Throughout history, men have set standards for what they should be and how they should act. In medieval Europe and feudal Japan, the codes of Chivalry and Bushido took the best characteristics of man and pushed these standards further. These codes have come in many forms and have pushed men to strive to go down in history as the “Ideal Man,” however, they have failed more often than they have succeeded. The fundamental problem is that, although many men exemplify parts of the ideal man, very few can actually be considered to have a separation flaw. In the case of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Brutus is an “honorable man” and considered very noble but is too naive to be considered the “Ideal Man”. The ideal man is a multitude of many ideas and is absolutely difficult to define. The complexity of becoming ideal is what makes it sought after and almost impossible to achieve. Since the ideal man is imbued with certain characteristics, he strives to improve his character rather than just his image. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The very foundation of the ideal man is based on the characteristics he brings with him and one of the most crucial characteristics for the ideal man is being honorable. Honor must be defined as doing the right thing, no matter what, and living a very moralistic lifestyle. In William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, Brutus easily exemplifies the ideal man, in this regard. Although Brutus betrays his friend, he does so with only the most honorable intentions in mind. Brutus is trying to protect the people of Rome first and foremost for his own needs. In fact, Brutus' honor is further shown here because, although all the people around him took part in the assassination for all the wrong reasons, only Brutus remained truly loyal and moral regardless of the consequences. No one summed up the character of Brutus better than Mark Antony. In the words of Antony Brutus he was "the noblest Roman of all:/All the conspirators except him alone,/They did this out of envy of the great Caesar" (5.5.70-73), which really shows that after all the trouble caused from Brutus, Antony still respects him. Brutus himself can be admired for the fact that he "loves the name of Honor more than [he] fears death" (1.2.89). Even the suicide of the noble Brutus is what the literary critic Jan Blits believes to be "more than just a last ditch attempt to salvage some honor from defeat, even as he realizes that suicide is the only honorable choice he has left." (Blits 6). Honor, in this way, is an important characteristic, and all men should strive for honor because it distinguishes who is good and who is bad. Without honor, humanity is devoid of morals and does not care about each other at all. Honor gives respect and empathy to the world in a positive way. Honor goes hand in hand with loyalty and honesty. Brutus remains steadfastly loyal to Rome, regardless of obstacle, including death itself, and always maintains his honesty in matters. He is loyal to his country over his wife and best friend, even to the point of danger. However, Brutus cannot be considered the ideal man in this case because he lies to Portia and does not tell Caesar, however these are just Shakespeare's attempt to humanize Brutus and show that everyone makes mistakes. Even “yonder Cassius” with his “lean and hungry look” (1.2.195) exemplifies the characteristic of loyalty because he remains faithful to Brutus and listens to him regardless of the situation. Even when Brutushe makes obviously boneheaded decisions, he remains faithful to Brutus' choice until the point of death. He knows that "it is better that enemies seek them" (4.3.197), however, he trusts his friend and allows his "will to go forward" and orders his army to "together with [them] and meet [Anthony ] to Philippi” (4.3.227-8). This decision has disastrous effects and Cassius knows it. Like Kusunoki Masashige, Roland the Frank and many others, Cassius blames his friend's bad choices to the death, simply out of loyalty he is far from the ideal man, yet he still displays these traits of loyalty, and Jan Blits even admits in his criticism of Julius Caesar that "Cassius' suicide is undoubtedly an act of friendship" (Blits 4). in the ideal man and should be treated as such. Without loyalty and faithfulness no one could trust each other and this also reflects a lack of honor loyalties that hold the ideal man together, the ideal man is strengthened by compassion and care for others. Brutus cares about the people of Rome and deeply fears that "the people will choose Caesar as their king" (1.2.78). Brutus wants Rome to return to the way of the people and remain the ancient republic. This is due to his caring for people more than himself. Compassion is a key characteristic for every man and is important for empathy and allows men to understand when to be merciful and not. Brutus also shows this in how he is quite compassionate towards Portia, his wife, and hides his secret from her in an attempt to keep her safe. In addition to Brutus in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Cassius also exemplifies the trait of compassion as he cares deeply for Brutus and places him above himself. We see compassion for others especially in Brutus' internal struggle and his decision to kill Caesar. He feels bad and knows “no personal reason to disdain/except that of the general” (2.1.13). Even Caesar, for a brief glimpse, has compassion for his wife and his friends and listens to his wife and puts her needs before his for a short time, albeit very short. Shakespeare uses these glimpses of Caesar to show that although Caesar is arrogant, he has some redeemable aspects. The importance of compassion in a man is related to how he treats women, and compassionate men are often the champions of women and help everyone else. These characteristics are very admirable and exemplify the ideal man. Many of the characters in Julius Caesar display great intelligence. Similar to his ability to show compassion, Caesar, who appears blind to all the signs of his death, still displays great intelligence. Therefore, intelligence should be defined as characters having intelligence in all situations. Brutus might seem smart, but he continually makes bad decisions. In fact, many people analyze where Brutus makes his biggest mistake. Cassius displays intelligence throughout the novel, but is never able to get Brutus to agree with him. When Cassius agrees with Brutus, he makes his fatal mistake. Intelligence allows a man to be confident in his own ideas and not worry about how his opinion may appear to some, but Cassius worries too much about siding with Brutus. Cassius' need to side with Brutus culminates when Cassius and Brutus argue over their war plan; Cassius' plan is “it is better that the enemy seek us” (4.3.197). Brutus bases his argument on emotion; Cassius's is based on logic, but he can't make Brutus lose, so he gives up. Cassius has intelligence, but his image needs to be improved, which is why Brutus and Cassius.