Julius Ceasar-Honor

4 Pages 918 Words

An Honorable Leadership

Honor is one of the main underlying themes in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, a tragic play that explains, through Brutus’ conflict with himself and with other main characters, that the end does not justify the means. Brutus's noble and honest traits, most opposite of Caesar, Cassius, and Antony, prove to reconcile his true leadership ability. Throughout the play, the themes of persuasion and propaganda bombard Brutus with conflict, but his honest seeds compel him to continue on in his battle for the good of Rome.

In the beginning, we learn of the jealousy of Cassius, a "loyal" politician in Caesar’s court who is hungry for power. It is this jealousy that drives Cassius to use the power of persuasion on Brutus. He quickly encourages Brutus to trust him in that Caesar has become a tyrant and that he must be stopped for the good of Rome. Brutus soon forms a raw decision based on the given facts, but he does not make a shady one. "If it be aught toward the general good, Set honor in one eye and death i’ th’ other And I will look on both indifferently"(page 11, line 85); Brutus carries this inspiration with him throughout the play and is driven by a thought of the honor, not corruption reminiscent of Cassius's actions. As the story progresses, Brutus naturally takes on the role of the leader, and plots an assassination in which he anticipates that the end will justify the means. Brutus undergoes a battle with himself in which he struggles over the question of what good he will be doing for the people of Rome. Opportunely, he is reminded of how much of a tyrant Caesar was when Caesar said, "I could be well moved, if I were as you; If I could pray to move prayers would move me. But I am constant as the northern star, Of whose true-fixed and resting quality There is no fellow in the firmament"(page 49, line 59). As Brutus sees what an autocrat Caesar has become and distinguishes that the only w...