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The Justification Of Brutus In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Decent Essays

Brutus possesses a gullible personality, which becomes justified when he trusts a random letter, when Caesar reacts dramatically as he stabs him, and when he allows Antony to give a speech at Caesar’s funeral. After reading a letter lying by the window, Brutus changes his perspective to Caesar completely. After reading aloud, he fully believes that the revolt Cassius proposed recently is justified through a mere letter thrown at his window. Furthermore, within this letter, he shows an inclination in perspective right away as he says to himself: “‘Shall Rome, etc.’ Thus must piece out:...” (2.1.51). He does not bother first to determine the true text and meaning of this message, however, his judgement falls on first impressions, showing his lack of common sense and how manipulable he is. Moreover, after reading this forged letter, Brutus never questions the authenticity of the message, demonstrating that he is gullible enough to trust unknown and unreliable sources like Cassius. …show more content…

During the last moments of Caesar’s life, he cries out to Brutus: “Et tu, Brute?”, which translates literally to, “and you, Brutus?”. By the context of the play, Caesar’s surprised expression is justified as it is known to the audience from the exposition that Brutus was a dear friend to him, as trustworthy as an angel. This rash action of committing sudden mutiny to Caesar truly shows the magnitude of how Brutus has been manipulated as now he kills Caesar boldly out of love, not for him, but now to the Roman Republic in which he believes that he is doing a great service

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