Julius Caesar Honor Analysis

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Throughout the span of history, the words honor and honorable are often used to describe a person’s superior standing and their chivalrous deeds. As honor is such a fundamental characteristic of a man’s vigorous identity, men would make an excessive effort to prevent their loss of honor. In both modern and traditional literature, honor is used as a theme to capture the integrity shown by these people. British anthropologist Julian Pitt-Rivers once describe honor in his book Honour and Shame as “the value of a person in his own eyes, but also in the eyes of his society. It is his estimation of his own worth, his claim to pride, but it is also the acknowledgment of that claim, his excellence recognized by society, his right to pride.” William …show more content…
After Brutus' suicide, Antony proclaims, "This was the noblest Roman of them all. / All the conspirators save only he / Did that they did in envy of Great Caesar” (V.v.74-76). Not only does Brutus sacrifice himself to end a civil war, Brutus also may have had killed himself after realizing his mistake. In his last moments, he said, “Caesar, now be still. / I killed not thee with half so good a will” (V.v.56-57). Brutus feels truly sorry for something he had done out of his sense of rightfulness, even if it doesn’t seem acceptable later on. Instead of being held captive in the capital, Brutus commits suicide to escape the shame of an immoral action, for the sake of protecting his honor. A British anthropologist Julian Pitt-Rivers once said, “[Honor] is the value of a person in his own eyes, but also in the eyes of his society. It is his estimation of his own worth, his claim to pride, but it is also the acknowledgment of that claim, his excellence recognized by society, his right to pride.” This is a definition of honor that capture the concept and essence of rightfulness displayed by Brutus in Julius Caesar. In conclusion, honor is a word to describe a person’s reputation that’s worthy of respect and admiration. This is also a word that could be use to describe Brutus from Julius Caesar.
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