The Tragic Fall of a Hero In William Shakespeare's tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus is portrayed as a tragic hero. He believes he can change the Roman Empire by killing Caesar and granting the Romans freedom from a potential monarchy. Cassius goes to Brutus with the intention of removing Caesar from the throne. At first Brutus is against it. Then, Cassius changes his mind by lying to him and persuading him with false letters supposedly from other Romans. Ultimately, Brutus is the tragic hero because his actions cause him to lose any superior status; they also lead him on a path to his downfall and death. Brutus has serious flaws, loses power and respect, and ultimately his readers show sympathy for him. The first characteristic of Brutus that makes him a tragic hero is his flawed personality. Brutus is an honorable and trustworthy man to even the most respectable Romans. However, it is easily manipulated. Caesar was his friend and he would never have believed that his benevolent friend would literally stab him in the back. Brutus never wanted to participate in the duplicity of the assassination. Unfortunately, he is a malleable man and Cassius was able to turn him into the ringleader of the conspiracy. “Brutus and Caesar: What should be in that 'Caesar'? / Why should that name be more pronounced than yours? / …What meat does our Caesar feed on, / Who has become so great?” (893). Brutus listens to Cassius, who wants Caesar murdered only because he envies him. Cassius has no legitimate reason to truly hate Caesar. Brutus cannot see it. He also fails to see how Cassius deceives him. “If I were Brutus and he Cassius, / He should not humor me. This night, / with many hands, will I throw at its windows, / as if... middle of paper... all the slaves, even if Caesar were dead, to let all / free men live? " (948). Brutus' horrible act was reprehensible but selfless. He would never have killed a friend, or anyone else, if he had not believed his intentions were noble. “He, only in an honest general thought / And well common to all, made one. / His life was gentle, and the elements / So mixed with him that Nature could stand / And say to the world, 'This was a man!'” (998). Brutus is the tragic hero of the play. He causes his own downfall and death by participating in the conspiracy. His flaws, his downfall, and his understandable reasoning support him as a tragic hero. In the end, even if he did not deserve contempt, Brutus did of paying the ultimate price for such a noble and gruesome act. Works Cited Elements of Literature Orlando: Holt, Winston, Rinehart, 2007.