Sheriff Mapes And Marcus Brutus Character Analysis

Leo Tolstoy once said, “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” This quote proves true for one of the main characters in each A Gathering of Old Men, and Julius Caesar. Sheriff Mapes from A Gathering of Old Men, and Marcus Brutus from Julius Caesar both try to change the world. Sheriff Mapes tries to change the world starting off small within his own community, while Marcus Brutus tries to change the world on a much larger scale, throughout the whole republic. Mapes is a law enforcer, so when there is a death he takes control and tries to get to the bottom of it. Brutus, a nobleman, tries to make the republic better by killing his best friend, who could potentially end up a tyrant. Throughout their

Sheriff Mapes is shown as conflicted when he gets shot. Although he is the sheriff, he does not know what to do. Instead of calling for back up or taking charge of the situation, he just sits there. Mapes tells Lou to “leave him alone,” (Gaines 201), even though he is the sheriff and the situation is completely out of hand. Mapes also puts Lou in charge; again, showing how Mapes is unclear of what should be done. He gives authority to someone else, even though he normally wants to be in

They are both conflicted, and fickle. Sheriff Mapes starts off being a stubborn, racist Southern Sheriff. By the end of the novel, he becomes a much more respectful man, giving a voice to all of the blacks. On the other hand, Brutus starts off as a highly regarded nobleman. After he helps kill Julius Caesar, and Mark Antony turns everyone against him and the conspirators, he loses that honor. Although Mapes is mainly in charge, he is mostly passive, while Brutus is aggressive. Mapes worries about the outside factors like Fix and never really fights, whereas Brutus is violent, and actually kills Caesar and starts a