Question

Read the excerpt below from act 2.1 of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar and answer the question that follows. BRUTUS: It must be by his death. And for my part I know no personal cause to spurn at him, But for the general. He would be crowned. How that might change his nature, there’s the question. It is the bright day that brings forth the adder, And that craves wary walking. Crown him: that! And then I grant we put a sting in him That at his will he may do danger with. Th’ abuse of greatness is when it disjoins Remorse from power. And to speak truth of Caesar I have not known when his affections swayed More than his reason. But ‘tis a common proof That lowliness is young ambition’s ladder, Whereto the climber-upward turns his face; But when he once attains the upmost round, He then unto the ladder turns his back, Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees By which he did ascend. So Caesar may. Then lest he may, prevent. And since the quarrel Will bear no color for the thing he is, Fashion it thus: that when he is, augmented, Would run to these and these extremities; And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg. Which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous, And kill him in the shell. What is revealed about Brutus’ character and motivations in the moral dilemma presented in his act 2.1 soliloquy?

Answer 1

Answer:

The above soliloquy shows Brutus contemplating what he should do about Ceasar. He knows that as a person, Ceasar alone isn't a bad person but he thinks that this kingship will ruin him. So, it is better to kill him before he is made king. This shows that he is more invested in the safety and the future of the people and is even ready to murder the king who is also his friend, for the sake of the nation. He is of a complex character but keeps the interest of the nation before anything else.