Julius Caesar Flaws

Julius Caesar Essay Written by Shakespeare more than one thousand five hundred years after Julius Caesar’s death, Julius Caesar, Shakespeare’s well-known tragedy, is unique in that it contains two tragic characters, the senator Brutus and emperor Caesar. A play in five acts, Julius Caesar attempts to portray the assassination of Caesar, at that time victorious over Pompey’s sons, and the civil war that follows, culminating in the establishment of the Second Triumvirate. Although Caesar meets his end comparatively early in the third act, both Brutus and Caesar are adequately portrayed as men of high repute who, through flawed actions and decisions, meet an untimely end. In short, both are tragic heroes. The goal of tragedy is to evoke sympathy
and understanding for the story’s tragic characters and for the audience to recognize that, as great as a person strives to be, he or she is still prone to error. It is vital for a tragedy’s tragic hero to be a prominent figure in order for the audience to be sympathetic to the hero’s plight; most would not, for example, feel as sorry for a beggar who inadvertently plunges a nation into civil war as for a nobleman who does so. From the first three acts of Julius Caesar, it is clear that Brutus is a prominent figure, as evidenced by the praise that others lather upon him, his honorable character, his wealth, and his popular support. In act one scene two, as Brutus and Cassius walk together, Cassius laments that Brutus has no “mirrors that will turn [his] hidden worthiness into [his] eye,” and although Cassius does have an ulterior motive: flattering Brutus into killing Caesar, all flatteries must have an inkling of the truth, and the truth is that Brutus possesses exceptional honor, courage, and dedication to Rome. Indeed, this honor and courage is exemplified when Brutus declares, “I love the name of honor more than I fear death.” The average man, when faced with the threat of death, shies away from honor and does whatever he can to stay alive. But not Brutus, as we see in his attempt to assassinate Caesar and in finally his death. Brutus is also prominent in his wealth, as we discover upon the opening of act two scene one, as Brutus enjoys the morning in his personal orchard. Portia, Brutus’s wife, is a noblewoman, “a woman well-reputed, Cato’s daughter.” Therefore by association, Brutus must also be noble, as in ancient times marriage between different social classes was frowned upon. The terms in how those in his personal circle and the broad masses see him are also indicative of Brutus’ prominence. Cassius, who becomes Brutus’s confidante throughout the tragedy, states that “Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Caesar,” implying that the two are equals. Caesar, who sees Brutus as only “like” a friend, expresses his surprise when Brutus “bootless kneels” at his feet; in his mind, noble Brutus is the antipode of someone who would use “base spaniel fawning.” Finally, before the chain of events Brutus unleashes with Caesar’s death spirals out of control, the plebeians shout jubilantly, “Caesar’s better parts shall be crowned in Brutus!” implying that Brutus possesses all of Caesar’s good qualities yet lacks tragic flaws, a statement that is patently false. Although Caesar is a character less developed in the tragedy than Brutus, perhaps due to his historical prominence, we can discern that he is an important figure because of the power he leverages and Rome’s opinion of him. In Act one scene one, it becomes apparent that at least a sizable minority of Rome reveres Caesar when we meet a cobbler and carpenter who take the day off and “rejoice in [Caesar’s] triumph.” In addition to celebrating Caesar, the day is also the Feast of Lupercal, honoring Pan, the satyr god. By honoring Caesar along with a Roman god, the people indicate that Caesar has godlike authority. Caesar’s wielding of power demonstrates again that he is a prominent figure. In act one scene two, as Antony prepares for the annual race, Caesar orders him to touch Calphurnia, Caesar’s wife, in order to free her from the curse of sterility, to which Antony replies, “when Caesar says ‘do this,’ it is performed.” The deferential statement shows that Caesar’s word is his will; if he had cried, “sacrifice in my image a thousand swine!” it would have been done in the blink of an eye. Lastly, Caesar’s power is exemplified with the deaths of Murellus and Flavius, the two tribunes who were caught desecrating statues of Caesar. As he has the ability to execute all dissenters, Caesar holds dictator-level power and is thus is a prominent figure. However, drunk with power and pride, Caesar ignores the warning signs of his assassination. Throughout the tragedy, Brutus’s one virtue that he is known for, his honor, becomes his fatal flaw through a series of unfortunate events. Brutus loves the name of honor more than he fears death; he applies his honor so rigorously to events that present themselves to him that it indirectly leads to his death. Blinded by what seems to be Rome pleading with him to “speak, strike, [and] fix the wrongs,” Brutus ignores the critical line, “awake, and see thyself,” that would’ve signaled to him that it was Cassius who was manipulating him to kill Caesar. Instead, he is overcome by the appeal to his honor, and declares, “O Rome, if the redress will follow, thou receivest thy full petition at the hand of Brutus!” Much like how Caesar’s pride causes him to make errors in judgment, so Brutus’s honor causes him to do so. A short while later, the band of conspirators who are plotting to kill Caesar, led by Cassius, arrives, only to find that Brutus has already been swayed to their side. Cassius offers for them to swear an oath, to which Brutus replies, “swear priests and cowards and men cautelous, old feeble carrions and such suffering souls that welcome wrongs.” This line demonstrates Brutus’s idealism; he believes that all the conspirators, as true Romans, would not need to swear a binding oath but would be compelled to act as honorable Romans. Brutus expects his highest virtue, honor, to also be of utmost importance in others’ hearts, thus compelling them to act nobly; that is his tragic flaw. When the group discusses killing Antony as well as Caesar, Brutus objects, urging the conspirators to be “sacrificers and not butchers” and idealizing the murder of Caesar as “[carving] him as a dish fit for the gods.” His honor, a trait so deeply ingrained in him and of which he is widely revered, prevents him from seeing the practicalities of a situation, namely that by sparing Antony, he is ensuring that a rival to the throne gets a chance to contest power. After Brutus has stabbed Caesar, he mounts the podium to explain to the plebeians why he killed Caesar. “Believe me for mine honor, and have respect to mine honor so that you may believe,” he advises, using his well-respected image, or ethos, as his sole rhetorical weapon, making it easy for Antony to undermine his argument. After Brutus has finished his oration, he is offered the crown, which he refuses on account of his honor and thus misses a chance to restore peace. In fact, Brutus’s idealism is so great that he makes no attempt to restore government, simply walking away from it all and naively trusting that Rome, as honorable as he is, will come to the right conclusions. “Good countrymen, leave me alone, “he tiredly says, allowing for Antony’s pathos to waft unchecked through the audience. Brutus’s honor was so embedded in him that it led him to make careless strategic blunders. Like Brutus, Caesar has a tragic flaw, but it is not one due to Caesar’s inborn nature, but rather the product of his victory over Pompey’s sons and the titles heaped on him following his victory.
Caesar’s tragic flaw is his pride, which leads him to believe he is invulnerable to mundane threats, which ultimately leads to his death. In act one scene one, tribunes Flavius and Murellus believe that “these growing feathers plucked from Caesar’s wings will make him fly an ordinary pitch.” Although their effort fails, the statement likens Caesar to Icarus, an important figure in Greek mythology. Icarus and his father Daedalus, trapped on the island of Crete, build feathered wings and try to escape. But Icarus, proud at what he has accomplished, soars too close to the sun, melts his wings, and drowns in the ocean. Shakespeare uses this classical allusion to hint to the reader that Caesar will meet a similar fate because of his pride. Caesar’s own language indicates this flaw: “Caesar is turned to hear,” he says to a soothsayer; unlike Brutus and Cassius, who use the humble “I” when referencing themselves, Caesar uses his own name and all the connotations of power that come with it. Caesar subsequently rejects the soothsayer’s prophecy, saying scornfully, “He is a dreamer. Let us leave him.” Caesar immediately disregards the soothsayers threat, showing that he believes himself invulnerable. Because of this belief, Caesar tends to ignore what displeases him and listens to only what
he wants to hear. In act one scene two, for example, Caesar orders Antony to “come to [his] right side and tell [him] truly what thou think’st of him,” a symbolic gesture to Antony to tell him what he truly thinks of yonder Cassius. Because of his pride and perceived invulnerability, Caesar ignores the warning signs in of the plot unfolding in front of him, not even realizing he is about to be assassinated until it happens. Brutus’s tragic flaw, his unyielding honor, does not lead him to slide down the gutter directly as Caesar’s does, but rather leads to his destruction in a roundabout way. When Antony reveals himself to the conspirators with open arms, Brutus immediately pardons him. Antony, sensing his chance, assures that he will ally himself with Brutus on the condition that he prove Caesar was dangerous. Brutus replies, “our reasons are so full of good regard that were you, Antony, the son of Caesar, you should be satisfied,” but Brutus cannot prove Caesar is dangerous because his original idea was to “Kill him in the shell,” before he became dangerous. Brutus’s error in evaluating the threat of Caesar, originating in Cassius’s manipulation of Brutus because of Brutus's steadfast honor, gives Antony the power to oppose Brutus without breaking a promise he made to him. Brutus’s use of only ethos in his speech leads Antony to easily defeat his argument by portraying through pathos that Brutus’s deeds are not those done by an honorable man. The crowd’s reaction is instant: “They were traitors! ‘Honorable men!’” it roars. The absence of Brutus gives Antony more leeway to criticize the senators and for the crowd to behave rowdily; had Brutus been present, Antony would have toned down the language and the crowd would have maintained order. Instead, the plebeians shout, “To Brutus’[s], to Cassius’[s], burn all,” leading to the death of Portia as she stays in his burning house. The crowd’s instant turnaround gives Antony and Octavius the support they need to mount an offensive against Brutus, whose armies are underpaid because of his “unwillingness” to raise money by dishonest means. As Cassius has not given Brutus the money he desperately needs, Brutus’s troops loot Cassius’s tents after they have overthrown Octavius’s legions; meanwhile Cassius, his eyesight failing, mistakes Brutus’s troops for the enemy’s, and, in despair, kills himself. Had Brutus stifled his honor and raised the money through bribery or other means, Cassius would have stayed alive, and the battle would have been won. Although not directly contributing to Brutus’s and Cassius’s eventual suicide, Brutus’s honor leads him to make a series of bad decisions that culminate in his destruction. Much like how Brutus's honor gets in the way of his own judgement, Caesar's pride leads him to disregard bad omens and elevate himself to a level on par with the gods, ultimately leading to his destruction.
In act two scene two, Caesar receives word that the priests, upon performing a sacrifice, cannot find the sacrificed beast's heart. Caesar does not interpret this the way he should, which is to stay in his house away from threats, but instead thinks that “the gods do this in shame of cowardice.” Shortly afterward, Caesar reveals that wife Calphurnia saw his statue, “which, like a fountain with a hundred spouts, did run pure blood.” Caesar, under the sway of Decius, again misinterprets this bad omen to mean that his “statue spouting blood in so many pipes, in which so many smiling Romans bathed, signifies that from you great Rome shall suck reviving blood.” As Caesar is full of pride, he is constantly looking for signs of his superiority, and when Decius gives this interpretation, Caesar laps it up without a second thought. Caesar, who thinks himself immune to flattery, can be so easily flattered by anything that pertains to his pride. However, these mistakes are not enough to damn him. In the end, Caesar makes a fatal mistake by directly insulting the gods with the words “Hence! Wilt thou lift up Olympus?” Caesar implies that he is equal to the Olympians, and they, to teach him a lesson, send the senators to stab him. By including this line, Shakespeare provides
justification for the death of a ruler: Caesar has broken the Great Chain of Being, and thus suffers the divine wrath. Brutus and Caesar are both tragic heroes in Julius Caesar because they are men of prominence who each possess a tragic flaw which leads to his downfall. Brutus has acquired great material wealth and is widely respected, even amongst his enemies, while Caesar's prominence is shown in the absolute power he exercises. Brutus's tragic flaw is an unyielding honor which causes him to be inflexible and idealistic; Caesar's tragic flaw is that he prideful and believes himself above the average mortal. Brutus's flaw leads to his downfall in that he is persuaded into killing Caesar, lets Mark Antony run amok, and refuses to pay his troops, driving him to suicide. Caesar's flaw leads him to disregard the omens and expose himself to the conspirators' plot. While Caesar's fate could have been easily avoided had he heeded the warning signs and reined in his ego, Brutus's fate was the result of a “perfect storm” that could not have easily been anticipated. As Brutus struggles valiantly to make the most honorable choice in light of current information, yet ultimately meets his demise, he is the truer tragic hero. Brutus “was the noblest Roman of them all...his life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him that Nature might stand up and say to the world, 'This was a man.'”