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Critically analyze the role of brutus in julius caesar
In what ways can the conspirators justify their plot against Julius Caesar
Critically analyze the role of brutus in julius caesar
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Is it ever okay to murder a friend for the so called greater good? Brutus from shakespeare's Julius Caesar, has to think about this question a great deal when he joins the conspiracy. I believe it was wrong for brutus to join the conspiracy against his friend julius caesar. Brutus was always known to be a noble man before and when he was in the conspiracy. One of the biggest mistakes Brutus make in the play is falling for Cassius trickery and joins the conspiracy. After joining brutus lost everything important to him. Even though he joined for the greater, it would have been better for them if Caesar did live.
Brutus was considered to be a nobleman and was always looked up to by many people. Brutus lived a simple but great life, and was known to have a wonderful reputation among the common people as well as the senators and the generals of Rome, Most commoners were followers of brutus and would follow brutus blindly and would believe Brutus most of the time. Brutus strongly believed in the republic and had never considered any other government, because to him there was nothing better
Most people who read Julius Caesar, believe he is a bad person because of the things he was said to be. Though the only people that talked bad of him were in fact Cassius, Flavius, Marullus, and the conspirators. After Caesar was killed a civil war took place between Antony and Octavius against Brutus and Cassius, in the story this took a day, Though in reality this took a long time to resolve and cause many problems for Rome, this would have never happened if Caesar wasn't killed. Also, since he was such a good military leader he most likely would have helped Rome expand and conquest more areas. Caesar was actually a really good leader and helped Rome a lot while he lived, he gave jobs to the jobless, and even created a new calendar system (History Book), that's not all he did
In the story “Killing Caesar” by Jon Herman, it is apparent that Julius Caesar was a Roman hero. Caesar had done many great things for Rome, like conquering territory and making it a place the citizens had pride to live in. Julius Caesar may have not been a hero like Batman or Superman, but he surely should be viewed as a hero in history forever. The senators of Rome who murdered Caesar even knew he was a hero. They only killed him because they were threatened by the great amount of power Caesar had. Julius Caesar had the approval of a high amount of Roman citizens, they all loved him. How could they not? He was a hero and an outstanding leader!
He was making needed reforms and did good things for Rome. When they assassinated Caesar they opened a door to corruption and less order. While Caesar wasn’t in the Plebian class because of all his wealth and power, he made changes that many of them liked. Caesar was true to his people and that’s why he was well liked. He treated them all with respect. With such a well-liked leader assassination or murder of him will make many angry and without such reasoning the Conspirators are left in a troubled
One friend kills another. Speeches are presented. A war breaks out. This is the story of Julius Caesar, the emperor of Rome who was killed by Brutus and a group of conspirators. Many argue that Brutus was a patriot, and many argue that he was a betrayer. People argue that he was a betrayer because he betrayed Caesar’s trust and gave a speech against him. However, when you think of Caesar’s personality, arrogant and slightly reckless, he could’ve made bad decisions and caused Rome a great deal of trouble. Brutus was a patriot to Rome since he did what was best for the country and even took his own life instead of running away. He put his own feelings aside to do what was right.
Would an honorable man murder his best friend? In William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Caesar started as an innocent citizen of Rome, but soon made his way to the throne. Caesar started bettering Rome, but certain men accused him of becoming too ambitious. The conspirators, the men against Caesar, brutally murdered him because of his “ambition”. Marcus Brutus was Caesar’s supposed best friend but led the revolt against him. Brutus is characterized in the play as being gullible, noble, and naïve.
Some might argue that Brutus was not a patriot, but a betrayer, Brutus claimed to have a deep love for Caesar, but he conspired with traitors and assassinated Caesar by stabbing him in the back. I can’t argue that Brutus did not betray his friendship with Caesar, but when looking closely at the evidence it became apparent to me that Brutus was acting in what he felt was in the best interest of Rome. Brutus struggled with the idea of betraying his friend. He did love Caesar, but was concerned that his ambition would destroy Rome. Brutus made the final decision to be part of Caesars assassination after Cassius deceived him by planting fake letters convincing him that Caesar was up to no good. Brutus felt that he must act and act quickly before Caesar was crowned king. Brutus had no personal vendetta against Caesar, he was only concerned with the future of Rome. In Act 2 Scene 1 Brutus is struggling with how he will handle Caesar when he comes to the conclusion that his only choice is to kill him: “It must be by his death, and for my part I know no personal cause to spurn at him but for
The definition of a tragic hero is perceived as on who is neither wicked nor purely innocent, one who “is brave and noble but guilty of the tragic flaw of assuming that honorable ends justify dishonorable means”. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus takes the role of the tragic hero. Brutus’s honor, nobility, and self-righteousness makes him “a tragic figure, if not the hero” (Catherine C. Dominic).
Brutus was a man of noble birth. He had multiple servants and was often referred to as “Lord”, which indicates a certain level of respect for him. He was a very highly thought of person in Rome. At no point did he ever betray anyone, although he did kill Caesar, he did it to better Rome, not to mislead him. Everything he did was for the advantage of someone else. Even after Brutus dies, Marc Antony says “This was the noblest roman of them all; all the conspirators, save only he, did that they did in the envy of Caesar; he only in a general honest thought and common good to all...” This shows that regardless of brutus killing Caesar, he is still considered noble because he had good intentions. Brutus was also the best friend of Julius Caesar, the most powerful man in Rome. Had he been a commoner, Caesar most likely would not have associated with him or trusted him as a friend.
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
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.
For most normal people, killing their best friend would not even be an issue, no matter what they thought was best for their country. If they thought something bad could be happening, they would talk to that friend and tell them what they think and how it should be resolved. No real friend would jump to conclusions and make such a drastic decision as killing that person. Brutus also did not value his wife, Portia. He was never home to her and, eventually, part of her suicide was linked to this.
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.
If then that friend demands why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." (3.2.19-24). His concentration on honor and nobility ends up being used against him by Cassius, who instigates him to kill his best friend. Cassius knows how naive and how moral Brutus is and he uses this information into making him help kill Caesar. Being naive and over trusting causes his first mistake and helps with his downfall when he refuses to listen to Cassius, who wants Antony to be also killed because he knows that he will seek revenge for Caesar. However, Brutus code of honor won 't let him approve the killing of Antony "Our plan will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius. We cut off the head and then hack the limbs, seem to kill Caesar in anger and then vent malice on his friends, for Antony is only a branch of Caesar."(2.1.169-172), he doesn 't want to be seen by the Roman people as a killer, but someone who 's doing what 's right for the people of
Brutus was a loving friend of Julius Caesar and wished anything but death on his comrade, but his love and dedication to the majestic city of Rome would force him to commit anything. He fights a war to defend Rome from a king or emperor's tyrannical rule. When the war was over, even his enemies saw that he was the most respectable Roman of them all. This (Brutus' body) was the noblest Roman of them all. All conspirators, save only he did what they did in envy of great Caesar....
Brutus was a man loyal to his country. He was very modest and did what he though was right. Although he can be swayed by other people, like the planted letters, he still thinks and acts on his own.
William Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, was mainly based on the assassination of Julius Caesar. The character who was the mastermind behind the assassination was, ironically, Marcus Brutus, a senator and close friend to Julius Caesar. But what would cause a person to kill a close friend? After I examined Brutus' relationship towards Caesar, his involvement in the conspiracy and his importance to the plot it all became clear. Brutus had one particular reason for killing Caesar and that was for the good of the people and the republic. Brutus had no personal reason for killing Caesar. Some of his most admirable traits were his morality and leadership skills.