Tragic Hero - Julius Ceaser Essay

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Tragic Hero Essay A heroic figure that possesses a character flaw which eventually leads up to his or her defeat is know as a tragic hero. This character is known to be both good and noble, but suffers many flaws that do not bring out the best traits that he or she has. In the play “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare, Marcus Brutus qualifies to a high extent as the tragic hero. One of Brutus’ flaws has was that he had a lust for power. Others easily manipulated him into any situation, which resulted in him joining the conspiracy. Brutus agreed to join and go forth with the killing of Caesar for the general good of Rome. During the first discussion, Brutus immediately took over. When almost everyone agreed in asking Cicero to become one of the members of the conspirators, Brutus disagreed. Cassius and the other members knew best to accept Brutus’ decision because they did not want him to leave. Even though Brutus did not state why he did not want Cicero to join, it appeared that he felt as if having an older and more experienced person in the group would be a threat to his power. Had Brutus accepted Cicero, his influence made a huge difference. Although the decision to kill Caesar was already made, Brutus still had the final opportunity to change his mind, but he chose not to do so. “Brutus' love to Caesar was no less than his. 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,” was Brutus’ reasoning behind why he felt killing Caesar was the right thing to do. Brutus being the tragic hero, he had brought suffering and death to the leader of Rome, thinking that it would make everything better for the county and the people. He later realizes that this was not the best choice he could have made, which results in it being the major cause of his downfall. Another flaw Brutus

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