The tragedy Julius Caesar is a play written by Shakespeare in 1599 that contains betrayal, deception and exaggeration. The story revolves around the days before and after Caesar's death. As you continue reading, you see the different sides of the characters, who is truly killing Caesar for Rome and who is doing it for himself. Brutus is doing this for Rome and its citizens because he believes Caesar is unfit to be king. While reading, we thought to keep in mind: does the end justify the means? Brutus' action had caused his own downfall in the finale of the Tragedy of Julius Caesar and demonstrated that the ends do not justify the means. Brutus killing Caesar had been considered a bad and negative thing in the eyes of Roman citizens. Although Brutus had thought that killing Caesar was good for the Roman citizens and their rulers; in the end it was not a justified act. Caesar had been betrayed by Brutus when he killed him; while Caesar had trusted him and considered him his right-hand man. “It must be due to his death, and for my part I know of no personal reason to despise him, other than that of the general. He would be crowned. How that might change his nature, that is the question” (Shakespeare 847). Brutus feels he must kill Caesar because he believes that Caesar would not be a legitimate ruler for Rome. He had thought of killing him not for his own good, but for the good of the people. Even though Brutus had thought that performing this act would ultimately turn out better; he did the opposite. He had induced the Roman citizens to go against Brutus and in the end he killed himself. Deception, a plan used against someone so that he can get what he wants, had been used against Brutus in this Shakespeare p...... middle of paper ......He had betrayed Caesar by stabbing him in the back, but he had been deceived by Cassius into killing Caesar. Brutus had exaggerated to the Roman citizens during Caesar's burial about his death and the reasons for it. The ends do not justify the means. By killing himself, Brutus realized that the decisions and actions he had taken had been wrong. He realized that it was wrong of them to kill Caesar, even though he had believed all along that it had been for the right reasons. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. "Julius Caesar." SparkNote. SparkNotes and Web. May 13, 2014. Shmoop editorial team. "Julius Caesar." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., November 11, 2008. Web. May 12, 2014. .Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of Julius Caesar. London: Primo Follo, 1599.