Brutus, an Honorable Man

Final Assessment Julius Caesar Essay

“As I love the name of honor more than I fear death”(1-2-89). Brutus is emphasized as a very honorable man in the play “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare. Honor is what Brutus loves the most and this becomes his fatal flaw. In the play, Brutus is the main character and turns out to be the tragic hero. This quote explains how Brutus will die for honor. Brutus’s main goal in anything is to do it with honor. He is also very patriotic in what he does doing anything for the good of Rome. As the tragic hero of this play Brutus has many motivations into doing what ever he does. Honor and patriotism, both are driving factors of Brutus that caused him to kill Caesar as he believed that it would lead to a better Rome free from tyranny.

As Brutus’s main trait, honor has a big impact in every action he makes. The most honorable act in this play according to him is when they killed Caesar. Brutus and many other conspirators had believed Caesar was a very ambitious man and must be brought down. Before actually killing Caesar, Brutus being the honorable man he is still wanted to honor Caesar even when he was dead. When Brutus was planning the assassination with the other conspirators he ordered them to “kill him boldly, but not wrathfully; let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods”(2-1-172). This shows how much he respects anyone. Even the corpse of the person he has just killed. He will honor anything or anyone if it is his doing. Although Brutus’s high state of honor may be looked upon as a great trait it was also his fatal flaw. After the death of Caesar, one of Caesar’s closest friends, Mark Anthony, started a war against the Conspirators. When Brutus knew that he had lost he commanded is few living soldiers to kill him. Brutus said, “It is more worthy to leap in ourselves that tarry till they push.” (5-5-24) This shows how Brutus will rather commit suicide than be killed because it is more honorable. This goes back to when Brutus explains how he loves honor more than he fears death. So to him his death must be honorable. Through the play Brutus speaks about honor in every speech and soliloquy. To him honor is the closest thing to his heart and he will kill and even sacrifice himself just to keep honor close to his heart.

Apart from honor Brutus is also motivated to do anything for the welfare of the state of Rome. Every decision he makes involves him doing anything patriotic. It is always for the benefit of the people of Rome. His prime example of this was when he killed Caesar. Brutus was convinced by Cassius to see that Caesar might actually become a tyrant and rules the Roman Empire not as a Consul but as a King. Therefore, Brutus and the other conspirators kill Caesar to save Rome from tyranny. After the assassination Brutus explains to the other conspirators on how to go about the streets. “Lets all cry, ‘peace freedom and liberty!” Brutus becomes very patriotic. This shows how Brutus will do anything for the welfare of the people. He expresses this by killing Caesar and going out to the forum in his blood screaming “peace freedom and liberty” to show how much he loves Rome and wants them to be free from tyranny. Later on in that act Brutus speaks to all the commoners about what he has done. In his speech he addresses how “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” This shows he will sacrifice a good friend just for the freedom of the people. In conclusion, Brutus is a great patriot to the State of Rome that he would do anything just so it can be free and peaceful.

Through all of this, Brutus was expressed a man of great honor and a patriot. Through all of this he completed every action he toke with honor and in these actions there was always a hint that it was done for the people of Rome. Through this Brutus killed a dear friend and sacrificed his own life so it could achieve these traits to the very max. Therefore Caesar has made him the main character due to the fact that Brutus hardly had any bad traits and did not die for them but instead died from his greatest traits. Which made him the tragic hero. Although Brutus’s goal was to kill Caesar I don’t believe he achieved it fully because the due to the fact that Caesar spirit still was in Anthony and his men, which caused a war. I do believe Brutus’s intentions were noble and worthy but he got a bit carried away and started to create a few bad outcomes like the war, which Brutus never planned on happening.

Lost Boys Collage

Think Creatively

I incorporated many creative elements to make my collage eye catching and symbolic. I first burnt my poster paper to symbolize the hardship the Sudanese have been through. I also tried to create a format that showed the Sudanese journey from their tribes all the way to the United States. This matched up with my 6 word poem to give the viewer a better understanding of the plight that the Sudanese Refuges have experienced or experiencing now.

Reason Critically

I highlighted my understanding through text and pictures in a few ways. One way was by using trying to symbolizing their journey in order using pictures to guide your way. I also tried to highlight the main pictures and ideas by using one or two words that would summarize what i was trying to send to the viewer. For example there is a picture of many child refugees standing praying and scared, and on top of it I wrote hope to symbolize what they might be thinking.

Communicate Effectively

I tried to create awareness of the Lost Boy's plight in many ways. I used pictures as a way to give a visual perspective to their lives. Even though each picture had a different meaning they all lead to the main idea which is to show the Lost Boy's struggle everywhere they went. I also used words to create awareness. I used the words to represent their emotions when they were experiencing what I was trying to describe. This allows the viewer to understand what was going a bit better in each picture.

Live Ethically

My main goal in this project was trying to inform the viewer about Sudan and create empathy towards the Sudanese people. After learning so much about Sudan and what many of the Lost Boys have experienced I really wanted to demonstrate what I had learned. I tried to evoke an emotional response by showing the true side of Sudan. What has really happened to the Refugees and the real story that i have learned through this unit. I tried to show some depressing pictures to promote how much the Sudanese have been through. Once the viewer reads my poster, I hope it would inspire them to help and donates and help these poor people of Sudan.

Culture Shock

To many migration is considered to be nothing bad, but people in Sudan have experienced the worse migration. In the documentary "The Lost Boys" you follow a group of Sudanese boys who undergo a forced migration to a refugee camp in Kenya then to America. This is also known as stepped migration. The Sudanese were forced to move because of a civil war in Sudan. This war was started due to the unfair of share of power between the Muslim north and the Christian south. The lost boys walked all the way from Sudan to seek asylum in Kenya and Ethiopia. Through this they experienced many things. They were attacked by wildlife, starved and had to endure the hot sun of Africa. One of their most painful experiences was crossing the River Gilo between Ethiopia and Sudan. After all this they would reach refugee camps which would provide food and housing for them. A few boys who were living in these camps were selected to go to America to start a new life.

"The Lost Boys" follows two boys who were selected to go to America, Peter and Santino. They both were sent to Houston Texas to live. Both were amazed at how different Sudan and Houston were different. In the first few months Peter experienced many difficulties in adapting to the western culture. Since Peter was funded by the US government he was only able to stay at a very low cost building with many other Sudanese. Peter thought that this was unacceptable because the whole place was very messy and unhygienic. They also got robbed many times because they lived in a poor neighborhood. Peter also found it unfair how they did not have a right to be educated due to their age even though they did not know their actual age. The lost boys also found it hard to change their tradition. Some found it unjust that they could not hold hands with another man in public because they would be laughed at and be called a homosexual. Peter could not take any of this so he decided to move to Kansas to seek a better life and better treatment.

In Kansas Peter lived a better life. He still lived with Sudanese but he was a lot more integrated to the US society. Once Peter was in Kansas he toke action and was allowed to go to school. Peter started getting friends from school. He would go to their houses and talk to them. Through this his English was improving. He also tried out for basketball. He started to connect with other people through sport. Another way was by religion. Peter would attend Church with a few friends. He was also invited to a church gathering with other people. He got to socialize with others and gain new friends. Although Peter was adapting well to America you could still see that he still felt a bit out of place.