome or stay loyal to his friend and leader? Should he assist in the murder of one person to benefit many? Although killing Caesar was in the end a bad choice, Brutus always tries to do what is best for Rome and for the people. However even though all of Brutus’ motives are good he still has the tragic flaw of pride, which ultimately leads to his downfall. The reason that Brutus gets caught up in the conspiracy is because Cassias appeals to his pride and flatters him with forged letters from the Roman people saying he is a greater leader then Caesar.
William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a tragic drama, set in Ancient Rome about the horrendous death of Julius Caesar. Brutus, leader of the conspiracy against Caesar, begins as Caesar’s friend. Cassius, instigator of the conspirator, manipulates Brutus into killing Caesar. Brutus agrees to this plan because of his plans for Rome. The bond between these two connects when Brutus agrees to Cassius about killing Caesar for the best of Rome. Cassius, very power hungry, comes up with a plan that will succeed in both of them killing Caesar. They both rely on each other because they want the power that Caesar has been requested to make the best of Rome. This dream of making Rome better was manipulated by Cassius to Brutus. However,
In order to prevent this from occurring Cassius chose to conspire to kill Julius. Unfortunately,this plan of his to kill Caesar could not be accomplished without Brutus. Even though Brutus decided to betray his dear friend, his motives however were pure. He did it in order to prevent the downfall of the Roman government. Despite this fact, it wasn't all that easy to come to this understanding.
He has two opposing desires that he has to choose between. These are killing Caesar to preserve democracy in Rome and to save Caesar, since he is a friend of Brutus. A quote from J.L. Simmons that summarizes this well is, “Certainly the material lends itself to a conflict between private and public affections” (Simmons 64). Brutus wants to kill Caesar for Rome because the citizens of Rome want to preserve democracy and Caesar is preventing that by being dictator for life. A quote that puts this in other words is, “The ultimate factor in persuading Brutus to join the conspiracy is his belief that his countrymen wish him to act on their behalf” (Shalvi 71). Killing Caesar would be a choice made for not himself, but the citizens of Rome while saving him would be for himself and to preserve his friendship with Caesar. Saving Caesar would be a deed for himself and would strengthen his relationship with Caesar. He could have warned Caesar of the conspirators’ plans and put a stop to them. Brutus ultimately makes the choice of following through and assassinating Caesar. His plan was for this to be a honorable action, but it ended up negative on his behalf. The majority of the citizens in Rome did not take this lightly and wanted revenge for his actions. This is the main mistake made by Brutus that lead to his own
Brutus’ leadership and compassion for others make him a popular figure amongst the Roman people, and it is his reputation that establishes him as an influential individual. For example, despite the fact that Brutus loves Caesar like a brother, he warily joins the conspiracy to assassinate him. He does this because he believes that Caesar’s ambition would become tyranny and that Caesar’s death is a necessary evil in order to preserve the liberties of the Roman people. In his own words Brutus claims, “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, Page 1116). In addition, Brutus takes the reins of authority from Cassius and becomes the leader of the conspiracy. He gains this prerogative because of his convincing tongue and powerful influence. His leadership is evidenced when he begins to challenge Cassius’ ideas. When Cassius asks the conspirators to “swear our resolution”(Act 2...
The conspirators thought they should kill Caesar because he was ambitious, and he certainly was. His conquests brought wealth and slaves to Rome. He was often seen with tears in his when
Although some believe that Brutus conspires against Caesar out of jealousy, Brutus actually plots against Caesar for the good of Rome. To demonstrate, when Brutus justifies his motives for the conspiracy, Brutus claims, “Not that I loved
Brutus's fatal flaw is his trustworthy nature. He joins the conspiracy not because he "loved Caesar less but loved Rome more." ( ) Brutus joins the conspiracy under the impression that he is preventing Caesar's tyranny and saving the people of Rome. He also trusts the motives of the other conspirators. In entering the conspiracy he is also responsible for the death of Caesar and the movement of the plot. The civil war is a direct result of Caesar's assassination and eventually Brutus's own death. Brutus's fall is definitely caused by his trustworthy nature.
(transition), Cassius uses a fair amount of trickery in order to recruit Brutus for his conspiracy. Many of the conspirators voice their desire to have Brutus on their side during the conspiracy. Casca states the benefits of working with Brutus by saying, “Oh, he sits high in all the people’s hearts, / And that which would appear offense in us, / His countenance, like richest alchemy, / Will change to virtue and to worthiness” (I,iii,159-162). The senators believe that anything they do to Caesar will look bad in the eyes of the people, but Brutus, whom the plebeians love, will make their actions appear honorable. In order to achieve this, Cassius creates a plan in order to prod Brutus in favor of the assassination:
He is disgusted by Caesar's manipulation of the commoners. He describes it as "mere foolery" (Act I, sc. II. The syllable of the syllable. 235). Casca agrees with Cassius that Brutus is an essential part of the. conspiracy. The sexy of the sexy. He says, "O, he sits high in all the people's hearts; / And that which would appear offense to us, His countenance, like richest alchemy.
One of the first occasions presented was the plotting of Caesar’s assassination. Cassius, Casca, Trebonius, Ligarius and the other conspirators all wanted to rid Rome of Caesar. However, not one of them could give the green light.” They needed one who held a high place in the hearts of the people, to support them and to justify their actions. They needed an “honorable” man. Without this man, the conspirators would not be called conspirators for they would not have had sufficient strength to see it through. In that, there would not have been a conspiracy. Marcus Brutus agreed to be their source of strength. This final decision to join Cassius and company marked the end of Julius Caesar.
Brutus feared that Caesar would alter his attitude when he was crowned emperor: "He would be crown'd/ How that might change his nature..." (II,i,12-13). Brutus was afraid of the possibility of a negative change in Caesar that could doom Rome. Cassius formed the conspiracy with motives based solely on envy, and he believed that Caesar was not going to be a good enough ruler. He says: "...it doth amaze me A man of such feeble temper should So get the start of the majestic w...
Caesar is always looking forward to succeed and gain power. As they parade through the streets of Rome Casca tells Brutus how Caesar was offered a crown by Marc Antony. Although Caesar did not accept it and pushed it away he would have really wanted it. “Then he offered it to him again; then he put it by again; but to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his fingers off it” (I.ii.243-245). On the other hand, Brutus was not ambitious. Brutus joined the conspiracy because he was afraid that Caesar’s ambition will over power Rome. “Shall Rome, &c.' Thus must I piece it out: Shall Rome stand under one man's awe? What, Rome?” (II.i.656). He explains how Rome should not be ruled by one person, as agreeing to the conspirators and thus, joining them