One fallacy of human nature is the natural tendency to see things in black and white, purely good or bad, rather than for the complexities that surround and make up every person and situation. This is applicable to the Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, in which Brutus faces a moral dilemma – the safety of the future of Rome, or the life of a dear friend. In this case, either choice Brutus made would have serious repercussions, as the majority of the play documents. In the end, Brutus made the decision to secure the safety of his country over the life of one of his closest friends, and it ultimately lead to his own death. It is impossible to fit Brutus into a labeled box because there are so many gray areas in his life, but overall, he is not
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While this is a fair argument, it is also fair to say that Brutus did, in fact, find proof of Caesar’s thirst for power in a roundabout way. In act 1, scene 2 of the play, Brutus hears a racket outside and consults Casca about it, who tells him “I saw Mark Antony offer him a crown…and, as I told you, he put it by once – but, for all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it. Then he offered it to him again, then he put it by again – but, to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his fingers off it.” Brutus could easily have believed that there was false humility in Caesar’s heart, especially when so many people urged him to believe it. Additionally, Brutus did not desire total proof, for he knew that dictators could quickly rise when men rose to power and became gripped by dependence upon their positions. He ponders this alone in act 2, scene 1, saying “Crown him that, and then I grant we put a sting in him that at his will he may do danger with…And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg—which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous—and kill him in the shell.” The “kill him in the shell” phrase of the soliloquy indicates that Brutus is not sure about Caesar’s assassination, but he does know that there is dangerous potential in Caesar, and he would rather kill him now than …show more content…
He never did anything out of selfish ambition – not to get himself to a higher rank, not so he could have more money, not so he could have more favor with the people. He did what he did for the greater good, whether he liked the means to that end or not. He loved Caesar, but he knew that Caesar could be dangerous to the future of Rome. Once again, I reference Brutus’s soliloquy in his garden, when he was pondering whether or not to kill Caesar. “It must be by his death, and for my part I know no personal cause to spurn at him but for the general.” His true intentions would be revealed here, since he is alone, but not once does he say a single selfish thing. Instead, he talks about the “general” good. No evidence points to Brutus’s motivations being selfish. While they may or may not have been misguided, he firmly believed that what he did was for the good of Rome. Even Cassius’s flattery was not totally empty. Even when Brutus is gone, he says “Well, Brutus, thou art noble.” It says a lot that even when Cassius isn’t using Brutus to his advantage and no one is around to hear him, he acknowledges Brutus’s noble
While this is a fair argument, it is also fair to say that Brutus did, in fact, find proof of Caesar’s thirst for power in a roundabout way. In act 1, scene 2 of the play, Brutus hears a racket outside and consults Casca about it, who tells him “I saw Mark Antony offer him a crown…and, as I told you, he put it by once – but, for all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it. Then he offered it to him again, then he put it by again – but, to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his fingers off it.” Brutus could easily have believed that there was false humility in Caesar’s heart, especially when so many people urged him to believe it. Additionally, Brutus did not desire total proof, for he knew that dictators could quickly rise when men rose to power and became gripped by dependence upon their positions. He ponders this alone in act 2, scene 1, saying “Crown him that, and then I grant we put a sting in him that at his will he may do danger with…And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg—which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous—and kill him in the shell.” The “kill him in the shell” phrase of the soliloquy indicates that Brutus is not sure about Caesar’s assassination, but he does know that there is dangerous potential in Caesar, and he would rather kill him now than …show more content…
He never did anything out of selfish ambition – not to get himself to a higher rank, not so he could have more money, not so he could have more favor with the people. He did what he did for the greater good, whether he liked the means to that end or not. He loved Caesar, but he knew that Caesar could be dangerous to the future of Rome. Once again, I reference Brutus’s soliloquy in his garden, when he was pondering whether or not to kill Caesar. “It must be by his death, and for my part I know no personal cause to spurn at him but for the general.” His true intentions would be revealed here, since he is alone, but not once does he say a single selfish thing. Instead, he talks about the “general” good. No evidence points to Brutus’s motivations being selfish. While they may or may not have been misguided, he firmly believed that what he did was for the good of Rome. Even Cassius’s flattery was not totally empty. Even when Brutus is gone, he says “Well, Brutus, thou art noble.” It says a lot that even when Cassius isn’t using Brutus to his advantage and no one is around to hear him, he acknowledges Brutus’s noble