Final answer:
Booth's final diary entry and Brutus' funeral speech are similar as they both act as elegies mourning a death and reflect the authors' engagement with the tradition of honoring the deceased.
Step-by-step explanation:
One of the similarities between Booth's final diary entry and Brutus' funeral speech is that both pieces serve as elegies, which are poems or writings that mourn a death. In the context of their respective historical backgrounds, each author is consciously working within this tradition, yet they approach it differently. Booth's diary reflects the sense of mourning that swept the nation following President Lincoln's assassination, akin to the mood in Brutus' speech after Caesar's demise. Another similarity lies in the public's reaction to their deaths—mourning and anger in Lincoln's case, mirrored by the mixed sentiments Brutus attempts to navigate in his speech.
Moreover, both texts reflect on the nature of death and legacy. Brutus' funeral speech deals with the notion of honor and noble sacrifice, which is a perspective also found in how Booth's actions were framed—notably in the context of his own reflections on what he deemed a just cause. This ties into the Roman tradition, where oratory skills, as highlighted by Cicero, were highly esteemed, and Booth's diary entries may be seen as his own attempt to articulate a defense of his actions.
Their writings also exist in the context of a sense of duty according to upper-class expectations during their times. Exile, as a punishment for upper-class criminals as mentioned, is something both characters might have faced, given different circumstances, but their ultimate decisions led to their deaths and subsequent immortalization in text. This aligns with the educational practices of reading classic authors—who often pondered upon these weighty subjects of duty, honor, and death—as part of the Roman aristocracy's education, and likely influencing the thoughts of individuals like Booth and Brutus alike.