Brutus was a trusted friend of Caesar and an honorable man, or so you thought. In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus is presented as aloyal companion to Caesar showing himself as honorable only to turn around andbetray his friend by death. This to me does not sound like the act of anhonorable man. Can a man who is honored, be honorable? Brutus was a noble man inRome and a good friend to the leader Caesar.
Many looked up to Brutus as anhonest man, and a person to trust and confide in. Trust is a basis in afriendship, and the one thing that failed to enter the relationship betweenCaesar and Brutus, leading to the one thing to drive their friendship apart. Hemay be looked apon as honored but was definitely not an honorable man. Someonewho kills one of his own because he was persuaded to by the thoughts and ideasof others is easily manipulated and therefore cannot be thought of as honorable.
He does not have strong character if he does not have faith in himself. “Hold then my sword, and turn away thy face while I do run apon it. “(Shakespeare The Tragedy of Julius Caesar 5. 3.
line 49) These were words Brutusspoke moments before killing himself, dying full of shame. How could a man whodoes not have the strength to carry on with his life, be considered honorable?Half of having the title of being honorable, is having faith in yourself, aquality which Brutus showed he did not have by timorously taking his own life. Inner weakness portrays itself in an outer manifestations of lies and anger. Howcan these characteristics be considered honorable? Like a chameleon, Brutuschanged his words and ideas to fit the political climate, betraying Caesar, hiscountry, and eventually himself.
Brutus, having no self-assurance, or confidencehe resulted to being a follower right down to his death. These are all signs ofa weak person. With so much going for him, he lost it all to an easy way out ofa difficult situation. We are all presented with effortless ways to get out ofcomplicated circumstances, but it’s not always the best. As loyal andtrustworthy as Brutus was first thought to be, his true side was eventuallyshown in the end. He was no friend to Caesar, or anyone else.
Betrayal, lies,suicide, and murder were result of a weak and deceitful man. This man showed hewas anything but honorable in anyway. On who is honored can’t always behonorable.
