Brutus Characer sketch

Brutus Tragic Flaws A tragic hero often has three important characteristics; his
superiority which makes his destruction seem more tragic, his goodness which
arouses pity, and his tragic flaws. In the Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus is an
excellent example of a hero with tragic flaws. Brutus is superior because of his close
friendship with powerful Caesar and because of his popularity with the people. The
conspirators need Brutus to join the conspiracy because of his friendship with
Caesar and his popularity among the people. Brutus idealism and goodness are
evident throughout the play; he sees only the goodness in people and naively
believes others are as honorable as he. Even his enemy, Mark Antony, comments on
these traits at the end of the play: This was the noblest Roman of them all. Brutus
tragic flaws are idealism, honor, and poor judgment which are taken advantage of at
first by Cassius and later by Mark Antony. Brutus major flaw is his idealism, his
belief that people are basically good. His first misjudgment of character is of Casca
who he believes should not be taken too seriously. Cassius disagrees and states that
Casca just puts on this appearance: However he puts on this tardy form. This
rudeness is a sauce to his good wit, which gives men stomach to disgest his words
with better appetite. Brutus next miscalculation of character involves Cassius
motives. Brutus believes that Cassius wants to assassinate Caesar for the good of
Rome, while Cassius truly wants power and a Rome not under Caesars control.
Cassius manipulates gullible Caesar with flattery of Brutus ancestors and of his
honor. At the same time, Cassius points out Caesars weaknesses: his deafness, his
epileptic fits, and lack of swimming ability. Brutus continues his misjudgment when
he reads the bogus letters and believes that these express the true feelings of all of
Rome. The letter opens with this quote: Brutus, thou sleepst; awake, and see
thyself. Had Brutus been a perceptive man, he would have remembered Cassius
telling him to allow others to serve as mirrors. Brutus idealism continues to surface
when he does not deem it necessary to take an oath of unity to the cause. He says,
No, not an oath. If not the face of men, the sufferance of our souls, the times
abuse if these be motives weak, break off betimes. Brutus tries to cover the
conspiracy with honor and virtue. He is only fooling himself, because the other
conspirators do not share his motives. The turning point of the play and Brutus
major tragic flaw concerns his judgment of Mark Antony. Brutus perceives Antony as
gamesome and harmless without Caesar while Cassius sees Antony as a shrewd
contriver. When the other conspirators want to kill Antony along with Caesar,
Brutus declares, For Antony is but a limb of Caesar. Lets be sacrificers, but not
butchers. Brutus wants to be honorable which leads to the conspiracys
destruction. Another one of his mistakes is allowing Antony to speak at Caesars
funeral. Brutus sees no harm in allowing Antony to speak after he has already
spoken. Antony effectively arouses the crowds emotions with Caesars body and
will. His final fatal errors are meeting Antonys and Octavius army at Philippi and
the mistiming of his armys attack, an event which jeopardizes his armies. Brutus
idealism leads to his downfall. His innocence and purity of motives cause him to

trust the motives of others. He believes he is doing the right thing: what is best for
Rome and the Roman people. The traits that allow him to be a successful private
man are the very ones that hurt him in public life. He does not make quick and good
judgments because of his ethical and moral views

In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William

Shakespeare, the character Marcus Brutus fits the definition of the
tragic hero. Like other tragic heroes, he had great promise, ability,
and integrity of character. He had a tragic flaw. He had a lust for
power, and he died at the end of the play.
Brutus had great promise, ability, and strength of character.
The fact that he could single-handedly take over the group of
conspirators, and completely overrule Cassius demonstrates his
strength of character, and his influence on others.
Brutus's tragic flaw was that he was too trusting. He frankly
and honestly felt that he had had to kill Caesar in order to save Rome
from tyranny. He trusted Antony not to blame the conspirators in his
speech at Caesar's funeral. Antony broke that promise and got Brutus
and the others into deep trouble. Brutus also trusted Cassius. Cassius
only asked Brutus to be a part of the conspiracy as a way of getting
closer to Caesar. He never suspected that Brutus would take over the
group and become their leader. Cassius thought that he was getting
someone to lead the men, but that he would still be the head man.
Brutus, however, took all power away from Cassius, and Cassius no
longer had any say in the happenings of the group.
Brutus had a conscience. It was obvious that Brutus felt
terrible about Caesar's death, but he felt that it was the only way to
keep peace in Rome. When Caesar's ghost came to Brutus, it could have
been a real ghost, but it also may have been Brutus's conscience
coming back to haunt him. After all, stabbing one's best friend is
dishonorable, and Brutus was an honorable man, so anything that he did
that was dishonorable was not acknowledged. Brutus did not associate
anything dishonorable with himself, and so when he did do something
dishonorable, he did not admit it to himself.
Brutus died at the end of the play of his own will. "Farewell
Strato. Caesar now be still. I killed not thee with half so good a
will." Brutus felt unbearable remorse for Caesar's death, and his
final words told that.
Brutus had a lust for power. When he joined the conspirators,
he immediately took over. When they were considering asking Cicero to
be one of the conspirators, Brutus would not have it even thought he
was the only one who objected. Having an older, more experienced
person in the group would have put Brutus out of power, and he would
have had to settle for second-in-command. Brutus could not really
predict what Caesar would have done with the crown. He did know that
if Caesar was crowned, however, then he had no chance of ever being
crowned himself.
Brutus filled the description of the tragic hero quite well.
He was a great man, and everyone knew it. Though he killed Caesar, he
had a valid excuse which he had the people believe. He thought that
killing Caesar was the right thing to do, even though it was not. Any
way one looks at it, Brutus was a great man, and a tragic hero.
"This was the noblest Roman of them all. All the conspirators save

only he-- did that they did in envy of great Caesar; He, only in
general honest thought-- and common good to all, made one of them. His
life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him that Nature might
stand up-- And say to all the world, 'This was a man!'" -Marcus Antony

Antony Characteristics
Antony proves strong in all of the ways that Brutus proves weak. His impulsive,
improvisatory nature serves him perfectly, first to persuade the conspirators that he
is on their side, thus gaining their leniency, and then to persuade the plebeians of
the conspirators injustice, thus gaining the masses political support. Not too
scrupulous to stoop to deceit and duplicity, as Brutus claims to be, Antony proves
himself a consummate politician, using gestures and skilled rhetoric to his
advantage. He responds to subtle cues among both his nemeses and his allies to
know exactly how he must conduct himself at each particular moment in order to
gain the most advantage. In both his eulogy for Caesar and the play as a whole,
Antony is adept at tailoring his words and actions to his audiences desires. Unlike
Brutus, who prides himself on acting solely with respect to virtue and blinding
himself to his personal concerns, Antony never separates his private affairs from his
public actions.

Cassius
Cassius represents the man of passion and presents a stark contrast to the rational and
philosophical Brutus. Unlike Brutus, who believes that morality is fluid if one's intentions are
good, Cassius is only interested in the end and not the means. He craves power and devises
strategies to obtain it. He serves as the mastermind and the motivational force behind the
conspiracy to kill Caesar and persuades other people to join him through blatant manipulations
and deceit, such as the forged letters. The main object of Cassius' manipulation is Brutus. He
succeeds in persuading him that Caesar's overwhelming ambition poses a threat to the liberty of
the Roman citizens.
Cassius' severe hostility towards Caesar arises from two motives; he has a personal hatred of
Caesar, whom he views as inferior and weak and he possesses a strong republican sentiment,
which is secondary to the personal animosity. Cassius repeatedly belittles Caesar by describing
his weakness in swimming the Tiber, his deafness, and his epilepsy. He even mocks him for
having had a fever. Ironically, Cassius neither exalts himself nor succeeds in demeaning Caesar;
instead, he only reveals his personal malice. All his republican motives are made suspect by his
apparent jealousy of Caesar. Cassius' attempt to belittle Caesar by using his physical weaknesses
backfires. It only makes him seem like a small, envious man.

Throughout the entire play Cassius modifies his methods to suit different sets of circumstances
without compromising or changing his ultimate goal of assassinating Caesar and gaining power.
A perfect example of his adaptability is the manner in which he enlists support for the conspiracy
by utilizing a different approach for each new member. For instance, in the case of the
philosophical Brutus, Cassius adopts the painfully slow approach of planting forged letters over a
number of days. Brutus ponders the warnings in the letters, supposedly written by Roman
citizens, and decides Caesar must be removed. He thinks that he has arrived at this conclusion
himself; in truth, Brutus has been cleverly manipulated by Cassius. In handling Casca, Cassius
uses a completely different approach. He tells Casca that a fearful storm is a sign of displeasure
over Caesar from the gods; he emotionally appeals to Casca to join him in taking immediate
action against Caesar, before worse portents follow.
Caesar realizes that Cassius is a cynical and dangerous man, who "looks quite through the deeds
of men." Caesar has recognized Cassius' most significant trait. His ability to understand his
fellow man and then manipulate him is the personality trait that allows Cassius to assemble the
conspirators and move them forward. It is ironic that his keen perception is betrayed by his poor
eyesight. Unable to see for himself what is happening on the battlefield, he trusts the information
given to him by Pindarus. Unable to see the truth and believing that his cause is lost, he decides
to kill himself.
Although Cassius possesses keen political insight, he is not a good politician, for he is too
motivated by personal feelings and gives up too quickly. He clearly understands that Antony is a
risk to his conspiratorial plan, but he submits to the inferior judgment of Brutus and agrees to
spare Antony's life. In the quarrel scene in Act IV, when Brutus refuses to yield over the issue of
taking bribes, Cassius quickly changes the subject and turns the talk to other things. He again
goes against his better judgement and allows Antony to address the mob, which results in a
disastrous reversal of fortune for the conspirators. Finally, he accepts Brutus' fatal decision to
fight the battle at Philippi in order to preserve their newly restored friendship. In the end, Cassius
is led to his tragic ruin by not standing up for his beliefs and by allowing his personal feelings to
override abstract political considerations. Like Brutus, he kills himself rather than to submit to
the shame of capture by the enemy.

Q.Et tu Brute (explanation)

Ans : Perhaps the most famous three words uttered in literature, "Et tu, Brute?"
(Even you, Brutus?) this expression has come down in history to mean the ultimate
betrayal by one's closest friend. This scene, in which the conspirators in the Senate
assassinate Caesar, is one of the most dramatic moments on the Shakespearean
stage. The audience has just witnessed the arrogance and hubris of a ruler who has
sought, within a republic, to become a monarch, comparing himself to the gods.

Brutus, a friend of Caesar and yet a man who loves Rome (and freedom) more, has
joined the conspirators in the assassination, a betrayal which is captured by the
three words above.
Brutus:
And since the quarrel
Will bear no color for the thing he is,
Fashion it thus: that what he is, augmented,
Would run to these and these extremities;
And therefore think him as a serpent's egg,
Which, hatch'd, would as his kind grow mischievous,
And kill him in the shell
Brutus, soliloquizing, casts about for a rationale to join the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar [see
MASTERS OF THEIR FATES]. The problem is that, so far, Caesar has not taken much advantage of his
new power. "The thing he is"a reasonable, stable leaderlends no "color," or credibility, to the
argument that he is a danger to Roman liberties.
In a passage remarkable for its feeling of spontaneous thought, Brutus proceeds by extrapolation. Take
what Caesar is now, he argues, augment it, and the result looks more threatening. Caesar is a "serpent's
egg," a tyrant waiting to be hatched. If we find the egg, we recognize the "kind" (species); when the kind
is dangerous, better to kill the creature in the shell than let it hatch to perform its mischief. The equivalent
idiom today is "let's nip this problem in the bud."