In the play Julius Caesar, the tragedy of the play was directed mainly at one specific character, Marcus Brutus. Brutus was the tragic hero of the play, because of his idealistic and pragmatic qualities. The mindset that Brutus possessed only allowed him to see the world and its people from one point of view. This point of view allowed him to make judgments that assumed only the best of people. This tragic weakness resulted in many errors throughout the play. Major incidences such as the decision to kill Caesar. Brutus was too idealistic and lived in fantasy world in which he made all his decisions simply by expecting that all were as honorable as himself. .
In this play Cassius and a number of fellow conspirators seek to recruit Brutus as a participant in the planned assassination of Julius Caesar. Unlike Cassius, Brutus holds no personal animosity toward Caesar. Rather he fears that Caesar's political ambition and growing popularity will result in his being crowned king which will bring harm to the public good through his inevitable abuse of power. Although Brutus agonizes over his decision to join the conspiracy, he eventually justifies the plot to kill Caesar-not on the basis of any actual wrong doing, but on the basis of potential wrong doing.
Brutus, and his companions thought it necessary to take out a possible tyrant "for the good of Rome" and to keep Rome from again becoming a King ruled state. His actions show that he is a very patriotic citizen of Rome, one who loves his country and upholds its interests; even to the extent of ending his best friend's life. He knew that Caesar would have taken over Rome and made bad decisions for the citizens or Rome. He told the people of Rome that he loved Caesar but loved Rome more. Another factor in his decision to assassinate Caesar rests in the case that he was a Stoic. In his stoic mentality, he had no choice but stand hard against any moral or gospel values that he might have had, and ultimately sacrifice the life of his best companion in order to insure the safety of, and good of, Rome.
