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Brutus: The Most Ethical Character In The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar

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Determining which character is the most ethical in their persuasion may be difficult, but looking at their character as a whole throughout the story will undoubtedly influence the decision. A character's side must be chosen in a variety of situations. In William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Julius Caesar is murdered by people he considered his friends; one of the main leaders of the conspirators is Brutus, a man Caesar had a great deal of trust in. Cassius persuades Brutus to murder Caesar. Brutus was initially very loyal to Caesar, but he was far more loyal to Ancient Rome as a whole. Cassius convinces Brutus that Caesar's leadership would be detrimental to Rome. Antony is another character who was close to Caesar. In contrast …show more content…

Another piece of evidence that shows Antony was the most ethical in his persuasion is when he says "He was my friend, faithful and just to me; But Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man. He hath brought many captives home to Rome, whose ransoms did the general coffers fill; Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?" (III.i.83-88) This shows that Antony was more ethical in his persuasion because he is trying to make the people of Rome understand that Caesar was not a bad man. He is using Logos in this part of his speech to prove to the Plebeians that Caesardid many good things for Rome while he was in authority and his getting murdered was not going to be good for Rome it would only really hurt them because they wouldn't have a strong authority that was going to be beneficial for them anymore. Antony understands that to be able to get the people of Rome on his side he needs to make them realize that Caesar was good to them and genuinely did care about them. Antony was smart in his usage of rhetorical appeals by at first using evidence to show that Caesar was a good leader by letting them logically understand that aspect of the argument and then later when he got them on his side he started to appeal to their emotions. Brutus, although attempting to get the people of Rome on his side, his purpose was not as pure as Antony's. Some people may think that Brutus was more ethical in his persuasion because he wanted what was best for Rome, but as Antony says "For Brutus as you know, was Caesar's angel... Caesar saw him stab, ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms... Great Caesar fell." (TIl.i.179-186) This shows that Brutus was not as ethical

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