Grave AmbitionsIn William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, we see that when a ruler is unjustly assassinated, absolute political chaos ensues. Brutus, our protagonist, is the poster child for the tragic hero position, one who starts in such a high position and ends up with nothing, but he has only himself to blame. As he and several other conspirators plot to kill Caesar for no other logical reason than Caesar's lust and ambition. He justifies his actions with mistakes and illogical thoughts and his downfall is that he is ultimately killed in the same mansion as his victim. Brutus has several character flaws that he is unable to overcome and this, among the cunning of his political enemies, leads to his downfall. Throughout this tragedy, Brutus exhibits many character flaws. He begins by trying to be too honorable for the adoring people of Rome. He tries to protect him from what Caesar could potentially become, a tyrant. “The wolf, but if he considers the Romans as sheep, was not a lion, were not deer of the Romans” (903). At this point, Caesar showed no tyrannical ambition. He was shown to be entirely for the people, with no pursuit of personal gain. “Three times I presented a royal crown and three times he refused” (951). He was slightly ambitious, but what human isn't? Another flaw that we discover in Brutus is that he is a man who is easily influenced. The truculent and virulent Cassius is capable of modifying his perception of life, in particular of his people and the ambitious Caesar. Every move of this confused man is justified by faulty logic. This is heightened in his idiotic choice to underestimate Antoine and allow him to live. "For Antony is only a member of Caesar, let us be priests and not butchers Caiu... middle of paper ...... tension of himself. He had the power to stand up to Cassius and stop this conspiracy before it even started, but did he? He manages to arouse some sympathy to the extent that he has lost everyone who mattered to him. “I would rather be a dog and a bay before the moon than such a Roman” (966). He lost everything and became what he feared and hated the most. Who could do this and realize it in such a form that it would ruin their whole life. He made the cowardly choice and engaged in a suicidal battle for a chance to reclaim his life. Illogical thinking, pain and misery are what our pitiful tragic hero has brought upon himself. He had everything to lose and he lost it all because of the same serious mistakes for which he killed a man. Does this in itself bring deserved mercy or punishment? Works Cited: Elements of Literature. Orlando: Holt, Winston, Rhinehart, 2007.