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Julius Caesar Tragic Hero Essay

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Why Julius Caesar Is The Tragic Hero Caesar had a plethora of traits that inevitably led the conspirators to plot his demise. The conspirators saw his ambition and need for total power and decided to kill him before he could access that power. Brutus compares him to a serpent in its shell, too powerful to kill if he breaks free. Although Caesar did not directly do anything, there were multiple times he could have convinced Brutus that he wasn't dangerous, but he failed on every front. Refusing to pardon Metellus’s brother, not reading Artemidorus's letter and trying to appeal to the overly strong and powerful are some of the things that led to his rather tragic demise. The first flaw presented by Brutus of Caesars is his ambition. He presents himself as unwavering and almost omniscient, trying to look tough in the face of Rome. …show more content…

Artemidorous even makes an effort to warn him of the plot on his life and in another act of deceiving the people, he doesn't read the letter because it doesn't apply to the people, only to him. Brutus sees past this, as do the other conspirators, which leads them to scheme and later kill Caesar before he gets into a position of absolute power. Caesar is very much blinded by pride and his own ego. Calphurnia tries to convince him not to go to the capital, but he claims to not fear death and walks head on into his death regardless. Despite his evident persona, Caesar is very weak. He is deaf in one ear, can't swim, has falling disease or seizures and Cassius has had to save his life multiple times. He is not nearly as much of a formidable opponent as he may think of himself. Caesar thinks himself a brave, cunning manipulator, but most of these points are inadequate and proven false. Finally, Caesar didn't really do anything wrong. The conspirators worked off an idea and preconceived notion that he was going to lead Rome into a bad

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