The Make of an Honorable Murderer

“I know no personal cause to spurn at him, but for the general.” (Shakespeare, 74) Brutus of Julius Caesar says. Throughout the play, Brutus seeks to maintain his honorable reputation and stay true to those he loves. Brutus is a complex character, a tragic hero of sorts. But he isn’t just a hero or a dramatic character. He is also a man. Like all men, he is motivated by many factors, whether within himself or drawn from the outside world. Because of Brutus’s own motivators of pride and loyalty, Brutus slew a powerful man for what he believed to be a purpose for the general good of Rome. The very purpose stands as honorable but not reasonable.

The tragic flaw of Brutus is often identified as honor. However, it is Brutus’s pride that motivates him to seek honor. Brutus is at such a high status in society, from such an honored family, that he enjoys the esteem of all of Rome. His pride is inflated like a balloon every time a senator flatters Brutus into accordance. From this growth of ego, Brutus’s character has blossomed. Although well meaning, Brutus’s personality is such that he can easily be roused in the name of honor. “ Brutus had rather be a villager than repute himself a son of Rome.” He is angered by the thought of losing his title; even so that he would relinquish his money and influence to maintain it. When Brutus’s pride gets the best of him is he relies on his reputation and not reason to sway the dangerous people of Rome. “Believe me for mine honor, have respect for mine honor, that you may believe.” Brutus is asking the people of Rome to judge him as the honorable man he is famous for being. He doesn’t even explain to the people his true motives for killing Caesar, other than the vague “ambition” of the great leader. The pride of Brutus motivates him to kill Caesar, and to later kill himself in order to spare himself social humiliation. Brutus’s pride is a main motivating factor of Brutus that influences his actions and his words.

Brutus kills his best friend Caesar because his pride causes him to desire honor. It may not seem very loyal of him to strike one so near to his heart, but Brutus is indeed influenced by loyalty as well. Loyalty is a main motivating factor that draws Brutus onwards through a path of honor and glory… and death. Brutus is not just loyal to his friends, with whom he enjoyed a long comradeship in school. He is also loyal to the city of Rome, fulfilling her demands as he believes fit. Rome has been good to him, bequeathing to him honor, riches, and education. “My answer is not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” He is saying that his loyalty of Rome required him to kill even a man who endowed him his influence. The patriotism in his blood forever binds him to his great city, motivating him to ungrudgingly murder other Romans. However, he assumes too much when he believes others have the same purposes. Brutus expects a mutual relationship of trust with those to which he is loyal, as when he refuses an oath because he trusts that no one will run their mouths. He doesn’t just trust those to which he is loyal, he also attempts to please them. “Let not therefore my good friends grieve.” He wants to keep his friends in good spirits, because he is attached to them. Brutus’s loyalty to both Rome and his good friends, later shady fellow conspirators, motivates him to murder his own best friend.

Brutus’s insides are spinning and clashing like a washing machine. He is being tossed about with the conflict of his love for Caesar, and his love for Rome. Whether the conflict has become a tempest in a teapot or is an actual threat is left only to imagination as it torments Brutus. Brutus’s loyalty to Rome and Caesar play tug o war, while his pride of his reputation battles reason. He decides to kill Caesar to protect and unify Rome; the ultimate outcome contradicts his goal. The city of Rome roils with turmoil, and many lose protection and die. This is because he overreacts and doesn’t back up his argument with reason. His trust for the people of Rome exceeds their competence and a war is born. Although his goal is not successful, his purpose is honorable. It is not jealousy or greed that motivates him to murder, it is his pride and his loyalty.

Embodying the SLRs While Empathizing

"Wanting a Meal" - Kevin Carter


Think Creatively!

There are a few elements in my collage that demonstrate my creative thinking. My belief is that the idea for showcasing the pictures in the shape of a human, as well as my idea of adding quotes directly from the Lost Boys to illustrate their misery was evidence of my creativity. Shaping part of the collage as a human was a successful approach because the face was left in my power. The face could be whatever I intended to be. The quotes humanized the Lost Boys, and hopefully added voice. I wanted to make each quote from the Lost Boys sound like a beseechment to the viewer. I feel that the shaping of part of the collage as a human, as well as quoting the Lost Boys directly, effectively illustrated my creative thinking.

Reason Critically!

Using logistic reasoning, I was enabled to add many textual and visual objects to my collage that highlighted the unfortunate situation of the Lost Boys. I used pictures that illustrated the starvation, death, and suffering in Sudan; pictures that showed the shelters, totem poles, traditional scarring and dress of the Dinka culture; and pictures that showed how to solve the problems in Sudan. I feel that the writing carried the narration of the lives of these Lost Boys because of specific quote choice. Most of the images showed the aftermath of the conflicts, the fruit of the culture, and the organizations and promising events that could bring relief to such suffering. I feel I used critical reasoning to choose proper images and text and highlight my knowledge of the Lost Boys’ situations.

Communicate Effectively!

My collage effectively communicates the struggles of the Lost Boys through compelling images and direct quotes taken from the Lost Boys that describe their conflicts. I feel that the collage features many striking, affecting images about true events. The use of the political cartoon in the lower corner, as well as words such as “genocide” and “speak” to show exactly what was happening in Sudan and how the viewer can raise awareness themselves.

Live Ethically!

My collage voiced my identification with the Lost Boys and hopefully invoked empathy and the determination to act from viewers through powerful pictures that showed the story like it was. I think my use of children as the majority of victims, such as the pictures of starvation, helped show that these problems affected everything. I hope that the picture of a healthy baby being held by its mother in close proximity to the toddler collapsed out of hunger, shadowed by a vulture- shows the disparity between the lucky and the unlucky in Sudan. Because of the innocence of little children, I hope that those images will haunt the viewer and incite them to act. I feel that my caring towards those in Sudan is shown through the face I drew. The face shows that I identify with the emotions that these people are feeling, even if the causes are less grave.










http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cChh5FkCG5Y

Misconceptions of Resettlement- and the Struggles Caused

The Dinka people of Sudan have truly experienced suffering (genocide). First, they faced the challanges of a harsh climate, with very little technology to cope. Next, circumstances drove them hundreds of miles on foot (forced migration).- a constant standoff against lions, gunmen, climate and physical ailments. Then they stagnated in a refugee camp for nearly 10 years, without family or tokens of the life they left behind. They thought that their struggle was finally over when they boarded a plane to the USA... but Peter Nyarol Dut’s struggles told a different story. Dropping the the young boy into Westernized culture could be likened to a drop into ice water- sudden, overpowering, and irrefutably painful. But somehow Peter dealt with his culture shock and built a better life for himself.

Peter struggled with practical things, like overcoming the language barrier, finding a job, getting a license, paying bills, and maintaining his grades and basketball training. He also had to deal with social problems like getting girlfriends, making new friends, and learning not to call attention himself. But the issues reached deeper than that too- onto a pschological level- dealing with the guilt about the Dinka friends he turned his back on, and coping with the loneliness of his new materialistic life. Peter faces these problems with a bright smile, relentless attitude and determination to succeed. He recieves little comfort in calls to home- he is pestered for money- and less solace from his lonely home. But he focuses his energy in enrolling in school, keeping up his grades, and improving in basketball. He turns to his hopes and dreams, and drives on his desire to aid his beloved Sudan. But the light he brings eventually attracts friends and later a girlfriend. Sure, those in his social network must deal with his “quirks”( like bringing a hand-captured bird as a present.) But he simply falls back on his few fellow refugees, new friends, and his talents for the energy to fit in. Eventually he successfully graduates from school, with a new challenge to tackle: university.