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Examples Of Motives In Julius Caesar

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The Underlying Motives of Brutus
Understanding the human psyche is no easy feat. Often times, people do not even fully understand their own motives. This seems to be the case for Brutus in Shakespeare’s Tragedy, Julius Caesar. Brutus does truly believe that his actions are what is right for Rome; he truly thinks he has pure intentions. However, there are times when Brutus disregards what is noble in pursuit of his own glory. Brutus does not realize his noble motives are corrupted by selfish wants, but his actions show that he is often thinking of his reputation over the good of Rome.
Early on in the play, Cassius rants to Brutus about how the name “Caesar “should not be “sounded more than” their own names (I.2.136-162). Cassius tries hard to convince Brutus that he is of the same level of Caesar, and, therefore, is just as deserving of the crown. To these remarks, Brutus immediately replies that he is not jealous of Caesar (I.2.163, 173-6). Here, Brutus seems genuine that he is not in search of glory and that he has no issues with Caesar. This example backs the claim that Brutus does have noble intentions. Apparently, however, Cassius’ words were able to affect Brutus more than he knew, as soon after he was turning on Caesar.
Furthermore, when the other conspirators are deliberating whether or not to also kill Mark Antony, Brutus convinces the group not to kill anyone other than Caesar. In hindsight, this was a disastrous decision that contributed to Brutus’ later downfall.
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