Julius Caesar Group

Topic: In "Julius Caesar", is Brutus a truly honorable character?

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1

kewal

In "Julius Caesar", is Brutus a truly honorable character? 

2

Yes.  Brutus clearly wishes the best for Rome, and kills Caesar out of "civic responsibility," understanding that if no one stops him, he'll become tyrant of Rome and the Republic will be over.  He's the only one acting out of that conviction; most other characters in the play don not act honorably and are interested in how Caesar's death will benefit themselves.

3

Great question - and there isn't a right answer. Antony clearly doesn't think so when he juxtaposes Brutus' actions with his ideals in the funeral speech in which he - with increasing levels of irony - describes Brutus and the conspirators as an honorable man.

Look, in this place ran Cassius' dagger through;
See what a rent the envious Casca made;
Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabb'd;
And as he pluck'd his cursed steel away,
Mark how the blood of Caesar follow'd it...

The huge gulf between Brutus' ideals and his actions is where the problem lies. In his soliloquy he outlines that he has no "personal cause" to attack Caesar, but only the "general: he would be crowned". Yet we've seen Brutus be persuaded by Cassius, who plays absolutely on Brutus' own self-important sense of honour, and even compares Brutus with Caesar, asking "why should that name be sounded more than yours?". Is Brutus only drawn into the conspiracy ("general cause") out of self-regard and arrogance - "a personal cause"?

Perhaps. And, when you compare Brutus' imperative that the conspiracy rises against Caesar's spirit, in which there "is no blood", with the blood that pours out after the assassination itself, you have to conclude that Brutus is somewhat painfully idealistic.

Personally, I don't think he's honorable, but a cynical portrayal of how a self-regarding liberal can bring about absolute disaster. But whichever way you go, he's a political disaster.

4

Yes, absolutely, Brutus was most definitely an honorable man.  Think about his initial resistance to Cassius' advances:  he asks what sort of dangerous path he is being led down.  Brutus has no personal grudge against Caesar; in fact, he is the last to stab him because he has the least amount of personal hatred toward him.  While Cassius, Trebonius, Casca ("speak, hands for me!") and others fly into him with rage, Brutus simply waits until the end, and without emotion, does what he feels is necessary to protect the Roman state. 

Also, one thing that I think truly separates Brutus from the other conspirators is his sense of conscience and justice.  While Brutus has the least amount of blame for the murder (having done it for the good of his country, rather than out of personal jealousy as did Cassius), he sees Caesar's ghost several times, which is a sure sign of his sense of guilt. 

This also points to Brutus' sense of personal responsibility.  He never felt right about his decision to kill Caesar afterwards; and when he realized that he had indeed acted inappropriately, he used the knife that he plunged into Caesar to take his own life, out of a sense of obligation.  He did what others were unwilling to do:  when he realized he could do no better than his predecessor, and that he was actually harming his countrymen through his rule, he removed himself from power.

5

@afi80fl 

Brutus has no personal grudge against Caesar; in fact, he is the last to stab him because he has the least amount of personal hatred toward him. 

I know that what you're arguing is the traditional interpretation of this play, but I don't think it's justified in the text. Please provide some textual justification (i.e. quotes from Shakespeare's play) for the above quote. I can't find anything that tells us why Brutus is the last to stab Caesar, or indeed, how most of the conspirators feel about Caesar (and no mention at all of "personal hatred").

6

thebard

No, atleast not entirely. Think of Rome's history and all the monarchs it has had. Consider Caesar, the most famous leader of Rome. What makes him different from the countless other emperors preceeding him? Was he truly THAT much more powerful than figures like Sulla and Crassus. Rome had always given supreme authority to its military leaders who established a strong, unified military. The Fall of Rome ultimately occured when into a Western and Eastern empire with different emperors. There had to be some underlying jelousy between Brutus and Caesar, which puts him on the same level as the other conspirators.

7

disney353

Brutus is definitely honourable, even though his morality may be flawed. Recall in (Act 2, Scene 1) Brutus perceives Antony as “gamesome” and harmless without Caesar and so dismisses him as a threat to the conspirators. When the other conspirators want to kill Antony along with Caesar, Brutus declares, “For Antony is but a limb of Caesar. Let’s be sacrificers, but not butchers.” By sparing the life of Antony, Brutus feels he will look good and honorable to the people, rather than butchers.

He further says Antony is worthless without Caesar. “And for Mark Antony, think not of him; /For he can do no more than Caesar’s arm/When Caesar’s head is off”

This is pure evidence why Brutus is an honourable, even though it may lead to disaster...but in the context of this play, Shakespeare had dared not write that someone that murdered the king had survived (a bit of history would help understand why Brutus is honourable in every way...the only person to kill Caesar without personal thoughts "I know no personal cause to spurn at him/But for the general"

8

crazy4lyf2793

Yes he is honorable. He did love Caesar very much but he had to join the conspirators for the good of rome. :D

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