Caesar was so ambitious that it wasn’t good for high power. Brutus said, “If then that a friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is the answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but I loved Rome more… as Caesar loved me, I weep for him” (3.2.21-26). This shows that Brutus did it for the people and not for himself. Brutus was saddened to see his friend fall dead, but there was no other choice; Caesar was the ambitious person. He would only try to win the crowd and use them for his own good.
Playing off of this ethos is the first persuasive appeal Brutus uses. When first addressing the commoners of Rome, they are unaware of the reasoning behind killing Caesar. Keeping this in mind, Brutus knew he had to seem like a credible source so that the people would believe him and any sort of outbreak would be avoided. By simply intimidating the audience by telling them to quiet down and listen to his reasoned words, they are more susceptible to Brutus’ persuasive efforts. The audience is initially memorized by the Brutus they love, and are grateful for the ‘honorable acts’ he committed.
He utterly envies the men who died in the Trojan War, wishing he could be so lucky, as to die behind the walls. Instead he is fated to endure the wrath of Juno and lead the fleet of people to found a new city. He is a rather interesting character, different than common heroes, like Achilles in the Iliad, who are driven by kleos in their piety. Aeneas on the other hand, is strictly motivated by fate, but he still proves to be equally as pious, as heroes like Achilles. Not
His reasoning for killing Caesar was the fact that Caesar was too ambitious. Although this was a good reason it was all an assumption and he gave no evidence on how Caesar was ambitious. Although Brutus did hypothetical situations to the countrymen to convince them further that Caesar could of became a tyrant. For the love of Rome is why Brutus murdered Caesar and that convinced the people that there was no man nobler than Brutus. He had won them over until Antony began his speech.
This essay will examine these questions and illustrate the justification of Marcus Brutus betraying and killing Julius Caesar. Marcus Brutus is sometimes considered to be a “tragic hero” because of the role he played in the assassination of Caesar, the tragedy of his father’s death and the outcome of his choices in life. Looking into the underlying flaws within the tragic hero reviles a trustworthy nature which inhibits his ability to judge the character of others. Plutarch described Brutus as a marvelous lowly and gentle person, noble minded, and would never be in any rage, nor carried away with pleasure and covetousness; but had an upright mind and would never yield to any wrong or injustice. Brutus' tragic flaw is that he is nationalistic, very gullible, and is too honest.
He appeals to their emotions by saying that his love to Caesar was no less than that of any dear friend of Caesar’s and that he did this “not that I loved Caesar less but that I loved Rome more. Through this he wants to show that he did not kill Caesar out a jealous rage but rather he did it for the better of the Roman people. This is effective in bringing a solid reasoning to his seemingly crazed killing. Brutus now continues by suggesting that if Caesar were to live they would all become slaves. He questions if anybody there “is so base that would
This makes the audience connect with Caesar. It makes things personal when he reads that Caesar decided to give everything he had, after he died. What was his strongest argument? His strongest argument would be that Caesar was a good man. He says that the reasons Caesar was killed were wrong.
He was, arguably, ell bent on a path of war, not the type to hesitate to take what he wanted by force. Caesar had crushed Pompey, another supposedly honorable man, as well as his army. He was also of the “falling sickness” or epilepsy, and this would have inhibited his abilities as a tactful and empowering ruler of Rome. Even Marc Antony and Octavius, Caesar’s closest friend and his nephew, had considered Brutus an honorable Roman in the end, to the point of housing his lifeless body within Octavius’ tent, a standard only for the bravest of
In Julius Caesar Brutus starts out as Caesar’s good friend. In the beginning of the play, Cassius asks Brutus if he wants Caesar to be king and he replies, “I would not, Cassius. Yet I love him well” (Act 1, Scene 2).This shows that he did care for Caesar and he respected him. However when he helped kill Caesar he lost Rome’s respect even though it was for the “good of the country”. This eventually leads to Brutus’ fearful death, his
Christopher Davis Per.1 H English 10 5/23/13 Letter to Rome Dear the most noble citizens of Rome, I must first admit, knew not Caesar well enough to spin a tale of a grand adventure. But I do know he was as courageous as I am angered. I did consider Caesar a friend, though we seldom made casual conversation with each other. You are all intelligent people, and you can all plainly see Caesar’s death was unjustified. In mine eyes, Brutus is a shell of his once honorable self.