Was Brutus A Patriot Or Betrayer Essay

Was Brutus a patriot or betrayer? In the play Julius Caesar, Brutus believes that Caesar will destroy Rome by being the only person to rule. This belief leads him to create a group of conspirators, which would ultimately kill Caesar. Not only was Brutus a betrayer because he was disloyal to Julius Caesar, but he also conspired against him and plotted his death. However, some may say that Brutus killed Julius Caesar to save Rome from his monarchical rule. On the contrary, there is a surplus amount of information from the play to support the claim that Brutus was a betrayer, especially the fact that he went to such extreme measures immediately. In addition to this, during Brutus’s speech, he tries to thwart the crowd's attention off of the murder …show more content…
There are many lines from Julius Caesar that support the argument that Brutus was a betrayer. Originally, Brutus was convinced that Julius Caesar would get too much notoriety, and that his rule over Rome would lead to its destruction. Brutus did truly believe that he would save Rome by killing Caesar, but the problem was that he viewed this as the only solution. In reality, there were many solutions and this is brought up in Antony’s speech: “O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason.” (Act III Scene II) . Brutus immediately went through with the plan to kill Caesar, even though he could have thought of another way to prevent his rule. Considering the fact that Brutus founded a group of conspirators to plot the death of Caesar, surely he could have came up with another solution with them. …show more content…
While speaking, Brutus was seeking glory for what he had done while showing little remorse and looking for justification. On the other hand, Brutus sacrificed his friendship with Caesar for his devotion to Rome. Even though this was a sacrifice, it did not need to be done and it was not his choice to make. Not only would he grieve his friend, but Caesars friends, family, and citizens would as well. Caesar felt betrayal during his last scene, as he says: “Et tu, Brute!” (Act III Scene I). This translates to “You too, Brutus!”, and it symbolises the fact that Brutus has made the ultimate betrayal. At this point, Brutus still believes what he did was justified, because he did it for Rome. From Brutus’s speech, he states that he loved Caesar, but he killed him because he loved Rome more: “If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of Caesar's, to him I say, that 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.” (Act III Scene II). This quote shows how devoted to Rome Brutus was, and to what length he would go to save it in his mind. To conclude, even though Brutus claims that he loved Rome more and that is why he killed Caesar, his actions are still not