Brutus The Tragic Hero Essay, Research Paper

In the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Brutus had many flaws such as

he trusted people, he had a conscience, and he had a lust for power. Many times in the

play he made mistakes. He probably made more mistakes in the play then any other

character. Like other tragic heroes, Brutus had great promise and ability.

One of the many ways Brutus was a tragic hero was that he trusted people too

easily. The first time he trusted anybody in the play was when he joined the conspiracy.

He trusted the letters that were sent to him and then he trusted Cassius to lead him in the

right path. Then Brutus gave his trust to Antony to give a speech and not say anything

bad about the conspiracy. Antony made the mob angry and they went on a rampage.

Brutus had a conscience. This is another flaw. Brutus was an honorable man and

did some dishonorable things. After he acted dishonorably, he felt bad about it. For

example he felt bad about killing Caesar. He had a guilty conscience about Caesar

because he saw his ghost. The ghost was not really there, it was Brutus?s conscience that

made the ghost appear. A good leader must not have a conscience because it will get in

the way of what must be done.

Brutus was power hungry. He always had to have the last word in a conversation

and he wanted to be the leader. When Brutus joins the conspiracy he became their leader.

Then the conspirators wanted Cicero to join, but Brutus did not want it because he would

lose power. When Brutus and Cassius were discussing strategies, Brutus had the last

word and they used his battle tactics. Brutus had a lust for power and wanted to be in

charge constantly.

Brutus was destroyed by his personal weakness and poor decisions. Brutus gave

his trust to many people, had a conscience, and had a lust for power. Those are many of

the mistakes Brutus recognizes at the end of the play. Brutus was one of the noblest men

in the play, if not the noblest.

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