One’s reputation is gathered by the honor bestowed on them. Throughout the ancient and modern world honor is envied by many. During the study and read of Julius Caesar, a Shakespearian play following the death of Pompey and Caesar’s downfall, many characters are tested to being honorable. The merit of having honor and being honorable are central themes within the play. Characters are affected by their decisions because of their lust for reputation. The play, Julius Caesar, makes of honor as accepting self-responsibility and wrongdoing towards Brutus, Portia, and Antony’s actions, intentions, and values. Marcus Brutus was a close colleague of Julius Caesar, who had recently risen in power after killing Pompey. In Act 1, Scene 2, Brutus is …show more content…
Portia was a loyal wife, and very patience and trustworthy. She had been ‘asleep,’ throughout most the play, although she had known there was something going on that Brutus is not telling her. Portia begged Brutus to tell her his intentions, and upon refusing, she reveals a stab, in which she had done herself, to prove her patience, a keeper of secrets, and to convince Brutus. She is well-aware of how to prove her honor, which was to inflict harm on herself. Portia exclaims, “Portia is Brutus' harlot, not his wife,” (2.1.310) this is her saying that if she, Portia, can not learn of her husband’s aim, she is not a wife, but another prostitute. Portia is honorable because she believes it was her fault she couldn’t stop Brutus from joining the conspiracy, and it was too late by the time she found out. Instead, Portia commits suicide, by swallowing fire coals. This is obviously honorable at that time, due to having the courage of suicide, not to mention the method of hot coals. “ No, my Brutus. You have some sick offence within your mind, which by the right and virtue of my place I ought to know of,” (2.1.266-270) Portia was truly a valiant and loyal wife, who stood up to Brutus and tried to keep him from harm, this cost her life, as she fell distressed up
Brutus would rather tell Portia about the conspiracy, than to withhold secrets to his wife. This allows the reader to infer that his love for Portia is not of that time in 44 B.C where most Romans with a few exceptions treated their wives as possessions. Brutus did not act upon this, for he was not only an honorable Roman but a loving husband as well. The fact that Brutus allowed Portia to talk to him the way she did is only one supportive reason to claim he truly loved her. Another would be when Brutus says “Render me worthy of this noble wife!”
Was Brutus Noble? In Shakespeare 's’ The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar, one of the main characters, Marcus Brutus, is found dead by the noble Mark Antony, and is called “The Noblest Roman Of Them All” (Julius Caesar Act 5, scene 5, 68–72). Antony 's’ statement is a true one for many reasons. The first reason would be that Brutus was a man who valued his friendships over all else.
By showing the honor to Brutus, Antony is able to get away with accusing the conspirators without directly stating that he does not agree with their
The Consequences of Honor Being an honorable person requires one to follow a code of ethics for the greater good, even at the cost of his own life. If one breaks his code of ethics, he believes that living with the shame of breaking it for the rest of his life would be a “fate worse than death”. These selfless individuals care more about the needs of others than their own personal desires. However, there are people who take advantage of one’s honorable nature and use it for their own gain. This concern of acting honorably is shown in Brutus, the main character in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
One’s integrity represents their true character, and treason shows lack of trust and allegiance. Brutus turns to an entirely different person than he used to be, after he murders Caesar. Clearly, he lacks core values as a respected man. In Act 4, Scene 3, Brutus defends his actions and attempts to justify his sin: “Did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake?” Although Brutus was good friends with Caesar, he seems to disregard all of it.
In their introductory scene a discussion is taking place about Caesar's claim to the throne. Through this discussion the audience learns a lot about Cassius and Brutus’s values . It is revealed that Brutus is an honorable man who believes in the general good of mankind. He states, (1.2 84-89)“ What is it that you would impart to me?/ If it be aught toward the general good, / Set honour in one eye and death
The least honorable character of Julius Caesar is Brutus. The main reason Brutus is dishonorable is because he betrayed his friend Caesar. Brutus shouldn’t have made Caesar think they were friends because in the end they weren’t true friends. If Brutus wanted to be seen as an honorable friend he should have sat down and talked to him about what he was doing. Instead of doing this, Brutus killed Caesar and helped the conspirators.
While Brutus spoke well, but had no real factual standpoint, Antony gave many examples of Caesar’s achievements. In his speech he uses Pathos, Logos, Ethos, and Situational Irony to sway his audience. He uses Brutus’ and Cassius’ precious honor and Caesar’s achievements against them, saying, “When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept./ Ambition should be made of sterner stuff./ Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,/ And Brutus is an honorable man” (3.2.90-93). In this statement and many other statements following the same pattern Antony degrades the honor and the arguments of Caesar’s ambition that were made by Brutus and the other conspirators.
Some playwrights choose to write plays about historical events, among them there is The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, a play that describes the downfall of the rule of Julius Caesar, but is also a play that is not as truthful as it first impressionably is, a complete truthful account of Julius Caesar’s assassination and the events leading up to it. In order to greater attract the audience, Shakespeare, along with other playwrights, relied on adding historical inaccuracies to add the necessary suspense. Thus, Shakespeare strayed away from historical events occurring during Caesar’s lifetime, implementing inaccuracy into the story. Shakespeare based one of his most well-known plays, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, on historical events that includes
Corruption is defined as dishonest or illegal behavior, especially by powerful people, and just like its definition, corruption and power go hand in hand. The more power a person has, generally, the easier it is for them to be corrupted. Just like in Julius Caesar where power and corruption are very prevalent, and most of the leaders in Julius Caesar became corrupted by their power, but in some rare cases leaders have avoided corruption, these people are very valuable in society, and must not be taken for granted. Just like many other leaders in Julius Caesar, Caesar was corrupted by his power. He wasn’t corrupt in the normal sense, he was socially corrupt in the fact that he didn’t stick to the social norms of respecting fellow senators in
However, Brutus was honorable in a way because he let Marc Antony speak
Honor in the world gives people a reason to fight for the things that they believe in. Throughout The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus has had to make many tough decisions that display the great honor within him. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare's, it is made very obvious that Brutus is an honorable man. Brutus preserves his honor by taking care of Rome’s issues with good intentions and without going too far.
In this scene Caesar has been murdered by the conspirators including Brutus. Brutus is one of Caesar's good friends who is driven by honor; who thought Caesar’s ambition was going to be the end of Rome. Antony is a very loyal friend of Caesar’s who does not agree with the conspirators. Brutus and Antony are both smart well thought out characters. They desire to persuade the commoners to their side of the situation.
She cared about her husband. Portia wants Brutus’ health to be good and she doesn 't think it is very good. Portia says “ which sometime hath his hour with every man. It will not let you eat, not talk, nor sleep, and , could it work so much upon your shape as it hath much prevailed on your condition, i should not know you, Brutus. Dear my lord, make me acquainted with your cause of grief.
Flattery in Julius Caesar In Julius Caesar, many themes arise in the book, but one theme that seems consistent is the theme of flattery. Many scenes in Julius Caesar have many accounts of flattery shared between characters. Three scenes however, show of flattery very well and these three scenes will be the examples of flattery in the story. These scenes show that flattery is an important theme in the story of Julius Caesar. Flattery is an important theme in Julius Caesar.