Tragic Hero Julius Ceaser

The Tragic Hero: Brutus F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “Show me a hero and I’ll show you a tragedy”. A tragic hero is someone of noble importance who is admired by society but flawed which leads to a downfall. Tragic heroes face their downfall with bravery and honor. While many characters in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar could fit this definition, the person who fits the role best in Shakespeare’s brilliant play, is Marcus Brutus. Brutus is a tragic hero because of his destined fate, recognition of failure, and tragic flaws are distinguished throughout the play. Fate is the concept that our end is inevitable. A hero must achieve his greatness but then fail because of what he has achieved. Brutus was fated to kill Caesar because he is the grandson of Lucius Junius Brutus, the founder of the Roman Republic. He is also fated to do this because the Romans respect Brutus. If Brutus did not stand up against Caesar, Caesar would have become a tyrannical ruler that was hated by the Roman people (Act III Scene 1).When Antony and Octavius go to war with Brutus and Cassius the war leads to the unavoidable death of Brutus which was written in his fate and foreshadowed many times in the play. His death is foreshadowed when he states that if he loses the war he refuses to return home as a prisoner and would rather die (Act V Scene 5). By losing the war, it shows that Brutus’ death was meant to be. Recognition is when a hero realizes his mistakes and accepts his fate. After Cassius killed himself most of Brutus’ men started to give up hope. At first, Brutus tried to remain strong and continue fighting, but shortly after admitted the fact that he and Cassius had lost the war. Brutus says, “The enemies have beat us to the pit” (Act V Scene 5). After understanding that he has been defeated, Brutus decides to take his own life. Although Brutus views suicide as a cowardly and vile thing, he would rather kill himself than return home in chains. Before doing so, he recognized