Essays

Was Brutus a Patriot or a Traitor?

 What is a patriot? The world is full of people claiming to be patriots or putting down others who they deem "not patriotic enough", but do we really use the word patriot completely correctly? I'm not so sure if we do, because sometimes it seems to me that we just use it to validate our own views and thoughts. According to the dictionary, a patriot, a true patriot, is someone who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion. Many people argue about Brutus, and if he was a patriot or not. A lot of people will say that Brutus was a traitor because he killed Caesar, but in reality, that isn't something that would strip him from being called a patriot. Brutus was, in fact, a true patriot to his country, despite what others might say. He loved his country and was devoted to keeping it at it's best. He only ever acted with a pure heart, and perhaps a slightly misguided head.

The fact that Brutus killed Caesar is more or less the only evidence that the opposition has to say that Brutus was a traitor. Now I am happy to admit that it is true that this would make Brutus a betrayer in his relationship with Caesar, especially since they were said to be good friends. However, killing Caesar does not necessarily make Brutus a traitor to his country. The main reason people might think it does, is because Caesar was nearing the possibility of being king of Rome, and readers might see this as an act of treason. Near the beginning of the play, Brutus says, "I do fear, the people choose Caesar for their king", worrying because he felt it would be the wrong choice. Brutus did not kill Caesar to do harm his country in any way, in fact, he only did it because he thought that it was the right thing to do for Rome.

Brutus had conspired to kill Caesar with multiple other men. All of these men were friends of his who had come to him to convince him that they should turn against Caesar and stab him. Before this, Brutus had been a faithful friend to Caesar and was greatly conflicted when they tried to convince him that killing their good friend and ruler was the right thing to do. All of these conspirators hid from Brutus that the real reason that they wanted Caesar dead was because they were jealous of how fortunate he had come to be while they had not grown to be quite so well off. Cassius, who was a good friend to both Brutus and Caesar, voiced his resentment early on to Brutus, trying to put it in his head that the difference between Caesar and commoners was not right to him: "Is now become a god, and Cassius is a wretched creature and must bend his body if Caesar carelessly but nod on him." Brutus was the only one of these men who had not conspired with hateful thoughts toward Caesar. He was the only one who killed purely trying to do good.

Cassius was the man who had first suggested getting rid of Caesar to Brutus, and to the story. Cassius told Brutus that they had to be careful, because if Caesar rose to power to the point of becoming king of Rome, then Rome would suffer from his rule. This plants it in Brutus' head that something should be done, letting him mull it over for a little bit to think of solutions. Cassius told Brutus of how Caesar wasn't fit to be ruling such a place as Rome: "It astounds me that such a weak man could beat the whole world and carry the trophy of victory alone." Brutus was hesitant at first, but once it was apparent to him, through Cassius's tainted words, that Caesar would not be the proper ruler for Rome he decided that Cassius was right that Caesar had to be stopped. Later in the night of the first day the story speaks of, Cassius brings all of the conspirators to Brutus' house and they together form their plan.

In the end, Brutus had killed Caesar mainly because he was given false information by Cassius and the other conspirators in an attempt to get him to assist in the murder. Brutus was a traitor to Caesar perhaps, but he never faltered as a patriot to his country, and that is what is really important when you're talking about patriotism. He did whatever was necessary to keep his country at its best, even if that meant having to kill one of his closest friends. 

- 16 September, 2016