Brutus as a Tragic Hero from Julius CaesarShakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar presents Brutus as a tragic hero, blind loyalty and devotion. Brutus' heroic belief in honor and virtue was so powerful that it drove him to perform villainous actions and lead to his destruction. The tragic hero is “presented as a person neither entirely good nor entirely bad, who is led by a tragic flaw to commit a crime.” an act that results in suffering and total defeat. » (Morner, Kathleen & Rausch, Ralph. 1991, Pg. #227) Brutus was guided by his firm decrees of honor, but he was unconsciously hypocritical. He congratulated himself on having refused bribes and not having acquired money by dishonest means, "for I cannot raise money by vile means" (Act IV, scene iii), but he reprimanded Cassius for refusing to share with him his own fraudulent gains. He fought for righteousness by using dishonest and corrupt means to fulfill his so-called morality. In Julius Caesar, Cassius approached Brutus with the idea of ​​assassinating Caesar. Cassius needed Brutus because of his recognized heroic qualities. He used Brutus as an insurance policy, declaring "Brutus will rule, and we will honor his heels with the boldest and best hearts of Rome." (Act III, scene i) Cassius makes him fear that Caesar is too ambitious and despotic. This forced Brutus to conclude that Caesar's death is the only way to solve Rome's problem. “And therefore consider him as the egg of a serpent which, hatched, would become, like its species, mischievous and would kill him in its shell.” (Act II, scene i) Brutus believed it was for the good of Rome, "not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." (Act III, Scene ii) Cassius manipulated Brutus into believing he had to eliminate C...... middle of paper...... and devotion destroyed him. The greatest good of this tragic hero leads him to the most wicked evil. Works Cited http://student.cscc.edu/ENGL/Engl264/traglex.htm. Shakespearean tragedy. 11/29/99. Yahoo.Bloom, Harold. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Chelsea House Publisher; Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania. 1988, p. #33 - 36Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare from A to Z. Roundtable Press, Inc.; New York. 1990, p. #78 - 80Durband, Alan. Shakespeare Made Easy: Julius Caesar. Educational Series from Barron, Inc.; New York. 1985. Ludowyk, EFC Understanding Shakespeare. Cambridge University Press; New York. 1962, p. #184-187Morner, Kathleen and Rausch, Ralph. NTC Dictionary of Literary Terms. National Textbook Society; Illinois. 1991, p. #225 - 227Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. Dover Publications, Inc.; new York. 1991.