Brutus is one of the most important and memorable characters in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Brutus was once a very good and loving individual, but because he trusted too much and was manipulated by Cassius, Brutus became cold-hearted and sadistic by the end of the play. Brutus truly loved Caesar at first, Brutus was like a brother to Caesar. Brutus also loved Rome and did his best to keep it safe. Brutus’s complicated personality is one of the many reasons The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is such an intriguing play. One of Brutus’ major flaws that caused him to be manipulated by others was Brutus’ trustworthiness.
Brutus often came off as gullible because he trusted other people, especially Cassius, too much. The way Brutus was portrayed in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar made it seem like Brutus was only nice when he wanted something or if there was something in it for Brutus, which isn’t really what his true character was like at all. He did love Caesar after all; Brutus killed Caesar because he loved Rome more than he loved Caesar. Brutus’ trusting personality is one of the ways Brutus was tricked into killing his best friend, another reason Brutus is such an interesting character.
Brutus believed everything that Cassius told him to be true even though Brutus knew what kind of person Cassius truly was. Brutus suspected that Cassius was very manipulative but Brutus still trusted him anyway because Brutus didn’t want to admit to himself how dangerous someone like Cassius could be. Cassius is very sneaky and knows how to manipulate people so it isn’t hard for someone as easily manipulated as Brutus to fall under his spell. The way Brutus is constantly being played by other in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar makes Brutus a very interesting character.
Brutus is never fully aware of what Cassius is doing to him, but Brutus always suspects something is wrong even if Brutus doesn’t know exactly what that might be. Brutus doesn’t trust anyone anymore because he is constantly being let down by everyone around him. Brutus doesn’t have an easy time trusting anyone after Brutus was tricked into killing his best friend and mentor, Caesar. Brutus has every reason not to trust anyone now and no one can blame him for feeling this way. Brutus does feel some guilt over murdering Caesar, but not as much as Cassius thinks he should have.
Brutus shows just how sadistic he became with the manner in which he murders the poet in Brutus’ last scene in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Brutus is just as bad as Cassius if not worse because Brutus murders an innocent person right before he kills himself. Brutus shows how consumed by anger and misery Brutus has become when he feels no guilt about murdering a man who was trying to help him, regardless of what Brutus may have said out loud. Brutus is so consumed with sadness by the end because Brutus has lost everything that Brutus ever loved (Caesar and Rome) and had nothing left but emptiness and anger.
Brutus continued to feel some guilt over killing Caesar throughout the entire play, but it wasn’t enough for Brutus to murdering people or killing himself. Brutus did feel some guilt, Brutus was just too self-centered and consumed by anger to care how sadistic Brutus was becoming. The Tragedy of Brutus changed dramatically over the course of the play because Brutus went from being a good man who cared about everyone around him to someone only concerned with avenging Caesar’s death even if Brutus had to murder people in cold blood whom he once trusted deeply.
Brutus became emotionally distant throughout the play because Brutus’ character changed so drastically by The Tragedy of Julius Caesar’s end. Brutus no longer cares about anything except for killing his enemies and making sure that Rome is safe again after all that has happened since Caesar died. Brutus isn’t selfish or vain anymore, Brutus is just full of anger and violence because Brutus can’t bring back what Brutus has lost. Brutus doesn’t care about anything anymore except for revenge even though Brutus knows that killing everyone who ever loved Caesar will not bring Caesar back to Brutus.
The way Brutus’ character changes throughout the play illustrates how Brutus was used by Cassius to fulfill his own selfish needs. The tragedies that Brutus endures over the course of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar are the direct result of how much trust Brutus places in people he shouldn’t trust at all, especially after everything Brutus went through with Caesar before Brutus murdered him. It isn’t hard for someone like Cassius to fool someone as easily manipulated as Brutus all the time.
Brutus changes so much throughout The Tragedy of Julius Caesar because Brutus is not thinking clearly and Brutus isn’t acting like Brutus at all anymore. Brutus has lost everything that he once loved and has only sadness and anger left to take its place for Brutus inside Brutus’ heart and mind until Brutus kills himself at the end. The Tragedy of Brutus changed dramatically by The Tragedy’s end because Brutus was consumed with sadness, emptiness, anger, bitterness, and hatred towards everyone who gets in Brutus’ way or anyone who ever cared about Caesar.
Brutus is a part of the upper-class society in Rome which allows him to develop into a noble man. Brutus is also religious and prays before going into battle or when making important decisions. Brutus’s religion teaches that there are greater powers known as the Gods who watch over all things and guide us in matters unknown to us. Brutus learns from his family consisting of his mother, Servilia Caepionis, his father Marcus Brutus, and from Lucius Junius Brutus (the founder of the Roman republic) that justice must be sought in order to ensure that all things are fair.
Brutus is able to pick out the good qualities in his parents, which leads Brutus to believe that he can be a fair and just ruler like his father. Brutus’s strong moral upbringing causes him to take great offense when anyone questions Brutus’s morals or motives. During Julius Caesar Brutus struggles with his own feelings of friendship towards Caesar against the teachings of Brutus’s family, specifically Marcus Brutus who taught his son never to befriend an autocrat because it will corrupt your soul.
Brutus’ friendship with Cassius also plays into Brutus’ struggle because he knows how manipulative Cassius can be while at the same time Brutus has allowed himself to become too attached to let go of Cassius’ friendship. Brutus spends a great deal of time trying to figure out what is the right action to take concerning his relationship with Caesar and whether Brutus should side with his family or Brutus’s friendship. Brutus’s struggle intensifies when Brutus finds out from Casca that he is one of the people who was able to get a letter from Caesar inviting him along with other conspirators to dinner on the Ides of March.