The Dangers of Rigid Idealism in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare Essay Example

Every individual has a set of ideals that guides them at certain points in their life. Some people, however, allow their ideals to dictate all of their viewpoints and decisions. In such cases of strong idealism, individuals may develop a mindset in which they project their motives upon others. Unfortunately, this is a flawed way of thinking because not everyone lives by the same ideals. In the play, Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare develops the idea that if an individual is so rigid in their ideals that they project them upon all of society, they may become blinded to the truth.

When Marcus Brutus is first introduced to the idea of assassinating Julius Caesar, his response illustrates the great extent to which he believes in his ideals. On the feast of Lupercal, a celebratory procession is being held for Caesar because of his victory over Pompey, a former Roman war hero. At one point during the event, Brutus stays back and converses with his brother-in-law, Cassius, as Caesar and his supporters depart to hold festivities. In the discussion that he has with Brutus, Cassius criticizes the tremendous following that Caesar has acquired.  Cassius’ desire to diminish Caesar’s authority becomes evident when he claims that it is their own fault that Caesar holds so much power. Brutus makes it clear that he “[loves] The name of honour more than [he fears] death” (I, ii, 88), and for this reason, he will consider what Cassius has said. Based on Brutus’ response, it is clear that he is only concerned about doing what is righteous in this situation. His ideals consist of acting honourably for the benefit of the public, which in this case means preventing Caesar from establishing an empire. However, Brutus fails to realize that perhaps Cassius does not want to get rid of Caesar for virtuous reasons. His faith in his ideals gives him the false impression that Cassius is thinking with as noble of a mindset as him. As a result, Brutus spends an entire month pondering upon Cassius' words. From the moment “Cassius first [does] whet [him] against Caesar, [he does] not [sleep]” (II, i, 61), contemplating what is best to do in this situation. Although they are close friends, Brutus does not want Caesar’s ambition to become leader to get the best of him. For this reason, he eventually decides to take part in Caesar’s killing. The amount of thought that Brutus puts into coming to this resolution reinforces his intense desire to do what is virtuous. Overall, Brutus’ rigidity in his ideals is evident when he blindly trusts Cassius and spends time making choices that seem rational.

While planning and carrying out Caesar’s assassination, Brutus’ idealism prevents him from recognizing the threat that Mark Antony poses. When Brutus finalizes his decision to take part in the killing of Caesar, Cassius and a few other conspirators meet in his house to make some important choices regarding the stunt they plan to carry out. The question of whether Antony, a dear friend of Caesar’s, should also be killed is brought up. Cassius claims that it would be wise to murder Antony due to his manipulative nature and close bond with Caesar. However, Brutus argues against doing so because he wants the conspirators to appear as “sacrificers, but not butchers'' (II, i, 166). Brutus has only decided to kill Caesar because he is worried that his ambitions will have a detrimental effect on Rome. Assassinating Antony, he believes, would be too bloody and unnecessary for this cause. However, Brutus does not pay attention to the fact that Antony might actually be quite problematic after Caesar’s death. His ideal of always taking the honorable course of action blinds him from this reality. Nevertheless, because of the convincing reasons that Brutus provides, the other conspirators agree to spare Antony. Soon after these decisions have been made, the schemers surround Caesar at the Capitol and stab him to death. After the killing, Antony requests an explanation for what the conspirators have done. Brutus assures him that he will be provided with the reasons for the assassination as soon as the public is appeased. This seems to satisfy Antony, who now only asks for the opportunity to speak at Caesar’s funeral. In spite of Cassius’ pleas not to do so, Brutus immediately accepts Antony’s request. He simply warns Antony that he must “not in his funeral speech blame [the conspirators], But speak all good [he] can devise of Caesar/” (III, i, 245). Despite knowing little about Antony’s morals, Brutus assumes that he will be honourable and not cause any chaos in this situation. This is likely because that is what he would do if he was in such a predicament himself. However, Brutus is once again disregarding the fact that not everyone is as principled as him. Ultimately, Brutus’ lack of concern towards Antony’s intentions reinforces how comfortably he projects his ideals upon others.

Brutus does not change his ways after Caesar's funeral, despite the fact that Antony’s speech proves how blinded he was by his rigid ideals. In his funeral speech, Antony uses a plethora of rhetoric techniques to turn the Romans against Brutus and the other conspirators. Without directly saying that what Brutus has done is dishonourable, Antony points to the virtue in Caesar’s life to argue this point. In addition, he tells his audience that Caesar has given “To every several man, seventy-five drachmas” (III, ii, 242) in his will, which is likely a lie. The fact that Antony goes as far as deceiving the crowd to get his way shows how two-faced and unprincipled he is. This is entirely against what Brutus expected of him. At this point, it is clear to even Brutus himself that his strong idealism had made him oblivious to the fact that not everyone is as virtuous as him. Immediately after Antony’s speech, Brutus and Cassius flee Rome to avoid facing the citizens’ rage towards them. Years later, the two brother-in-laws travel to the city of Philippi to battle against Antony and a descendant of Caesar’s, Octavius. This fight is meant to settle the conflict between the two parties for once and for all. Once Cassius has committed suicide and many soldiers have been slayed in the battle, Brutus realizes that his army is most likely going to be defeated by the enemies. He knows that losing would mean having to work for the Roman Empire that Antony and Octavius plan to establish. Doing so would be strictly against his ideals. Eventually, Brutus decides to kill himself by running into a sword. This way, he “shall have glory by losing this day, More than Octavius and Mark Antony” (V, v, 36). The fact that Brutus considers committing suicide more glorious than supporting the Roman Empire shows how loyal he still is to his ideals. Even after what has happened in the past because of his intense desire to be honourable, he has not changed. Overall, Brutus continues to believe strongly in his ideals even after it becomes evident that they prevented him from realizing the truth about Antony.

William Shakespeare uses his characterization of Marcus Brutus throughout the play to demonstrate how an individual can become oblivious to the truth if they believe too strongly in their ideals and start to project them upon others. Brutus’ rigid idealism is first evident when he assumes that Cassius has noble intentions and thinks thoroughly through the idea of getting rid of Caesar. When Brutus finally decides to take part in Caesar’s assassination, his dependence on his ideals causes him to believe that Antony will be principled and not cause problems. Even though Antony’s funeral speech proves that his ideals have blinded him to the truth, Brutus continues to put honour above everything else right until his death. Ultimately, it is evident that if a person is too rigid in their ideals, they may expect everyone else to have the same motives in life as them. Such assumptions can prevent an individual from seeing the truth in many situations and lead to poor decision-making.