Ethics in Gladiator: an Honorable Death Essay Example

the consequences of his actions until he dies without any form of honor. Just before Commodus kills his father in order to gain power, Marcus Aurelius admits that Commodus’s poor morals can only be blamed on his upbringing.

This declaration not only supports Aristotle’s claims, but more importantly it proves Aurelius’ moral code and his understanding for human conduct. Recognizing his role in Commodus’s poor upbringing provoked him to make changes in order to honor Rome. These changes involved Marcus Aurelius choosing Maximus to gain the thrown over his own son. This decision is undeniably the reasoning behind why Aurelius is murdered by his son Commodus. Although the king is murdered before his time, he dies honorably due to his ethical choices that were constructed based on his life experiences.In other words, Marcus Aurelius died for the good of Rome and his family, due to the blatant fact that he had a moral code and followed it.

The most impressive display of Aristotle’s values in Gladiator is from the protagonist himself. After his entire family is murdered by Commodus he is forced to become a gladiator and battle in the Coliseum. Even as viewers we want to see Commodus brutally killed immediately by Maximus, but by watching him wait we begin to understand his reasoning, and most importantly his character.Crowe’s character doesn’t rashly take revenge on Commodus, but rather gains experience and honorably pursues his enemy.

Maximus waits until he has literally earned a one on one fight with Commodus in order to kill him. He perfectly displays one of Aristotle’s main components in his ethical code, temperance. This temperance was gained by his moral guidance

most notably provoked by his honor for Rome and the people, which is mentioned multiple times in the film.In Maximus’s death lies the true theme to the entire film, which is that in order to die honorably one must follow a code of ethics.

Commodus even injured Maximus before the battle and still lost in the end, which must be blamed on his complete lack of morality. Maximus died in the end alongside his enemy, but once he falls to the ground the crowd respected him and honored his name and his struggle. The audience is forced to realize the respect that Maximus had gained when the people leave the king on the ground and lift the body of the man who killed him.By contrasting the main characters in Gladiator, the viewer indisputably understands some of what Aristotle’s teachings are trying to convey. Also, one can argue that the relationship between Maximus and Commodus provides a convincing example of what an ethical code provides for one’s character. The fact that Maximus’s character had the courage and temperance to earn his fight with Commodus proves that his life experiences gained him an understanding for the moral code that Aristotle details in his teachings.