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A tragic hero often has three important characteristics: his
superiority which makes his destruction seem more tragic; his goodness
which arouses pity; and his tragic flaws. In the Tragedy of Julius
Caesar, Brutus is an excellent example of a hero with tragic flaws.
Brutus is superior because of his close friendship with powerful
Caesar and because of his popularity with the people. The conspirators
need Brutus to join the conspiracy because of his friendship with
Caesar and his popularity among the people.
Brutus’ idealism and goodness are evident throughout the play; he
sees only the goodness in people and naively believes others are as
honorable as he. Even his enemy, Mark Antony, comments on these traits
at the end of the play: “This was the noblest Roman of them all.”
Brutus’ tragic flaws are idealism, honor, and poor judgment which
are taken advantage of at first by Cassius and later by Mark Antony.
Brutus’ major flaw is his idealism, his belief that people are
basically good. His first misjudgment of character is of Casca who he
believes should not be taken too seriously. Cassius disagrees and
states that Casca just puts on this appearance: “However he puts on
this tardy form. This rudeness is a sauce to his good wit, which gives
men stomach to disgest his words with better appetite.” Brutus’ next
miscalculation of character involves Cassius’ motives. Brutus believes
that Cassius wants to assassinate Caesar for the good of Rome, while
Cassius truly wants power and a Rome not under Caesar’s control.
Cassius manipulates gullible Caesar with flattery of Brutus’ ancestors
and of his honor. At the same time, Cassius points out Caesar’s
weaknesses: his deafness, his epileptic fits, and lack of swimming
ability. Brutus continues his misjudgment when he reads the bogus
letters and believes that these express the true feelings of all of
Rome. The letter opens with this quote: “Brutus, thou sleep’st; awake,
and see thyself.” Had Brutus been a perceptive man, he would have
remembered Cassius telling him to allow others to serve as mirrors.
Brutus’ idealism continues to surface when he does not deem it
necessary to take an oath of unity to the cause. He says, “No, not an
oath. If not the face of men, the sufferance of our souls, the time’s
abuse if these be motives weak, break off betimes.” Brutus tries to
cover the conspiracy with honor and virtue. He is only fooling himself,
because the other conspirators do not share his motives. The turning
point of the play and Brutus’ major tragic flaw concerns his judgment
of Mark Antony. Brutus perceives Antony as “gamesome” and harmless
without Caesar while Cassius sees Antony as a “shrewd contriver.” When
the other conspirators want to kill Antony along with Caesar, Brutus
declares, “For Antony is but a limb of Caesar. Let’s be sacrificers,
but not butchers.” Brutus wants to be honorable which leads to the
conspiracy’s destruction. Another one of his mistakes is allowing
Antony to speak at Caesar’s funeral. Brutus sees no harm in allowing
Antony to speak after he has already spoken. Antony effectively arouses
the crowd’s emotions with Caesar’s body and will. His final fatal
errors are meeting Antony’s and Octavius’ army at Philippi and the
mistiming of his army’s attack, an event which jeopardizes his armies.
Brutus’ idealism leads to his downfall. His innocence and purity of
motives cause him to trust the motives of others. He believes he is
doing the right thing: what is best for Rome and the Roman people. The
traits that allow him to be a successful private man are the very ones
that hurt him in public life. He does not make quick and good judgments
because of his ethical and moral views.
Brutus is a combination of positive and negative qualities. First of
all, all Shakespeare’s plays, have a center of drama where someone with
a high sensitive moral conscience, suffers and dies because of a tragic
weakness, where in this case, is when he refuses to make an oath among
the conspirators, and the result of this, was Artemidorus finds out,
and second was disagreeing to kill Anthony, and the result of this was
Anthony giving them trouble. Furthermore, Brutus has a very good
characterization, which is a masterpiece, when he tries to convince
himself that Caesar must die for the good of Rome. Finally, and most
importantly, Brutus’ best qualities, drag him down, but he does
struggle for justice and self-understanding, and he proves himself. It
is obvious, that Brutus reflects the profound capacity of the human
soul or dignity.
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