Who Was Responsible For Brutus's Death

Brutus’ Demise
Throughout The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus was one of the most important and influential characters in the play. He involved himself in many of the scandals entailing the conspirators, in hopes of fulfilling his duty as an honorable man. However, his impressionable personality would lead him to a fatal outcome, suicide. There were many different causes and factors that led to his death, along with the death of the other central characters. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar resulted in multiple tragedies, due to the actions and decisions made by Brutus and the other conspirators. Realistically, Brutus’ own decisions led to his death.
The decision that Brutus made to join the conspirators in killing Caesar was his first, and most significant, mistake. If he had not of joined them to begin with, that may have hopefully saved his life. Brutus faced various repercussions after stabbing Caesar, that would affect him until the day of his death. Although Cassius was a main influence in Brutus killing Caesar, ultimately it was his decision (Dove, Roland, & Gamble). If Brutus had
decided not to kill Caesar, his life would have been saved because nobody would demand vengeance against him. “Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar” (3.1.77). Brutus stabbing Caesar led to the next series of troubled events for Brutus. Although, Brutus did believe he was doing what was best for the good people of Rome, others would not see it that way. Another mistake that Brutus made, and crucial part of his death, was making decisions on a complete whim, such as automatically agreeing with Cassius’ plan. Cassius’ hate for Caesar encouraged him to fabricate letters to Brutus, and involve Brutus in the conspiracy. Brutus trusted Cassius so easily, and he did not even question the letters he received from “the people of Rome.” The letter Brutus received were allegedly from concerned Romans who were distraught over Caesar being king. They wanted Brutus to rescue Rome from Caesar’s tyrannical power. Brutus’ next crucial mistake was not taking any advice from the other conspirators and the original leader, Cassius. For this particular reason, if Brutus had made the decision to listen to someone else's advice, it could have been the deciding factor of clearing Brutus’ name. Caesar’s most trusted man was Antony; he respected Antony tremendously and deemed him incorruptible in high regards. He relied on Antony to be honorable and trustworthy throughout their friendship and after Caesar’s unexpected death. When Antony got word of the conspirators killing Caesar, he deceived them into thinking that he would not act in revenge. Little did the conspirators know, Antony’s loyalty to Caesar was stronger than they expected. Cassius was right all along that Antony would betray them. “Do not consent that Antony speak in his funeral” (3.1.33-34). When planning the attack on Caesar, Cassius suggested that Antony go down with him. However, Brutus believed that it would not do them any good to kill Antony, and they believed he would not fight for revenge. Brutus thought it would be a waste of energy to kill him along with Caesar. If Brutus had listened to Cassius, Antony would not have started an uprising among the people and there was not anybody devoted enough, besides Antony, to Caesar to go against Brutus. Most people highly respected Brutus and generally would not suspect him to be a part of the conspiracy. The Romans thought he was very honorable and was not capable to do something so horrible. Brutus even voices that he values honor more than he values death (1.2.88-89). Additionally, another reason that led Brutus to have to flee for his life, was allowing Antony to speak at Caesar’s funeral. Cassius warned him not to allow Antony to speak, yet Brutus was optimistic and expected Antony to defend the conspirators motivations. Reiteratively, this is another example of Brutus needing to rely on someone other than himself and allow other people’s input when making such critical decisions. Cassius believed that Antony would go against the expectations they had set for him and show his loyalty to Caesar by telling the people of Rome that the conspirator’s intentions were unfavorable. The Roman people knew that Caesar confided in Antony and that he was trustworthy, so they believed him over Brutus. This would, in turn, start uprisings and battles which would lead to Brutus’ suicide. Throughout the entire process of Brutus’ downfall, he neglected to take any advice from anybody and for the most part made his own decisions, without any second thoughts or insight from those surrounding him. He does not take any of the propositions made by any of the other conspirators, especially Cassius (Reeb). He predominately believed that he was wise enough to make crucial decisions solely on his own. There were many different times when he could have changed the way his future fell out if he trusted anyone enough to help him. Brutus could have listened to Cassius when he thought that Antony would tell the people of Rome about the conspiracy and their motives. He also could have been attentive to Cassius when he originally said that they should wait for their adversaries to storm the battlefield first to determine their weaknesses (Reeb). If Brutus had been able to think about his actions before he enacted them, he might have been able to prolong his desire to commit suicide. Overall, there were many elements that led to Brutus’ death and each factor held significance.
Brutus’ goal was to be an honorable man for the good people of Rome, but the Roman people did not see him as honorable once he killed Caesar alongside the conspirators. Cassius had a big influence on Brutus’ death, in both good ways and bad ways. If Brutus had been able to trust the other conspirators his fate could have ended differently. The basis of his suicide was a major effect of his irrational choices. Brutus was impractical at times and honorable at others, but his decisions led to a tragic death for him. Brutus’ demise could have had a better outcome, but choosing to trust at the wrong times and not to trust at the right times didn’t work out favorably for him. Consequently, it was his own decisions and inability to judge and trust people that led to his
suicide.

Works Cited
Dove, John Roland, and Peter Gamble. "'Lovers in Peace' Brutus and Cassius: A Re-examination." English Studies 60.5 (Oct. 1979): 543-554. Rpt. in Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 95. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 May 2017.
Reeb, Richard H., Jr. "Et Tu, Brute?" Claremont Review of Books Fall 2016: 7. Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 May 2017
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.” Grade 10. Prentice Hall Literature. Upper
Saddle River. Pearson Education, 2012.893-1000. Print.