Pragmatic Leadership In Julius Caesar

As a class, we have been reading The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. We have learned about the two different types of characters, pragmatic and principled. Cassius is a pragmatic leader, but Brutus is a principled leader. A pragmatic man is down-to-earth and solves problems, no matter the consequences. A principled leader, on the other hand, is someone who follows the rules, is honorable, and tries to please everyone. Cassius and Brutus are friends throughout the story; however, we learn that in comparison, they are very different. On one hand, Cassius, the pragmatic leader, wastes no time in solving problems. In this case, he has a problem with Caesar and the way that Caesar rules. Cassius, along with many others, believe

This shows that Cassius is pragmatic because he is efficient in overcoming problems and situations and he will let nothing stop him. A second example of Cassius being pragmatic is that he said he would kill himself if Caesar became king. A pragmatic person will do whatever they have to do to deal with a problem, despite the consequences. Again, Cassius’ problem is Caesar, and even though it would result in death, he believes that being dead is better than Caesar becoming the ruler of Rome. An example of real life pragmatism is my cross country coach, Kristi Speer, I believe she takes on pragmatic qualities because she sets goals, and makes the team work hard to accomplish them. My coach is very good at setting her priorities straight and solving problems that may come up throughout the year. For example, Coach Speer makes her runners fill out journals that help to keep track of how they feel, how well they eat, the amount of time they sleep each night, and other health related topics. If a runner has a bad race or does not feel well, Coach Speer looks at the journals to figure out what went wrong.

When Brutus was trying to decide whether or not to join the conspirators, he spent an entire night thinking about it. While debating this in his head, Brutus was trying to find a way to please everyone by analyzing every aspect of the situation. Principled people try to make everyone happy, just like Brutus was trying to do. He wanted to please the people of Rome and the other conspirators, but he did not want to betray his friend, Caesar. Principled people also spend ample time looking over, analyzing, and reviewing possible outcomes of situations and clearly, Brutus demonstrates this when he is deciding to join the conspirators. Another example of Brutus being principled is his reputation for being an honorable man. Throughout the play, Brutus’ honor is pointed out multiple times. In fact, Cassius believes that Brutus’ trustworthiness and honor will help to make the conspirators look better as a group. One of the key pieces to being a principled character is having an honorable reputation, and Brutus clearly demonstrates that he is one of the most honorable characters in the entire play. I see a real life example of a principled person when I look at a good family friend, Jordan. Jordan is studying to become a priest and receiving his Holy Orders. He is principled because he is a rule follower and strictly adheres to his moral beliefs. Jordan is a hard worker and very respected and