William Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, is mainly based on the
assassination of Julius Caesar. The character who was in charge of the
assassination was, ironically, Marcus Brutus, a servant and close friend to
Julius Caesar. But what would cause a person to kill a close friend? After
examining Brutus' relationship to Caesar, his involvement in the conspiracy, and
his importance to the plot, the truth can be revealed. Marcus Brutus, a servant
and close friend to Caesar, has a strong relationship with Caesar but a stronger
relationship with Rome and its people. Brutus is very close to Caesar. In Roman
times, the only way for someone to get close to a person of high rank is if
he/she is close to him/her. In many points of the play, Brutus was talking and
next to Caesar. Brutus also loves Caesar but fears his power. In the early acts
of the play, Brutus says to Cassius, "What means this shouting? I do fear
the people do choose Caesar for their king...yet I love him well." as he is
speaking to Cassius. Brutus loves Caesar, but would not allow him to
"climber-upward...He then unto the ladder turns his back...". As the
quote says, Brutus would not allow Caesar to rise to power and then turn his
back onto the people of Rome. After the assassination of Julius Caesar, Brutus
talks to Antony about Caesar's death. "Our hearts you see not; they are
pitiful; and pity to the general wrong of Rome...". Brutus says that Antony
cannot see their (members of the conspiracy) hearts, which are full of pity.
Again, this shows how Brutus loved Caesar but cared for the life of Rome and its
people more. This is the only reason Brutus would conspire against Caesar. For
Brutus says to himself, "I know no personal cause to spurn at him...How
that might change his nature..." Caesar's relationship with Brutus is also
strong. Just allowing Brutus to speak to Caesar shows his respect for Brutus.
Caesar feels that Brutus is noble to him and does the right thing regardless of
personal danger. On the Ides of March, as Caesar was assassinated, Caesar's last
line is: "Et tu, Brute?--Then fall, Caesar.". This shows that Caesar
would not die without Brutus' stab. Caesar realizes that there must be a noble
reason for this assassination if Brutus was in it. This again shows how much
Caesar respects Brutus. Brutus and Caesar both respect each other, but in
different ways. Marcus Brutus had a very important role in the conspiracy
against Caesar. He was the "back-bone" of the plan. According to
Cassius, Brutus' main purpose in the conspiracy is for an insurance policy. The
people will think, since Brutus is noble to Caesar, that there is a good reason
for Caesar's assassination. Brutus will also be the leader of the conspiracy for
another "insurance policy" for the assassination. Cassius is the one
who declares this, "Brutus shall lead the way, and we will grace his heels
with the most boldest and best hearts of Rome. ". Again, if Brutus leads
the way, the people will think that the death of Julius Caesar wasn't such a bad
thing. Brutus also declares to himself that his role in the conspiracy is to
save Rome. He says to the people that, "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.". If Brutus was not in the plot of The Tragedy of
Julius Caesar, the conspiracy would probably not have worked. Since Brutus
"...loved Rome more.", he decided to be a part of the conspiracy. If
he hadn't loved Rome more than Caesar, he would not have joined in the
assassination of Julius Caesar. Cassius and the rest of the conspirators would
probably not have continued on without Brutus because they would have no
"insurance" afterwards. The people would think that there was no
reason for Caesar's death and most likely beheaded all the conspirators. Also,
if Brutus was not in the play, the whole end of the play would not ever occur.
Brutus would not be there to have an army or kill himself, and Cassius will
already be beheaded. If Brutus was not in the play, the title would have
absolutely no meaning. Marcus Brutus was a good friend to Julius Caesar, but not
good enough. He had moral values dealing with Rome and its people. Brutus'
values then made him join a conspiracy against Caesar put together by Cassius.
Brutus joined this mainly because he didn't want Caesar to turn his back on Rome
so there would be a reasonable reason for killing Caesar. If Brutus wasn't in
the play, there would be no "Tragedy" in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.