Honor And Honor In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

In Roman history, some elite men held certain values that they felt strong enough to take their life in order to defend it. In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, there are certain characters portrayed to show how a person’s values or ideas can change their behavior and influence some significant decisions. The protagonist of the play, Marcus Brutus, supports this thought by having an idealistic view on the world and by showing his patriotism toward Rome. In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Shakespeare uses Brutus as an honorable, idealistic man in order to show the depth that a high-class Roman man will go through in order to defend his honor.

Brutus was very naive and got influenced by Cassius very easily. Cassius was very smart and manipulated Brutus to make him agree with him. Cassius said, “If I were Brutus now, and he were Cassius, He should not humour me.” (Shakespeare, p.13). Brutus believed that his friend, Caesar had a negative impact on Rome decided to join the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. Even though Caesar was his friend, Brutus always showed loyalty towards Rome. Brutus' tragic flaw is that he is not good at figuring out other’s intentions, and trusted Cassius. If Brutus never listened to Cassius in the first place, he would not have joined the conspiracy, and might not have had a tragic end.

Antony and Cassius, unlike Brutus, never separate their private affairs from their public actions while Brutus tries to prove himself by acting only with respect to honor and virtue, completely ignoring his personal concerns. For example, Cassius disliked the fact that Caesar became “godlike” in the eyes of the Romans, so he leads Brutus to believe that Caesar had become too powerful and must die by sending him forged letters claiming that the Roman people support the death of Caesar, ultimately converting Brutus to his cause. At last Brutus ends up murdering his good friend in an act he truly believed was honorable. Marc Antony, who also shares in Cassius’ selfish trait, persuaded the conspirators that he is on their side, therefore gaining their leniency. He proceeds to persuade the plebeians of the conspirators’ injustice and gains support of the masses.

Brutus wanting to be very honorable is part of his tragic flaw. He will do crazy stuff just be honorable. While talking with Cassius about why he is not himself, Brutus said “For it let the gods so speed me as I love the name of honor than I fear the name of death” (I.II. 91-92). This quote shows that being honorable is a very big thing for Brutus since he would rather die with honor than die without honor. After talking with Lucius Brutus says, “It must be by his death, and for my part I know no personal cause to spurn at him but

As noble and great as Brutus might be, all tragic heroes have some tragic flaws and make some errors of judgment, which leads them to their downfall. In this case Brutus's great flaw is that he is too honorable, and he's too naïve when he is dealing with people. An example of an error of judgment is when Brutus underestimates Antony, and thinks him incapable of being dangerous after Caesar's death, "For Antony is but a limb of Caesar...he can do no more than Caesar's arm When Caesar's head is off."  This turns out not to be the case. One example of Brutus's excessive honor being damaging to him, is when he decides that only Caesar should die and no one else even if they seem to threaten his cause, as Cassius warns repeatedly that Antony does.

Many people can agree that committing murder isn’t an honorable thing to do. The thought of killing Caesar eats Brutus up both consciously and subconsciously. Brutus said “From the time you decide to do something to the moment you actually do it, everything feels unreal, like a horrid dream” (II, i, 60-66). The realization of killing his best friend creates some turmoil inside Brutus. Even though Brutus claims he is still being honorable while he is in the conspiracy, his true underlying thoughts prove otherwise.

He states that Brutus is just as noble and worthy as Caesar. (Act 1, scene ii). He says that Brutus cannot see what everyone else does and recognize his worthiness. Cassius and the other senators do not want Caesar to be king because they would lose all their power. Cassius is slowly luring Brutus in to do his dirty work. He builds Brutus’s confidence up to make him thing that killing Caesar is the right thing to do. Cassius is basically playing with Brutus’s head because he knows Brutus will listen. So, Brutus joins the conspirators in killing Caesar. Cassius tells Brutus that it is for the good of Rome, and that he is saving them from a dictatorship. Cassius is going for Brutus’s weakest point, his care and concern for Rome. He knows that if Brutus believes the people distrust Caesar, then he will be convinced that Caesar must be thwarted. Brutus knew that if Caesar was crowned, he would never have a chance, and he was power hungry. This is what ultimately leads to the tragedy of Julius Caesar. After Brutus kills Caesar off, he starts to feel guilty for killing his friend, thus creating an internal conflict. Brutus was so confident that the plan would go exactly as planned that he fell apart when they encountered problems. If Brutus and the other conspirators had taken more time to think things through, they probably would have been more prepared for the situation that was handed to them.

Brutus believes nothing should be done without honor, which he illustrates by killing Caesar publicly. Some would say killing for political reasons, is more honorable than killing someone for pure revenge. He

Brutus is truly “an honorable man.” He was initially resistant to Cassius’ suggestion to betray Caesar. Also, Brutus says, “not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.”(3.2.22) This proves that he only does what he feels is necessary to protect the Rome. In act 4, Brutus sees the ghost of Caesar, and this tells us that he is regretting his actions. He never felt right about killing Caesar afterwards. In fact, when he realized that he was wrong, he used the knife that he stabbed Caesar to take his own

In William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, many themes are developed. One character, Brutus, displays a significant theme that develops through the entire play. The theme that is supported most by this character is the idea that honor and respect are gained through performing works for the good of others instead of for personal gain.

In his soliloquy Brutus speaks of himself joining the conspiracy not out of personal reasons, but out of hope for the betterment of Rome and it’s people. Brutus states “It must be by his death; and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general.” (II, i, 10-12). When Brutus mentions that it is not for himself, but for the people, it ties in the idea of Ethos. It causes Brutus seem more honorable, trustworthy, and credible, all qualities that he embodies. Brutus truly believes that if Caesar is dead no wrong can come to the Roman republic and his death will help to improve the Roman people’s

Although Brutus placed confidence in what he was doing was right by his country, he was still manipulated by Cassius to undergo the assassination. Cassius and the other senators were the ones that had ill intent. Brutus, nevertheless, possessed honest intentions but was needed to quench the conspirators’ envious thirsts. “CASSIUS Well, honor is the subject of my story. I cannot tell what you and other men think of this life; but, for my single self, I had as lief not be as live to be In awe of such a thing as I myself.” (1.2.99-103) Cassius exploits honor to disguise the fact that he wants to eliminate Caesar by the reason that he is upset Caesar is revered as a god; moreover, Cassius thinks Caesar is no more qualified than he is. Cassius is a manipulator, but Brutus already thinks Caesar should not be king. “BRUTUS What means

Brutus possesses many ideals and mannerisms that make him the tragic hero in William Shakespeare’s tragedy. To begin with, Brutus has a deep sense of love for his city, and concerns himself with its well-being. His concern for Rome is actually what causes him to backstab Caesar. He worries that he is too arrogant to be an adequate leader, “I do fear the people/ Choose Caesar for their king.” (Shakespeare I.ii. 85-86). Secondly, Brutus has an undying moral compass that navigates him on his integrity driven choices. Brutus thinks long and hard before he joins the conspirators, and wonders whether or not it is the right choice and questions his choices, “Into what dangers would you lead me…/ That you would have me seek into myself/ For which is not in me?” (Shakespeare I.ii. 69-71). His strong beliefs are what ultimately convince him to join the conspirators, for the good of Rome. Also, Brutus believes in equality and respect. He gives a speech to the public because he feels they deserve to know the reason why Caesar dies, ‘And, waving our red weapons o’er our heads,/ Let’s all cry “Peace, freedom, and liberty!”’. (Shakespeare III.i. 121-122). This heroic quality is one of the things that drives him to be a good leader, and a good person as well. As much as these traits lead us to believe

Brutus loved Caesar and considered him a good friend but a bad leader. If Brutus would have known the conspirators were not thinking of Rome’s best interest he may not have made the decision to help. As Brutus says, “...Did great Julius bleed for justice sake? / ... But for supporting robbers, Shall we now / contaminate our finger with base bribes / ...I had rather be a dog and bay at the moon, / than such a Roman” (Shakespeare 4.3.19-28). By saying this Brutus is telling Cassius that he would rather be a dog than be a Roman like the conspirators. Like J.L. says in Shakespeare’s Brutus: A Man Torn by Conflicting Values ,“He insisted in the first place that they should act only with strict justice,” (Simmons 64). Brutus also has a tragic flaw. His tragic flaw is that he is gullible. After a short period of time the conspirators were able to easily persuade Brutus that their plan was a good idea. The conspirators did not need to give a lot of information or detail to have Brutus join. The conspirators needed Brutus so much that they were willing to lie to him. Like Shalvi says in Brutus’s Personal Failure Is the Central Tragedy ,“The conspirators need Brutus precisely because he is known to be honourable and will therefore lend colour to their conspiracy when the time comes to justify their action to the people of Rome,” (Shalvi 71). Also when Antony wanted to make the speech at Caesar 's’ funeral he said yes

Moreover, Brutus is shown to be a noble man yet again nearing the end of the play. These statements are all made after Caesar’s murder, and develop the previous theme: “Believe me for mine / honor, and have some respect to mine honor, that you may / believe”(3.2.16-18). A public request by Brutus shows his belief that all the plebeians will listen to him, on behalf of his honor, indicating that he believed that he still possessed honor. While the murder may have been the action that discredited his honor, Brutus believes that, since the murder was a noble act for the good of all Rome, he did not wrong anyone. Along with this case, Brutus gives the avowal that it is “ Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome / more”(3.2.23-24). This confirms that Brutus meant for the conspiracy to be an act that benefitted all of