Marcus Brutus’s fatal flaw in Julius Caesar shows in his naïve idealism. It clearly shows that Brutus thinks too highly of his fellow man, believing them more good at heart than what they are proven to actually be. Firstly, he believes that, as long as they keep the number of deaths to a minimum, everyone will go along with their assassination of Caesar. He is so convicted of this that he declares after denying the suggestion to kill Mark Antony as well as Caesar: “We shall be called purgers, not murderers. / And for Mark Antony, think not of him; / For he can do no more than Caesar’s arm / When Caesar’s head is off” (II.i.193-196). This evidently proves not the case, when Mark Antony leads a mutiny against the conspiracy directly after Caesar’s death. …show more content…
Brutus only wants to employ moral means to fuel his cause, but in reality they really need the support. In arguing with Cassius over something they definitely require, Brutus also risks his friendship with Cassius, an ally he truly needs. The final instance of Brutus’s flawed idealism occurs when he lets Mark Antony speak at Julius Caesar’s funeral. By doing so, Brutus allows Antony the chance to rile up the plebeians to revolt against the conspirators, a chance he successfully takes. Because of his commitment to his ideas on honorable death, Brutus allows the mob to drive the entire conspiracy out of Rome. Although his naïve idealism serves as his fatal flaw, it also represents Brutus’s greatest strength as a tragic
Does his sense of patriotism really justify killing a friend and a major political leader? You may notice that Brutus isn't very sympathetic as he is defending what he did. The dramatic character has a flaw. That flaw maybe one single word, but there can be many parts to that word. For Brutus there are many parts of his flaw that make him the dramatic character.
In Julius Caesar, both Brutus, and Caesar die because they suffer from a critical main character disease named ‘hubris’. Brutus thinks of himself as a savior of Rome because he killed Caesar. When the conspirators knock of his door, Brutus acknowledges his visitors and he asks them to consider how loyal they are, “Sham’st thou to show thy dangerous brow” (Shakespeare, 2.1.78). His placement in this scene shows his way to seem in a higher standing than others.
At this point in the play, Brutus was making all of the decisions for the conspirators. He would not listen to Cassius when he should have. For example, if they would have killed Antony he would not have had to flee Rome, another thing he should have listened to is that Brutus should not have let Antony make a speech in act 3 scene 2 lines 73-105. Antony was able to use pathos during his speech to turn the people against the conspirators, while Brutus tried using logos. If Brutus would have used a different approach he would not have had the people turn against
Do you think brutus is a tragic hero? Well he is since he has a strong relationship with Caesar, his relationship with the citizens of rome is greater. For example,” This was the noblest roman of them all the conspirators, except him did that they did out of jealousy of Caesar; Only he, in general -honest thought and common good to all, made one of them His life was gentle, and the elements so mix'd in him that Nature might stand up and say to all the world,” This was a man!” This quote from act 5 shows how he was considered a tragic hero by anthony which was Caesar’s son.
One example of why Brutus is not a villain is because he shows compassion towards others. This is portrayed when he spares Mark Antony after Caesar’s death even though the other conspirators wanted him to be killed right along side of Caesar. Another time Brutus showed compassion was when he aloud Mark Antony to speak at Caesar’s
Corruption is defined as dishonest or illegal behavior, especially by powerful people, and just like its definition, corruption and power go hand in hand. The more power a person has, generally, the easier it is for them to be corrupted. Just like in Julius Caesar where power and corruption are very prevalent, and most of the leaders in Julius Caesar became corrupted by their power, but in some rare cases leaders have avoided corruption, these people are very valuable in society, and must not be taken for granted. Just like many other leaders in Julius Caesar, Caesar was corrupted by his power. He wasn’t corrupt in the normal sense, he was socially corrupt in the fact that he didn’t stick to the social norms of respecting fellow senators in
Brutus believes that Caesar will do more harm than good to the people, and reap benefits for himself. Brutus has already said this, but had said it in his own words, (II, i, 12-14). He has no clue if Caesar will use his power for the good and betterment for the people, or use it for his own needs and other
In the play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare Rome is struck with utter disorder after certain characters use ethos, pathos and logos to manipulate the people of Rome. One character who uses ethos, pathos and logos is Cassius to manipulate Brutus into joining the conspirators. Brutus also uses ethos, pathos and logo to justify his killing of Caesar. Last, Mark Antony uses ethos, pathos and logo to manipulate the Plebeians against Brutus and the conspirators. Thus, Cassius, Brutus and Mark Antony all use ethos, pathos and logos to manipulate one another and bring the people of Rome to their sides, resulting in total chaos.
Brutus realized the great harm Caesar could bring to Rome if the was crowned king. Although Brutus was easily persuaded by Cassius to go as far as committing a murder, Brutus did it because he thought that it was the best for Rome. Brutus does what he thinks is the absolute best for Rome which really shows his great honor and
Brutus also contains several other characteristics of a tragic hero. For example, Brutus possesses a hamartia. “Th’ abuse of greatness is when it disjoins/ Remorse from power; and, to speak truth of Caesar” (Shakespeare II.1.18-19). In this quote from the story, Brutus is saying that he believes Caesar would abuse the power of being crowned king.
This characteristic is one that directly applies to Brutus. Throughout the whole play he was manipulated into killing Caesar and this makes us pity him as we know his death was due to outside influence and not his judgement. His tragic flaw led him to believe that Antony would not rebel in his speech; however, Antony did rebel and started a war. We feel pity once again because we know that he was letting Antony talk because he trusted him, but even then he was wrong. The cause of his downfall was first trusting Cassius and then Antony.
(II, i, 53-55) which allows to say that he wants Rome to be just and do whatever it takes to maintain it away from any threat. Indeed, Brutus states this very clearly when he says, “If it’s for the good of all Romans, I’d do it even if it meant my death. Let the gods give me good luck only as long as I love honor more than I fear death.” (I, ii, 86-88), he explicitly says that the good of the majority is over any feeling or personal benefit which in this case is the love of Caesar for him and viceversa, and the throne. To conclude, Brutus is a complex character that is characterized by three recurrent traits: his well-intention, his hypocrisy, and his naivet.
Brutus has negatively affected the outlook of Rome and created more harm than good for the situation. Not only did it harm Rome, but it brought his own demise and hallucinations of Caesar’s ghost. Brutus’s speech to the plebeians after Caesar’s death, about his dilemma and his viewpoint towards Caesar, influenced the viewpoints of the plebeians and causes them to believe he is the best roman until Antony speaks to them. Brutus’s idealism led to his own death later on and brought him more misery than his idealism could
Caesar and Brutus have a tragic flaw that causes them to collapse in all directions, and die. However, Brutus fits the definition of a more tragic hero than Caesar. Because of his personality, and his heart, he is a hero, and a good person. He is much better than Caesar. Brutus’ only flaw is innocence, so that he believes in others, it makes him suffer in his heart, and he could not forget for the rest of his life.
Brutus is without a doubt the most noble character in this play. Nonetheless, his impeccable sense of morality also blindfolds him to other people’s sordid motives and makes him easy to be manipulated. Indeed, Brutus is easily manipulated by Cassius in Act 1, Scene 2. In hope to convince Brutus to join the conspirators, Cassius says “Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings” (1.2.150-152). As a result, Brutus starts to believes that it is his job to murder Caesar, as he says in Act 2, Scene 1: “It must be by his death: and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general” (2.1.14-16).