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Brutus Character Analysis

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Readers of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar can determine Brutus as two, very different characters: either a evildoer or a tragic hero. Those who believe Brutus is a villain thinks he betrayed his friend for power, while others reckon he saved Rome from being ruled by a terrible, selfish dictator, Caesar. However, it is possible to see how Shakespeare actually makes Brutus the most tragic character, not Caesar. Although Brutus killed Caesar for Rome, the plebeians did not honor him as a hero and Brutus eventually chooses to run into a sword and die (Shakespeare, 100). How more can Brutus be tragic? He is a victim in this story, not a villain or a hero. Brutus, Caesar’s past old friend, is not a villain even though some may say that he betrayed his companion. While it is possible to say that Brutus’ jealousy towards Caesar and his wanting to take over Caesar’s seat could have been Brutus’ initial purpose, Brutus goes through internal conflicts before deciding to kill Caesar. In Act II Scene I, Brutus has a monologue after asking his servant Lucius to get a taper saying, “It must be by his death; and for my part, I know no personal cause to spurn at him, But for the general” (Shakespeare, 23). …show more content…

Characters can be determined whether or not they are true heros by using Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey cycle. However, Brutus does not follow the hero’s cycle and does not fit into all of the characteristics of a hero. For example, while true heros naturally have helpers and mentors coming to support, Brutus goes and finds his own conspirators, such as Cassius, Casca, Decius, Cinna, Metellus, and Trebonius (Shakespeare, 26). Also, heros have a revelation step as seen in the image above, where they die or transform. There is no way Brutus can be a hero according to this cycle since he chose to kill himself by running into a sword and stopped his journey in the middle of a hero’s

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