“Brutus had rather be a villager/ than to repute himself a son of Rome/ under these hard conditions as this time/ is like to lay upon us.” (Act 1.2, lines 170~173) In the play ‘Julius Caesar’ by Shakespeare, Brutus decides to turn his back upon Caesar, his close friend and colleague for Rome. Brutus, during act 1 scene 2, spoke the quote above. In this scene, Cassius is trying to win the noble Brutus over to his side of the conspiracy, and Brutus is telling Cassius about how he’d rather be a peasant than to be someone ruled by another. This quote shows Brutus’ love for the democracy of Rome, and he would give up his honorable place in the country if he were to be part of Rome governed by one man. It also characterizes Brutus as an honorable man, who loves his country dearly and would give anything, even his honor, if it would save his beloved city. Painted as a fine, honorable patriot, Brutus sets and strives toward his goal: making Rome the best country of them all. And he considers assassinating Caesar as a stepping-stone he must step on to reach his goal. So driven by his patriotism and honor-loving nature, Brutus comes to the decision that it would be best if Caesar was murdered after reading the letters from ‘Rome’ begging him to take action, and holds hands with the conspirators, instantly becoming their leader.
In the play, Brutus is portrayed as a very well loved, honorable patriot who would do anything for his city. And he really gives everything to Rome, even the life of his dear friend, Caesar, his patriotism motivating his action. To Brutus, he had no reason to kill Caesar, but he did it only for the citizens, as he was tricked into believing that Rome wanted Caesar’s death by Cassius. We can see Brutus’ patriotism in the funeral speech he gives for Caesar. “If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (Act 3.2, lines 19~21) This shows his love for Caesar didn’t win his love for Rome, showing his patriotic character.
Even if Brutus seems like a perfect character, he had a fatal flaw he couldn’t win. This was his love for honor. And this fatal flaw was the other motivator for Brutus when he was debating to himself whether he should join the conspiracy or not. His honor-loving nature was the reason of this motivation. He had always yielded to his love for honor and therefore, made some fatal mistakes. One was when he decided to keep Antony alive, as it was too brutal and dishonorable “to cut the head off and then hack the limbs.” (Act 2.1, line 163) Even though Cassius tried to persuade Brutus, as Antony was a very loyal man to Caesar and he might turn everything into a disaster, he still chooses to satisfy his love for honor. He tells Cassius, “Lets be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius. … Let’s kill him boldly, but not wrathfully;/ Let’s carve him as a dish fit for the Gods,/ Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds.” (Act 2.1, lines 166~174) This speech made by Brutus gives proof that he values honor more than anything, and makes the violent murder of Caesar seem like a necessary sacrifice that will bring honor to him and Rome. So they decide not to kill Antony as that will make them butchers, rather than sacrificers. But this choice, proves to be a disastrous mistake with dire consequences. Antony manages to get Rome to turn on the conspirators and a terrible war breaks out in Rome, which was the very opposite of what Brutus had hoped. But before long, Antony and Octavius defeat Brutus and Cassius, and everything backfires on the patriot. When he became aware that Cassius had killed himself and everything was over, he also commits suicide. “Our enemies have beat us to the pit./ It is more worthy to leap in ourselves/ Than tarry till they push us.” (Act 5.5, lines 23~28) Brutus knew that he might lead a dishonorable life if he is captured by the enemy, and he is someone who can never live without honor. Finally realizing his fatal mistake, he commits suicide.
In the play ‘Julius Caesar’, Brutus’ main conflict is deciding on the choice that would bring him more honor, one of them being a choice between the general citizens or his dear friend Caesar. He chooses Rome over Caesar, his honor-loving nature and patriotism being the main motivators. These two motivators caused Brutus to join the conspiracy against Caesar, save Mark Antony’s life, which cost him his own life. But did these motivators help Brutus achieve his goal of making Rome a better place? To this, I would say that they helped him partially, but not wholly. Brutus did achieve parts of his goal, as he helped Rome maintain their democracy in the first place by joining the plot against Caesar. He assassinated Caesar, but his honor-loving character got in his way of total success: it made him think that killing Mark Antony would be a wrong, dishonorable doing. But by letting him live, war broke out within Rome, ruining and taking the lives of many innocent citizens. This ruined his goal of making Rome a better place to live, making it worse for the citizens. I do agree that his goal was noble and worthy, as his want for the people to live a better life is a worthy action and thought. But the process he went through to achieve his goal was not the best, as it only helped him get halfway to his goal, and eventually stopping all possibilities of him achieving his goal.
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