Marcus Brutus: Honestly a Tragic hero
As Aristotle once said “a man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall”(Aristotle). Written in the late 16th century, Shakespeare writes the tragic play, Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Marcus Brutus, a well-regarded Roman Senator, collaborates in the assassination of Julius Caesar, with the hopes of sparring Rome from an evil dictator. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Julius Caesar, though Marcus Brutus is a virtuous character, his negative qualities lead to his destruction and ultimately characterize him as a tragic hero.
The character Marcus Brutus is a prominent politician who exhibits the qualities of moral integrity. As Brutus speaks to the Conspirators he says, “For Antony is but a limb of Caesar, let us be sacrificers but not butchers” (Shakespeare 41). Brutus realizes that Antony is powerless without the help…show more content… Brutus’s major character flaw was putting to much faith and trust in others. Cassius involves Brutus only as a way to get closer to Caesar. This shows that Brutus provides him too much trust and as a result is put in the position of being taken advantage of. Another example of being naïve is when Brutus allows Antony to speak to the plebeians. He asks Antony to not place blame on the Conspirators but in the end he actually reveals them as sinful people. His trust in the loyalty and allegiance of the Plebeians was also a mistake because he believes in their faithfulness. While Marc Antony reads Caesar’s will, he pauses and says, “did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake, what villain touched his body, that did stab, and not for justice” (Shakespeare 151). At this point, the plebeians start to realize that Caesar wasn’t going to be an evil dictator. Instead, They recognize that Brutus, and his conspirators have misled them. Although he had some negative qualities, he ultimately died and became the tragic hero of the