“We’ll attack when we’re told, And submit should he scold, For we’re old Pa Ubu’s dogs-of-war” (Taylor 31) is the mantra and role of Brutus from “Ubu and the Truth Commission” by Jane Taylor. This play tells the complicated story of South African politics and highlights the failures of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in its attempts to heal the wounds of South Africa and bring justice in the transition from Apartheid. In Act Five: Scene One we see the condemnation and trial of Brutus, the three-headed dog and co-conspirator of Pa Ubu, and through this can draw a direct parallel to the real-life difficulties that were encountered by South Africa when trying the political players involved in Apartheid. Taylor uses this …show more content…
Looking into the sentencing of this Brutus helps to draw even more parallels to real-life instances that the TRC came across. The sentence that was delivered upon the First Brutus was two hundred and twelve years imprisonment, due to the fact that this First Brutus was the source that performed these acts, and the victims had identified him. The two-hundred-and-twelve-year sentence is not an arbitrary number, but was shaped after the sentence that was handed down to Eugene De Kock. De Kock was the commander of Section C1 of the South African police, a secret force that was responsible for multiple bombings and murders during the height of apartheid (Gellhorn, Murrow, Mitford, Hersh, and Schlosser 190). De Kock was a ruthless man who was associated with first hand kidnapping, torture, and murder of known opponents of the government, just like the foot soldier role that the first head of Brutus represents. By assigning a life-like sentence to this head of Brutus Jane Taylor highlights the reality of the court system at the end of apartheid, and helps to bring about a sense of justice served upon the first head of Brutus. The second head of Brutus was described as being a high member in the chain of command of the military. He was not one of the people out on the assaults that took place, but rather was behind the scenes, helping
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.
Yesterday around noon, Rome witnessed the fall of a mighty leader named Julius Caesar. The conspirators involved in this murder were witnessed by the names of Cassius, Casca, Cinna, Trebonius, Ligarius, Decius Brutus, Metellus Cimber and Brutus.
I stand before you all today to speak on my assassination, without resentment or bitterness. Although what has occurred is so tragic, the reasoning behind these bold actions are valid. I, like many of you, am so appalled by what has happened, and it deeply saddens me to know the men that I once called my dearest friends have deceived me. They rushed me to the Capitol to be crowned, just to watch my wounds pour out blood. I feel betrayed. I feel hurt. I feel powerless.
Furthermore, the climax in Brutus’s journey as a tragic hero is when he ultimately realizes his mistakes and takes full responsibility for them. When the ghost of Caesar appears to
Marc Antony, Brutus, and Cassius are all critical characters in William Shakespeare’s famous play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Due to their distinctive personalities and values, there is no trait that all of these characters share, although they do share some traits with one another. Firstly, Marc Antony and Cassius are manipulative in nature, while Brutus is not. Secondly, the root of Brutus and Cassius’ failure is their personality flaw, while Marc Antony proves strong in all the ways they prove weak. Lastly, Antony and Cassius, unlike Brutus, do not separate their private affairs from their public actions while acts only with honor and virtue and completely ignores his personal concerns.
~ Your career is just now beginning, and you have the potential to do great things. There will be people that will try to take you down. Be careful of those that you let into your life. Remember that you can't trust everyone that you call a friend. Listen to the signs that are presented to you.
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
Additionally, Brutus presents a series of rhetorical questions that have no grounds to persuade the audience. He asks, “Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman?” Here he makes it clear that one who does not understand the reason behind Caesar’s necessary death should not be considered a Roman. But, the audience, once again, does not have reason to acknowledge this statement as Brutus does not have sufficient evidence that the murder was, in fact, a necessity.
To compare humans you are simply comparing ideas. Thoughts, experiences and philosophies that all combine together to create individuals. Two experiences and two people who see the same scenario with different perspectives. Such is the way with Brutus and Cassius. This pair of Roman senators shows us the difficulty of having a realist and an idealist work together, yet the pair manages to overcome their different views on the world to work together and assassinate “the foremost man of all this world.” Though, the pair of friends and lovers differences does not simply end at idealism versus realism. The pair seems to be naturally against each other in terms as ideas, it’s a wonder that with such different personalities, oeadership and
In Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus and Cassius are contrasting characters. They differ in the way they perceive Antony as a threat to the assassination plot, their dominance in personality, and their moral fiber. In Julius Caesar, Brutus is the more naïve, dominant and noble character, while Cassius is the more perceptive, submissive, and manipulative person.
Cassius vs Brutus When confronted with the conflict whether to march on Philippi or not, Cassius and Brutus hold opposing opinions. A good argument can cause no harm as represented in the Shakespearean text. Brutus and Cassius simply hold opposing stances and wish to show their reasonings. As they do so, it becomes evident that Brutus is to win the argument. This can be proven through the pair’s use of persuasion, factual evidence , and reasoning.
In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar, the character of Marcus Brutus is tasked with making a difficult choice: either kill one of his most beloved friends, or risk the corruption and downfall of Rome. Though Brutus acknowledges the ethical and moral concerns of his actions, he commits to the conspiracy against Caesar, and carries it out with conviction. The question, however, is whether or not Brutus’ actions are justifiable from an objective point of view. Unlike most other political assassinations, Brutus isn’t a hysterical stranger distraught with the target, but a close ally, and trusted friend. Brutus justifies his own doings by convincing himself and others that they’re sacrificing, not murder Caesar, and acting not out
In the play Julius Caesar, written and preformed by William Shakespeare, there are many characters, but two, Brutus and Cassius, stood out. The play begins in Rome where a celebration of Julius Caesar's victory over the former ruler of Rome, Pompeii. The victory leads to Caesar's betrayal by his jealous companions. Senators and other high status figures are jealous of Caesar's new and growing power, while others, like Brutus, fear the tyrannical rule Caesar could enforce. The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius being the most important, assassinate Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, better known as Antony, and Octavius Caesar, Caesar's heir to the thrown, revenge Caesar's
Many people wonder whether Brutus should or should not join the conspiracy. In William Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar” play, Brutus is conflicted by joining the conspiracy, which helps Rome, but hurts his best friend Caesar in the process. Brutus did the right thing by joining the conspiracy for the better of Rome. He is able to use Logos, Ethos, and Pathos to justify the reasons for his actions against Caesar. Brutus’s main reason for killing Caesar is to stop him before he gets too powerful. As Brutus says in the story, “And therefore we think of him as a serpent’s egg which hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous, and kill him in the shell.” (II, i, 32-34). Not only does Brutus want to stop him before he gets to powerful, but he also
Brutus a high-ranking, well-regarded Roman nobleman that killed Julius Caesar, went to the top of the ranks and was crowned king. Even though Brutus was able to become king, he was not going to get that title without killing Caesar. In the play Julius Caesar, Brutus agrees to kill Caesar and is one of the three murderers that stabbed Julius Caesar. In Act III scene i William Shakespeare writes “CASCA and the other conspirators stab CAESAR. BRUTUS stabs him last.” This is when Brutus’s fate begins because he starts listening to the wrong people such as, when Cassius uses his power and authority to convince Brutus that he loves Caesar but loves Rome more. This is quoted when Shakespeare writes in Act III scene ii, “ I say to him that my love for Caesar was no less than his. If, then, that friend demands to know why I rose up against Caesar, this is my answer: it’s not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” This shows Brutus’s major flaw and when he starts to believe things that other people tell him. Brutus shows that he is the Tragic Hero right when he agrees to kill Caesar because this is his tragic flaw that begins the downfall of himself.