Who Is Responsible For Julius Caesar's Downfall

Maddy Raimann
Mrs. Korey
Advanced Honors English
01 March 2023
In modern day society, there are many situations in which people prove to trust others too easily, or can commonly be naive, believing that people have no evil in them. In the play, Julius Caesar, by Shakespeare, a story of a man named Caesar’s downfall due to a group of conspirators is told, as well as the story of how a man named Brutus caused his downfall. It is evident that Julius Caesar tells Brutus’ tragedy, the story of a man whose lack of insight brings chaos to his society and his own death, through his naiveness and trusting others too easily.
Exemplified throughout the play, Brutus was a man who constantly believed in doing good for others, believing that everyone had

Brutus did not have the same reasons, saying in Act 2, Scene 1, “It must be by his death; and for my party I know no personal cause to spurn at him/ But for the general. He would be crowned.” Rather than wanting to kill Caesar out of hatred like the other conspirators, he was naive, believing that everyone wanted to kill Caesar for the good of Rome. Brutus was a fan of Caesar, but knew that Rome would prosper if Caesar was no longer around to become a ruler, additionally knowing that he could become a tyrant. The phrase, “I know no personal cause to spurn at him/But for the general,” displays how Brutus was truly unlike the other conspirators, wanting to kill Caesar out of the goodness of his heart. If Brutus had paid more attention and wasn’t so naive, he could have prevented the killing of Caesar. When he was having a conversation with Portia and she had noticed something was wrong, Brutus immediately dismissed her, lying to say he was sick. However, if Brutus could have confessed his problems to her, she could have helped him realize that not everyone had the same intentions as him, with there being a

Brutus had already made a mistake in agreeing to kill Caesar, but throughout the majority of the play, he had put a massive amount of trust into Marc Antony. He believed that Marc Antony only had benevolent intentions, trusting that he intended no harm onto the conspirators. When the conspirators had killed Caesar, Marc Antony had shown up, immediately saying to the conspirators that they could kill him at that moment. While the other conspirators were ready, Brutus truly believed that Antony had no harm in him, considering him a friend. In Act 3, Scene 1, Brutus confidently stated, “Thy master is a wise and valiant Roman/I never thought him worse/…I know that we shall have him well to a friend.” This was a tragic mistake that Brutus had made, taking another step that would lead to his downfall. He constantly looked to find the good in others, thinking that Antony was a kind man who would never turn his back on the conspirators. He believed that Antony was on their side, trusting that Antony agreed with their killing of Caesar as well as their intentions. As Brutus spoke this, the conspirators all began to talk about Caesar’s funeral and how a few of them wanted to speak. When Antony had asked to speak, Brutus immediately agreed to let him, still seeing the good in him. However, through letting Antony speak at the funeral, the citizens of Rome had turned against Brutus and the