Brutus Is a Man Torn Between Personal Loyalty and Public Duty

“Brutus is a man torn between personal loyalty and public duty”

In Julius Caesar, a play written by William Shakespeare many characters could have been questioned in terms of their motives and will. But then we have Brutus, a complex character torn between personal loyalty and public duty, a man with good intentions, motivated by the concern for the well-being of the Romans. In this essay, we will take a look at why Brutus, a person portrayed to be respectable in status and character murdered Julius Caesar, in the tragedy Julius Caesar.

The question of the noble Brutus is at hand. From the start, he is somewhat portrayed to be respectable in status and character. He said he feared Caesar accepting the crown he said, although he had not a notion of killing the man at the time. He was manipulated into doing it by Cassius and the two fake letters that Cassius sent to him in the name of the citizens of Rome. When he kills Julius Caesar by stabbing him even as he looked him in the eye he believes that he and the others are doing it only for the good of the city of Rome. However, it is later shown that most of them were in it for the power. But the fact remains; Brutus murdered Julius Caesar in good will and even said so as he explained his motives to the crowd of citizens.

Brutus murdered Julius Caesar for the benefit of the Roman people, in fear that it might become another dictatorship like in the past with kings having absolute power and usually by force which led to the power getting to the dictators head which resulted in difficult times for the people.

Finally, when it appears that all is lost in battle and he finds his partner Cassius dead, he also runs upon his sword. When finding Brutus dead and hearing how he died from Strato who was the one who held the sword, over his dead body, even the evil Mark Antony declares him to be "the noblest Roman of them all" when he pays tribute to Brutus’s nobility of spirit and also on his unselfish character by saying:

“This was the noblest roman of them all. All the conspirators save only he did that they did in envy of great Caesar; He only, in a general honest thought and common good to all, made one of them.”

I believe that this shows how much people, even in that time of battle, really respected Brutus and saw that he only committed the murderous act by becoming one of the conspirators because of his good and honest intentions and also for the benefit and good of all the Roman people. The fact that someone as vain on the inside as Mark Antony, who had all the wrong intentions when he did something, shows that he felt threatened by Brutus and this is because of ‘the earths elements’ according to him, ‘we’re so well-combined in Brutus that Nature can be proud to stand up and announce to all the world that Brutus was everything that a man should be.’

In Julius Caesar, Brutus’ character is one of a true tragic hero. Even though he has all the different values and traits of a strong person and one that has control and power, this leads to his downfall because of his nobility and also because of what he thinks is right for everyone else he runs upon his own sword. His high moral code and his dedication to Rome fabricated into his unfortunate faults and twisted his judgment.

In conclusion although Brutus had all the traits of what a man should be, he sees his prospect as being no good when he finds Cassius dead and feels that it is he who should also die and brings it upon himself by running into his own sword, killing himself. All of his positive traits, values and beliefs combined and produced an undignified attribute to his characteristics.

Bibliography:
Julius Caesar The Book http://www.livius.org/bn-bz/brutus/brutus02.html http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=25040

Bibliography: Julius Caesar The Book http://www.livius.org/bn-bz/brutus/brutus02.html http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=25040