Macbeth Vs Brutus

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Hosu Yoon Period 2 – English Prompt 2 Only the most extreme situations can bring out the naked character of a person. In Shakespeare’s two tragedies Macbeth and Julius Caesar, the similarities and differences among Brutus and Macbeth show that there is more than one kind of murderer. With two clashing motives and mindsets, the tragic heroes act completely different in similar scenes. Brutus confidently killed Julius Caesar with the belief that it is for the good of all Rome, while Macbeth hesitatingly killed Duncan with the dream of becoming a king of his own. Brutus’s intentions were reasonable and straightforward while Macbeth committed the crime because of his ambitious and corrupt characteristics. Even though they were extremely different before and after the assassination of their respective rulers, their individual character flaws led to their similar downfalls. In the scenes before the assassinations, Macbeth and Brutus have two opposing reasons to carry out the deed. Brutus has a firm belief that if Caesar was to be crowned king, Rome’s democracy would be endangered and that the citizens will become slaves. In order to protect his country from this terrible occurrence, Brutus decides to murder Caesar. He acknowledges that "If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more."(Act 3, Scene 2, Lines 21-24) Brutus, as stated in the play, is a very honorable man, and he has put some good reasoning and thinking behind his plans. Macbeth, on the other hand, was more unpredictable than Brutus and even reluctant at some times. He did not want to take action, and was too “people loving” to make a move on King Duncan. It was with Lady Macbeth’s constant pleas and insults that Macbeth finally agreed to murder the king. Also, Macbeth only did this for himself, as greed
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