Julius Caesar Ethos Pathos Logos

Brutus and Booth-Noble Purgers

Throughout history, people have sacrificed their lives, reputations, and honor to do what they believe is just, regardless of what others think. John Wilkes Booth, the assassin that killed President Abraham Lincoln in 1865 has been viewed as a traitor throughout American history; however, in Booth’s eyes, he was saving a nation from the injustices of an unfit leader. Similarly, the fictional character Brutus in the Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar murdered his close friend, the Roman emperor Caesar, to uphold the Roman Republic. Brutus and Booth may be murderers, but they show their honorable intentions and selfless character traits through their effective use of logos and ethos.

Brutus is a logical and noble

Booth was part of a conspiracy to kill Lincoln, and after shooting him, he stated in his diary, “Our country owed all her troubles to him, and God simply made me the instrument of punishment” (Booth). This statement shows the duty that Booth felt towards protecting the integrity of the nation he previously loved. Booth sees himself as purifying the nation, punishing Lincoln for forcing a union upon a divided country. Booth personifies the country by referring to the it using the female pronoun “her”; this creates the idea that the country is a victim. At the time when Booth wrote his last diary entry, women were often considered weak and helpless and therefore the feminization of the country creates logical reasoning to be avenged and protected from evils. Booth only wanted to take care of a country that had been wronged, and he shows his honorable intentions again in the lines, “I hoped for no gain. I knew no private wrong. I struck for my country and that alone” (Booth). The parallel structure of these statements show a conviction and truth behind them. There is no hesitation; the verbs are strong and clearly stated, proving that Booth wanted to obviously declare why he killed Lincoln. He blatantly says why he murdered, leaving no room for misinterpretation. If anything, Booth sacrificed more than he could have gained by the assassination.; he would

Both of the deceased leaders, Caesar and Lincoln, were well loved by many, and so the initial reaction of the public was to misunderstand the murderer’s intentions and feel only loss and hatred. Brutus, a prominent member of the Senate and a dear friend of Caesar’s, reminds the Plebeians of his relationship with Caesar. Brutus said, “not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more” declaring that he sympathizes with the Plebeians hurting and loss because he too lost a loved one (Shakespeare 45). By establishing the loving relationship between Caesar and Brutus, Brutus relates himself to a beloved leader; this carries those attributes that Caesar was loved for upon Brutus. Brutus is already well-known throughout Rome, and can easily gain respect since he had it from the public at one point. Booth however, is unknown to the vast population of the United States who are impacted by Lincoln's death. He uses religion to convince them that he has strong morals and is a generally good person. For example, in the line, “I have too great a soul to die like a criminal. Oh, may He, may He spare me that, and let me die bravely” he asks God for forgiveness. Booth begs for God’s mercy, establishing that he is a religious and virtuous man, and he knows that murder is wrong. Booth