Whose Fault Is it?
What are some of the main problems and how could they have been solved?
*Argue which character/s from both Hamlet and YOUR OWN BOOK CHOICE caused the most problems for the tragic (or any tragic) circumstances. There is not one correct answer, but be prepared to defend using quotes from both texts.
*Is there a solution for the problem/s in the play and your own text?
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*You may wish to incorporate if characters may be like our own leaders or leaders in history as part of your response.
You may discuss any segment of the Hamlet, including the end of your own book.
Any quotations that are used must be cited APA style, but if from Hamlet, please cite Act, Scene, lines (3.4.131-133) for example.
Please take into considering societal, historical, and.or gender roles in your response (or you may have other ideas).
For full credit, you MUST have quotations as support of your points, you MUST show reading and avoid online summary info, you MUST respond to a minimum of 2 posts. Points will be deducted for those students who wait until the last 12-24 hours, for spelling problems, repeating information already stated, confusing responses, attacking classmates verbally, simply agreeing without saying much of anything, or off-topic commentary.
------Having support from databases may be given additional credit if used well----
DATABASES ARE NOT REQUIRED FOR THIS BLOG, but your argument will be judged harshly, so be prepared to defend yourself!
**This blog will end at 9 a.m. 1/15. Remember that starting on the last 12-24 hours prior will result in loss of points since your discussion will be limited.
I think there were many characters in Hamlet that have caused problems for others. One of the better and more obvious example would be Hamlet himself. From the beginning he has been a nuisance for the king. Some could argue that because the king allegedly killed Hamlet Sr, which sparked Hamlet's entire attitude, would be more of a cause. However even before Hamlet learned of the fateful news, he was being very dispirited and negative. One example was of course his father's funeral. He was within reason to be in sorrow, but every other citizen was celebrating the king and queen's marriage. Another major interruption was Hamlet's act to alter a play presented to the king and queen. In order to reveal the king's murder on Hamlet Sr, Hamlet tells the players " Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you"(3.2.1-2).
ReplyDeleteIn Dune, the novel I am reading, one of the characters ends up betraying the entire family he was hired to work for. Dr. Yueh was a graduated medical doctor of the Suk school. In the novel there are two rival families or "houses" as they call them, the Harkonnens and the Atreids. Dr. Yueh was a physician in the Atreid house. But we later find out he is a double agent for the Harkonnens and betrays the Atreids when they are attacked. Although Yueh does what he is asked by the Harkonnens I don't believe he was entirely willing to do them. He places a gas emitting tooth in the Atreid's leader, Duke Leto, in an attempt to kill the head of the Harkonnen house. From the "Dictionary of Muad'Dib" Yueh is quoted as "chiefly noted as betrayer of Duke Leto Atreides". This is what he was remembered for, even though he attempted and kill the Harkonnen leader.
I think the King would be more of the primary problem since he killed his father while he was sleeping and then came back to him sleeping with his mom. It was right away when the king died then the king and queen got married. The king also sent Hamlet back to England, tried to kill him, ruined his relationship with Ophelia, and turned his friends against him. But sound like both main problems are betrayal and they seemed to work there self out.
DeleteI agree that Hamlet is a nuisance to the King but in my opinion Claudius is the bigger issue. Claudius plots to kill Hamlet for power, and even kills his wife while trying. Claudius drove hamlet to kill polonius in the end. Hamlet tries to murder Claudius for revenge but accidentally kills polonius. Hamlet is only mad at the king because he thinks he murdered his father. We don't know if Hamlet actually sees the ghost or if he is crazy. I agree that Hamlet is an issue but Claudius is the bigger issue.
DeleteWhile I think that the most problematic character was King Claudius himself, I see what you are saying and I agree. Long before he knew Claudius had supposedly murdered King Hamlet he was sorrowful and depressed and allowed that to get in the way of his emotions. By the end of the play we realize it is possible that the ghost was never real at all, but it was a figment of his own delusions. Hamlet is speaking to the ghost when Gertrude asks, "To whom do you speak this?" he replies, "Do you see nothing there?" "Nothing at all; yet all that is I see." (3.4.149-151). So it is certainly possible that the murder never occurred and Hamlet was the cause of all problems, not Claudius.
DeleteClaudius could also be a very good example of someone who caused problems in Hamlet. I think that whenever you have a character who is the source of death there will be more death to follow. Claudius plans to kill Hamlet and he even kills his wife in the process. Claudius is a very stubborn character as well, he does not take advice well from others. So I do agree that Hamlet is a large issue but Claudius is also a problem.
DeleteClaudius also seems, to me, to be the most problematic person because if he had lived to the end of the play he would have also been the king that let Fortinbras invade Denmark and declare himself king. "For me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune" (5.2.389)
DeleteCaden this is absolutley ridiculous. You claim Hamlet is at fault for mourning his fathers death? You expect him to celebrate his mothers marriage to his fathers potential killer nearly 2 months after his murder? The King is clearly stepping in and ruing Hamlets life and its his right to be upset about it. Just because he is spoiling the plans and celebrations of the murderer Claudius does not mean Hamlet is truly causing trouble. Hamlet is simply avenging his fathers death and only ruining the lives of the guilty parties.
DeleteDo you see Hamlet (Jr) as a traitor to his country as well or do you see others in the play instead?
ReplyDeleteAlso, do you attribute Hamlet's mistakes as due to mental illness or do you see another cause?
I think Hamlet's actions were worthy of being called a traitor. Although in his eyes, he was doing them in vengeance, everything he did was for his father's death. From Act 1 Hamlet has been trying to get at the king for marrying his mother.
DeleteI think Hamlet's actions could be attributed to mental illness. Even in the final scene Hamlet admits to being influenced by his illness, he says "What I have done, that might your nature, honor, and exception roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness."(5.2.244-246). He begs for forgiveness because all of his killing and sabotaging was all influenced by his mental illness.
In Hamlet the character that has caused the most problems for everyone is Hamlet himself. Hamlet's personality is all over the place and his attitude is what causes the most problems. When Hamlet Sr. is allegedly killed then Hamlet starts to go into a very dark place and he starts to become very unstable. When Hamlet states "Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge"(1.5.33-36). You can really start to tell that Hamlet's mood is starting to become unstable and possibly dangerous which eventually it did. I think Hamlet does have a mental illness which is causing him to take actions that are harmful and dangerous to others.
ReplyDeleteIn my book The Hot Zone, the it is not just a character that is causing the issues it is a whole society and government. In The Hot Zone, Charles Monet contracts a virus called the Malburg Virus. He contracts it then he continues to fly on a plane while coughing and vomiting. He is sitting right next to people while he is on the plane. He then gets to the hospital then he sits in a waiting room which is "shoulder to shoulder' with other people. I just look at today's world with the Covid-19 virus and there is no way that we would ever sit shoulder to shoulder in a hospital. I think that the whole society was not aware that there was a virus around that was as dangerous as the Malburg but there should not have been a bunch of sick people sitting right next to people in a hospital. So I actually look at Charles Monet as a victim of a lack of cautionary measures by the government. Charles actually contracted the virus because there were monkeys that had the virus and they were all sent to a island. A bunch of people took the monkeys off of the island and put them on the mainland and that is why the virus got loose. And those people are to blame as well but they should not have just put all of the sick monkeys on an island and called it good.
I agree that Hamlet is problematic but it all comes from mentaller illness. Hamlet is obviously grieving the death of his father, and is having a hard time because he was away when he dies. He is unstable because he has no family that he trusts and Ophelia is forced away from him. The bigger issue is Claudius meddling. He plots to murder Hamlet and kills other people just for power and the crown. Hamlet is dangerous especially after Ophelia and him separated but Claudius is more of a harm.
DeleteIn regards to your novel, I can understand why it is that you may see Charles as a victim, but from what you've said it also seems to me that he was equally as at fault. From a young age we have all been taught that if you are sick or feel sick to stay away from others. It seems to me that despite Charles being aware that something may seriously be wrong, he chose to get on said plane, sit near said people and he chose to go to hospital (which is a smart idea), and sit close to others (he could've tried to stay away, or asked for a mask or something). You are correct though, society should have rules in place already. A solution to this problem is an introduction to these types of rules; no matter what if you're sick you should not be allowed on a plane with others, and if you're sick you should be separated from the general public, not seated next to others.
DeleteI agree with you in the sense that Hamlet has caused a lot of problems. His mental illness was a HUGE part in how mentally unstable he was. He wasn't able to think clearly, and therefore act clearly, because his mind was clouded. He acted upon depression and mental illness. He was sick, so should we really blame him for doing what he did?
DeleteI agree with you that Hamlets mental illness causes a lot of problems throughout the play but just cause he has a mental illness does that make it ok to do the things he did? Should everyone just be extra nice to him because he has an illness after he treated everyone poorly?
DeleteI agree that Hamlet causes a majority of the problems. But I would say that his actions were more in the act of revenge. Him having a mental illness doesn't justify all of his actions. Is it ok to use that as an excuse if someone gets arrested for murder? Because his father was killed and it seemed like everyone was turned against him, I could understand his anger.
DeleteIt sounds like the character from your novel was unaware he had contracted a virus. I'm not sure if they knew the virus existed yet but if they did then better precautions need to be taken.
I agree with you that Hamlet is extremely problematic. But his actions were out of vengeance to Claudius for killing his father then marrying his mother.
DeleteSadly, I think some flights still have people doing the shoulder to shoulder.
ReplyDeleteEthan--you may wish to address how the problems were solved too (in the play and in the book). Sometimes the solutions make the problem worse at first...
I believe there were many problems in Hamlet, but there were some large problems that remained prominent throughout the entirety of the play. One of the biggest problems that remained largely overlooked was the murder of King Hamlet, and this specific problem led to many smaller problems; Hamlet’s decreasing mental capacity, his delusions, and even multiple murders. This problem was brought on by one character in particular, that character being, the current king, Claudius. Claudius murdered his brother in cold blood, and the king was sleeping when he did it. He used this tragic death to steal the throne from Prince Hamlet. The ghost of King Hamlet says to Hamlet, “...Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole with the juice of cursed hebona in a vial and in the porches of my ears did pour the leprous distilment… And with a sudden vigor it doth posset and curd, like eager droppings into milk, the thin and wholesome blood” (1.5.68-77). I believe the domino effect of this specific problem could have been avoided, had Claudius not been jealous and power-hungry King Hamlet may still be alive, but he was and he isn’t. I believe Prince Hamlet held the solution in his mind, the moment he discovered his father was murdered he had a chance to save himself and his people from the tragedy that unfolded in the end. Hamlet should have told Gertrude, Horatio, Polonius, and anyone who would maybe believe him. It was simply Hamlet’s depression and lacking mental capacity that stopped this solution from being clear to him, or seeming plausible.
ReplyDeleteIn my book, “The Handmaid's Tale” by Margaret Atwood, the totalitarian theocratic society that has replaced the United States is a large cause of many problems; people get hung, stoned, beaten, and kidnapped, children are given away to strangers, women are now second class, they cannot speak freely, they do not read or write, infertile women are servants/workers, and fertile women are called handmaids and their job is to bear children for commanders barren wives (they are basically raped to do so). I believe the character who both created this problem and did nothing to stop it was Serena Joy, Commander Fred’s wife. Serena wanted Gilead to become a reality, she helped the commanders decide how to go through with it, to decide the rules. As a person who used to campaign against women’s movements, her goal was to protect the ‘sanctity of the home’ and that is what she truly believed she was doing, but what makes her the cause of this problem was that once it became a reality and she realized how wrong this was she still did nothing. Offred says, “She doesn’t make speeches anymore, She has become speechless. She stays in her home, but it doesn’t seem to agree with her. How furious she must be, now that she’s been taken at her own word.” (Atwood, 2017). As the story progresses, it is obvious that Offred sees Serena breaking down, starting to feel as though this truly was a bad choice. Yet, she still does nothing, continuing to be cruel to the women around her, to feel as though she still has control. I believe that had Serena realized that having strong men AND strong women in the world is not a flaw, but a strength this could have been avoided, or at least made harder to accomplish. Serena’s inability to turn away from what she had believed to be her own core belief system hinders on the freedom of others.
DeleteI agree that one of the more overlooked problems in Hamlet is the death of Hamlet. When a person who is looked up to and who is a Lord to some people is killed then people start to go crazy. People start to feel like they have no guidance. You talk about the domino affect and I also see that being very prominent in Hamlet. You start to see vital characters dying and you see other characters going crazy and either killing people or killing themselves. Horatio almost drank the poison as Hamlet was dying because him and Hamlet were very close and he did not think he could live without him.
DeleteI agree with you that it's the king because not only did the king kill Hamlet Sr, he accidentally led to the death of his own wife too when she drank the poison by accident. "It is the poisoned cup; it is too late." (5.2.293)
DeleteI agree with your statements Ainsley. Some people say that Hamlet is the cause of trouble but Hamlet's actions are the product of Claudius' wrong doings. Everything bad that happens including the murders of Hamlet Sr., Hamlet Jr., Leartes, the Queen, and Claudius himself, can be traced back to Claudius murdering his own brother. Claudius was not content with being the King of Denmark and couldnt stand to see his brother succesful. So he killed his own brother, married his widow, and attempted to ruin the life of young Hamlet. The entire plot of the play comes from Claudius.
Deleten Hamlet the character the overall caused the most problems was the king. Claudius the new king of Denmark was rumored to have killed his own brother just for the crown. When the ghost of Hamlet senior appears he tells Hamlet how he was murdered by Claudius. The ghost says “ Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand of life, of crown,of queen at once dispatched.”(Act 1, scene 5, line 80) The ghost tells Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius in his sleep, while he had no chance to fight back. Not only did Claudius kill him, he didn't let a fair fight occur he was a coward.his The power made Claudius the most problematic character. He meddled in everyone's business just for power. In the end he schemes to kill Hamlet and the queen. Claudius means to poison hamlet but murders his own wife. Claudius states “It is the poisoned cup. It is too late.”(Act 5, Scene 2, line 320) Claudius continually causes problems for everyone around him to get his way.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel The Great Alone Ernt,the father of Leni and wife of Cora is the most problematic. Ernt is a veteran and suffers from PTSD after being a POW. Ernt now sexually abuses Cora and is an awful father to Leni. Cora continually tells Leni she wishes things could go back to how they were before Ernt went to war. Cora talks about before the war so much as the reader wonders if things were ever good. Cora says “I wish you could remember your dad from before,” to Leni. He is a completely different person now, he is mean and wastes all of the families money on alcohol. Eventually Ernt moves the whole family to Alaska without thinking about the rest of his family. Cora and Leni hate Alaska but Ernt made the decision without thinking of them or anyone besides himself. Ernt is selfish and abusive making him the most problematic character.
Much like in your book (with the exception of mine has nothing to do with PTSD), my novels big issue was also selfish characters. In "The Handmaid's Tale" the wife of one of the main commanders, Serena Joy was a woman against the women's movement in modern America. Her and her husband, Fred, went on to help the other strong, powerful, and capable male leaders decide what would work best to enslave the women of America, to make them second class, to take away their rights, to force them to bear their children, and to take away their families. She made this decisions because it was what SHE believed was right, not because it was what was best for others. I believe what would be a good solution to both of our stories problems would be our characters ability to empathize with others and think about others before themselves. It seems as though your character Ernt struggles to do so maybe because of his PTSD, so Cora and Leni may also be the key to helping him learn to live with it as well.
DeleteJust like in your book, my main character suffers a lot of trauma from her Pa. He gets drunk and he goes off the rails and he beats his family. He drove his whole family away and eventually he left, leaving 10 year old Kya by herself. Pa also went to war like your character, but it didn't mention him having ptsd. Although now that I think about it, that might be what it is. I think that ptsd is a traumatic disorder and it needs more attentions and people need to speak out.
DeleteIn my book, The Marsh King’s daughter Jacob kidnaps a little girl, abuses her for years, and eventually, she ends up having his child. I think my book is similar because both of the people in our books cause that cause the most problems suffer from PTSD. Even though Jacob’s PTSD is not directly mentioned in my book, it is implied. Jacob is also a narcissist and only cares about himself. All of Jacob’s tendencies are driven by the PTSD from the way he was raised.
DeleteMarae^
DeleteI agree with you that Claudius is a major factor to the problems throughout hamlet. without the death of Hamlet Sr hamlet probably wouldn't have went mad.
DeleteI agree with Ainsley's point here, but we also have fears (as Americans) that we have better medical care. Often those who are sick feel only slightly ill at first.
ReplyDeleteEven President Trump allowed those who were in Wuhan Province to return to the U.S., not knowing about how contagious the virus is.
But, with ebola, from what I remember, even touching the skin can pass the virus. Scary stuff.
I also think that being wealthy has something to do with it. Not everyone can jump on a plane to escape a virus nor a huge conflict. We often forget how much wealth we Americans have compared to other nations.
Who caused the most problems in my books? In my personal book Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, there is one character in particular who mainly caused the most problems/trauma; that man being Pa. But the whole family in particular left the main character with a lot of problems. The main character, Kya, suffered a great deal of trauma from Pa. He left Kya to live alone and fend for herself when she was just ten years old. But in my own opinion; Kya should be thanking god everyday that Pa packed his things and left Kya. When Kya’s whole family used to live together, Pa would get so drunk and so mad, and he would beat the whole family. And not just a small slap, but breaking things over their heads, and beating his wife/Kya’s mom until she is unconscious.
ReplyDeleteKya screamed as loud as she could and grabbed at Pa’s arm as he slammed the poker across Ma’s chest. Blood popped out on the flowery sundress like red polka dots. Then a big body moved down the hall and Kya looked up to see Jodie tackle Pa from behind, sending them both sprawling across the floor. Her brother got between Ma and Pa and hollered for Kya and Ma to run, and they did. But before they turned, Kya saw Pa raise the poker and whack Jodie across the face, his jaw twisting grossly, blood spewing. (Owens, 2018)
This was the kind of beating and trauma that Pa would put Kya and her family through every single week; and eventually, that is why everyone left. Ma and her brothers were gone. And all that was left was ten year old Kya and Pa. Her family was selfish. Her Ma left her own daughter feeling abandoned, left alone with an abusive dad. But Pa didn’t just physically hurt Kya, but also emotionally. When everyone from her family left besides Pa, Kya and Pa were getting along very well. They went fishing together, went out to eat together, and he didn’t beat her. All until one day, when pa left for good. He made Kya believe everything was going to be okay, that she wouldn’t be abandoned, when in reality he did just that. For the rest of her life Kya will have trust issues and abandonment issues, all because of her family; but more specifically, Pa.
Who caused the most problems in Hamlet? Well, there are multiple characters who caused problems in Hamlet. But one person in particular who stood out to me was Ophelia. Ophelia had many problems that she could not deal with herself, forcing other people to help her. Forcing other people to take their time to help cure her. Laerte’s in particular mainly helped Ophelia. And obviously, that was a problem for him. He spent so many hours just making sure Ophelia was okay, and helping her, trying to cure her, and stopping her from hurting herself. But Opehlia just sat there, singing and speaking nonsense.
”How now Ophelia?” [Sings] How should I your true love know from another one? By his cockle hat and staff and his sandal shoon” “Alas, sweet lady, what imports this song?” “Say you? Nay, pray you, mark. [Sings] He is dead and gone lady. He is dead and gone; at his head a grass-green turf, at his heels a stone.” (4.5.28-37)
And when Ophelia died, Laertes BEGGED to be buried with her. He was giving up his own life for Ophelia. Ophelia caused so many problems for Hamlet as well. Hamlet was in love with Ophelia. He tried so hard to help Ophelia not be crazy and not hurt herself. In my opinion, Ophelia wasn’t even trying to get better. Hamlet was hurting because of Ophelia, and what did Ophelia go do? Commit suicide. Or so it is believed, nobody knows what really happened. Hamlet was so sad when he lost Ophelia, therefore, he suffered a great deal of trauma and had lots of problems, all because Ophelia wouldn’t try to help herself.
Possible solutions to the problems:
DeleteIn Where the Crawdads Sing, I think a possible solution would have been for Ma and Koa and her siblings to stick together and leave Pa together. It would have saved Kya from having to provide for herself, and show Pa that something needs to change.
In Hamlet, Ophelia should have tried harder to get better. She should have asked for more help, and for more people to surround her and watch her at all times to keep from death.
My book The Marsh King’s Daughter is very similar to yours. Jacob, in my book, relates a lot to Pa. He is very abusive towards his famlily. Jacob would leave his daughter and her mother alone in the woods for days at a time. Jacob was an abusive narcissist who convinced his daughter she loved her even though he did not. When Jacob goes to prison for kidnapping and murder, he leaves Helena, his dughter, with a feeling of abandonment. Even though Jacob was abusive, Helena still looked up to her father because that’s all she knew.
DeleteI agree that Ophelia caused many problems, however her fling into madness was sparked by her fathers death. Hamlet, being the one that killed Polonius, caused the most problem in my eyes.
DeleteIt sounds like Pa was a terrible person. No matter what was causing him to drink and abuse his family, it is not acceptable. It is a good thing the rest of the family got away from him.
In Hamlet, I think Claudius causes the most problems. Claudius kills his brother, the former King Hamlet, and this act created a domino effect. Hamlet would not have accidentally killed Polonius when he tried to seek revenge on Claudius for killing his father in act 3 scene 4. “O, I am slain!” ( 3.4.30) If Polonius were alive, Ophelia would not have gone insane killed her self and Laertes (Polonius’s son) would not have had to fight with Hamlet at the end of the play. Throughout the play, the king only causes problems. At the end of the play, Claudius accidentally kills his wife at the Fight between Hamlet and Laertes. In the fight, Claudius ends up getting himself killed along with Hamlet and Laertes. “Here, thou incestuous, {murd’rous,} damned Dane, Drink off this potion. Is {thy union} here? Follow my mother. {King dies}” ( 5.2.356-538). If Claudius had never killed king Hamlet, there would have never been this many deaths.
ReplyDeleteIn the book, The Marsh King’s Daughter, the person who caused the most problems was Jacob Holbrook. Jacob kidnaped a little girl in Newberry, MI. He then took her to the marsh in the middle of the Upper Penninsula of Michigan to create his own family. He is successful for 15 years, and in those years, he has a daughter named Helena. Jacob ends up getting caught then going to prison when Helena is 14. Thirteen years later, Jacob escaped from prison, and while doing that, he killed two correctional officers, an Alger County Sheriff and an innocent man. The mess Jacob caused made his only daughter have to find him because the police do not know how he thinks. Jacob continues to leave trails for Helena to lead her to him. Helena finally catches up to Jacob, and she finds out he never really loved her. Jacob only hurts anyone he’s around. The only way to make Jacob stop killing people is to kill him, and throughout the book, it is obvious how hard that would be to do.
^marae
DeleteI absolutely agree withe your fact of Claudius being one of then most problematic characters in Hamlet. His purposeful actions cause Hamlet to loose himself. If Claudius had not grown jealous and killed the previous king, the story would have certainly gone a different rout.
DeleteIn Hamlet there were many characters that caused many problems for each other. One of the main characters that cause the most problems would be Hamlet himself. Hamlet's mood changes so fast that causes a lot of problems without Hamlet noticing. Hamlet's father dies and that really caused Hamlet to lose his mind and have even more of an attitude towards the other characters. Hamlet also had to be different from everyone and I think that made people in the play not enjoy being around him. An example of how Hamlet would have to stand out and be different than others would be when he was dressed differently than others for the wedding. During the wedding Hamlet came in as the wedding was going on Hamlet was dressed in all black while everyone was dressed in white as they should have. When Hamlet says, “Hark you Guildenstern-and you too- at each ear a hearer!”(2.2 391-392) It shows that he also does not treat others with the respect that they deserve. I know that Hamlet is a dark place due to the death of his father but that does not give him the right to treat others poorly.
ReplyDeleteIn the book I read which is The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien the main thing that caused the biggest problem would be the war. My book is a couple shorter stories which all have the same meaning behind them. The war causes so many problems for these people many years after the war and many years of them being home. The war caused PTSD for almost all of the guys in the story. One of the guys saw their captain get blown up by a landmine and never physically or mentally recovered from it.
I can certainly agree that Hamlet is a problematic character. However, I cannot see the same discontempt you have with Hamlet. I believe he had all the right to be grumpy and gloomy (or even disrespectful to a degree) because he just witnessed his Fathers funeral and is now seeing his mom get married- all in the same day. But his temer is certainly a problem (as seen during Polonius's death)
DeleteIn the play Hamlet, King Claudius certainly caused the most problems. In the beginning, we see one of the first scenes of what seems to be a joint funeral/wedding. Claudius had waited only a month after the previous kings death before he married the Queen, Hamlets mother. Claudius says in his opening speach, "With mirth in funeral, and with dirge in marriage" (1.2, 12) Obviously this makes Hamlet very upset as he has no time to mourn his father between the celebration of his mothers new marriage. So right off the bat Claudius is fueling Hamlets rage. Even when King Claudius tries to be helpful he comes accross as damaging. He sees Hamlet sulking off to the side and comes in to talk in a condesceding tone. "Tis sweet"..."to give these mourning duties to your father; But you must know your father lost a father, that father lost his, lost his"(1.2, 93-96). The King is telling Hamlet to quite whining and death just happens. That is definitely not what Hamlet needs to hear in his dark hour. Later on, the King causes even more problems. There is set to be a fencing match between Leartes and Hamlet. All the royals are in attendance including the King and Queen. Now Claudius has a backdoor plan to poison the blade Leartes is holding in order to kill Hamlet. The King mixes the poison in a cup of wine, dips Leartes' blade in it, and carries on with the rest of the pagentry. Their plan backfires terribly. The Queen, in celebration of the winning Hamlet, drinks the cup of poisoned wine. Essentially the King has just killed the Queen. Leartes lands a hit on Hamlet infecting him with the poison. Hamlet stabs Leartes, realizes the poison, and then kills Claudius. Shortly after Hamlet dies too. 4 people, including himself, are dead all because Claudius had a sinister plan to keep his throne.
ReplyDeleteIn my own book, BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley, the one who causes the most problems is Bernard. Bernard exists in a totalitarian controlled government system that breeds kids for their roles in society and discourages any sort of emotional long term connection. Bernard starts to question this system of conformity early on. In this world everyone is sedated by a drug called soma. Bernard stops taking his soma and this is the first sign of his rebellion. "'Have a gramme,' suggested Lenina. He refused, prefeering his anger." (Huxley, 2020) Bernard then goes on to suggest motherhood as something wonderful. Which in this world is just ridiculous. "'What a wonderfully intimate reationship,' he said, deliberatley outrageous. 'And what an intesity of feeling it must generate!" (Huxley, 2020) Bernard is clearly going against the grain in a realm where going against the grain will get you killed. Later on in the book Bernard brings back a savage kid from the reservation that he believes is the long lost son of the Director of Fertilization. "'Whats the meaning of this mostrous practical joke,' the Director shouted. Clearly Bernard is in the business of causing trouble wherever, and however he can.
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ReplyDeleteI believe that King Claudius is the major antagonist of Hamlet but there isn't really the main antagonist of my book, A Promised Land, which is about Obama's election and much of his first term. So, I'll be using the late Senator John McCain who was the Republican presidential candidate in 2008. There weren’t any tragic elements to this portion of the memoir but McCain was the main source of the problem, aside from Hillary Clinton, during Obama’s campaign. The biggest source of problems is the Murder of Hamlet Sr. by his own brother pouring poison into his ear. …”juice of cursed hebona in a vial and in the porches of my ears did pour the leprous distilment…” (Shakespeare, 1.5.62-64). King Hamlet’s death wasn’t a good idea because of the lack of military leadership. At the end of the play, the palace is invaded by Norway because of Hamlet’s Senior’s past military conquest. “Youn Fortinbras, with conquest come from Poland,” (5.2.51). Denmark Might’ve survived under Hamlet Senior’s rule.
ReplyDeleteIn my book, during the campaign at least, McCain and Clinton often used dirty politics. "When the Clinton team attacked us on T.V. and in campaign mailings, we hadn't done enough to highlight their negative tactics." (Obama, 2020, 110). Obama did of course end up winning so they weren't too much of a problem.
DeleteI think there are several problems in Hamlet and in the novel Nineteen Minutes. The King is the main problem in Hamlet he is a traitor and has killed the old King, the Queen, and tried to kill Hamlet multiply times.(5,2,316-320)
ReplyDeleteHamlet-Good Madam
King- Gertrude, do not drink
Queen-I will, my lord; I pray you pardon me.
King-It is poisoned cup. It is too late.
By trying to kill Hamlet again the king poisoned his own wife. The King does the most damage is the play. He ruined Hamlet and Ophelia's relationship which in turn kinda led to her "drowning"
The main problem in my novel is that Peter was bullied and tormented for years. All the torment created resentment for his brother, his best friend, and Matt Josie's boyfriend.
couldn't be said most all of the problems the "king" caused, were indirectly caused by Hamlet in the first place? also, multiple times at the end of the first paragraph not multiply.
DeleteI would like to think it obvious that one of the most problematic characters in Hamlet is Hamlet himself. Although his discomfort with his Uncle is valid and his moodiness towards the wedding immediately following the funeral is appropriate, there was no need to investigate the matter himself. He becomes practically insane over finding who killed his father when he rejects his love "You should not have believed me, for virtue
ReplyDeletecannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall
relish of it. I loved you not." (3.1.127-129) which leads her to become clinically insane. He disrespects his mother "Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue." (3.4.15) then acts rashly and murders Polonius believing it to be Claudius an shows no remorse afterwards; "Polonius: O, I am slain!
Queen: O me, what hast thou done?
Hamlet: Nay, I know not. Is it the King?"
Similarly, Shawn Westover in my book cause many issues in the Memoir. In fact, he causes so much of an issue that Tara (the main character) is no longer welcomed back home or at the house of some of her siblings. Shawn convinces their parents that Tara is the problem and that every problem Tara tells them, it is all falsified or her imagination. "Of course Shawn dudn't stab Diego and threaten Tara with Knife." (Westover, 311) Her mother explaining how Tara's accusations sound implausible.
While most characters brought their own trouble in one way or another, Hamlet had to have been the largest cause for problems for tragic circumstances in Hamlet. That is not saying there were not deep seated issues in Hamlets life that caused him to commit some of the trouble he did. The first of these deep seated issues can be seen as Hamlet speaks to the ghost of his father, these problems arise from Hamlet's mental status regarding his father and his death which he clearly does not have a good grasp of. We are quick to find out that this deep seated issue will have bad consequences from this dialogue
ReplyDeleteGhost: “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.”
Hamlet: “Murder!”
Ghost: “Murder most foul, as in the best it is
But this most foul, strange and unnatural.”
Hamlet: “Haste me to know’t, that I, with wings as swift
As meditation or the thoughts of love,
May sweep to my revenge. “
(1.5. 30- 36)
In this sequence we hear Hamlet receiving the information his father had been murdered…. from a ghost. Hamlet then vows to enact quick revenge on information he has received from again, a ghost. This shows that while yes, Hamlet is the overall trouble maker, he has his reasons no matter how disassociated from reality. It is this situation that leads to most of Hamlets destruction, not all however. A scene where polonius is hiding from a Hamlet that is hiding behind some upholstery shows us that well.
Queen: “What wilt thou do? Thou wilt not murder me?
Help, help, ho!
Pol: [behind] “What, ho! Help, help, help, help!
Ham: [draws] How now? a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead! [stabs through the arras and] kills polonius.
This murder had nothing to do with orderes recieved by a ghost, it was merely a spur of the moment murder because Hamlet misunderstood a situation. It is that volatile behavior that makes me say Hamlet is the biggest problem in the story.
Addressing the problem in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is quite simple as long as you don't get all philosophical and argue Randles mental illness is truly the underlying cause of the rest of the issues. I however, will not be taking that route and pick the obvious problem, Nurse Ratched.
This woman is essentially the embodiment of all things evil. This Nurse ratched is the head overseer of a mental asylum where our protagonist, Randle McMurphy is a resident. Randle just so happens to despise Nurse Ratched and constantly messes with the nurse, purposely walking the line from punishment to himself and a headache for Nurse Ratched. Randle actually has such an obsession with walking this line he bets his friends he can up the ante on his antics, all while never receiving punishment. It was the combination of Randle ripping off Ratched’s clothes, and strangling her, on two separate occasions that Nurse Ratched was finally able to bring the hammer down on McMurphy. This highlights another problem prevalent in the story on top of nurse Ratched. Randles constant desire to fly close to the sun gets him burned badly when Ratched gets him lobotomized as punishment for his crude actions.
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ReplyDeleteThis lobotomy leaves Randle completely vegetized just laying around the day room as a husk, the Narrator of this story, “chief”, a friend of Randles, cannot stand that Ratched’s symbol of dominance (Randle’s vegiated body” just lays out all day never moving. Chief takes things into his own hands, smothering Rande setting him free. While Nurse Ratched is the executioner in this sense, if Randle could have toned back his games he wouldn't have ever been put in the circumstance in the first place, really leaving it up to the reader to decide who they blame. If you read it you would side with Randle because this Nurse is literally evil and over the course of the story you are made to hate her more and more. This nurse at one point plays with the mind of a patient after he was with some prostitutes, threatening to tell his mother of the ordeal, he as a result killed himself, not the first time Ratched inadvertently caused death "First Charles Cheswick and now William Bibbit! I hope you're finally satisfied. Playing with human lives- gambling with human lives- as if you thought yourself to be a God" (Kesey, 1962)! Without that knowledge it is easier to play devil's advocate and side with the nurse if you have the mindset “Randle shouldn't have ripped her clothes off and strangled her”, and “This Nurse is an actual murderer.
ReplyDeleteDid not in text cite for second quote about polonius getting killed so here it is (3.4. 25-29)
ReplyDeleteAnyone who has read or watched Hamlet would agree that Hamlet is an extremely troubled character. The source of all of Hamlet's problems is the ghost of his dead father. The entrance of the ghost of hamlet's father is very important because it reveals the beginning of all hamlet's problems. The ghost appears three times in the play. Act 1, scene i, scenes iv and v, and act 111 scene iv. The first time the ghost appears he tells Hamlet “A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark is by a forgèd process of my death rankly abused. But know, thou noble youth, the serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown” (Shakespeare 1.5, 36-40). The ghost is explaining the reason for his death caused by Hamlet's uncle, Claudius. Poisoned him to obtain the crown. The next time phantom shows up is extremely important “Do not forget. This visitation is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose. But look, amazement on thy mother sits. O, step between her and her fighting soul. Conceit in weakest bodies strongest works. Speak to her, Hamlet” (Shakespeare 3.4, 111-116). The ghost says Hamlet must get his revenge, and talk to his mother; there is the small detail, that Hamlet can see and hear the spirit, while his mother cannot. This is a sign that Hamlet has truly gone insane. Act 5 Scene 2 is the most crucial scene in the play. This is when everyone dies, including King Claudius. The ghost does not show up in this scene. It begins with Hamlet preparing for the battle against Laertes. During a break in the battle Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, drinks a poisoned drink in celebration of Hamlet winning the last round. They continue to fight and Gertrude begins to feel the effects of the poison. She realizes the drink is toxic, and tells Hamlet. Once Gertrude is dead Hamlet makes his uncle drink the rest of the poison, and then he stabs his uncle with his sword. The next person to die is Laertes, and Hamlet goes next saying, “The potent poison quite o’ercrows my spirit. I cannot live to hear the news from England. But I do prophesy th’ election lights on Fortinbras: he has my dying voice. So tell him, with th’ occur rents, move and less, which have solicited- the rest is silence” (Shakespeare 5.2 350-356). King Hamlet’s ghost contributed a good portion to the end of the play. His first appearance establishes the problem, and gives Hamlet time to think about his father’s request. The second appearance the spirit pushes Hamlet to act on his vengeance. When Claudius poisons the drink and Gertrude dies is when Hamlet’s mentaly gets pushed over the edge. He finally kills Claudius. If the ghost had not shown up, then the whole massacre could have been avoided, but then Hamlet wouldn't have been a tragedy.
ReplyDeleteAs for the book I am reading, The Quiet Room, it's not a character who causes the most problems but her mental disorder. My book is about a 17 year old girl, Lori Schiller and her mental disorder schizophrenia. Lori Schiller's life began to unravel at age 17. Before that, she had been an achiever driven to succeed, but also known for her sense of fun and humor. The oldest of three in her family, Lori maintained a 3.9 average at Scarsdale High School. It was in the summer of 1976, she was working as a counselor at summer camp, the first sign of what would be a horrifying journey into madness, one from which she would make an unexpected trip back home. As she lay in bed, thinking about a past summer romance, she heard a loud voice yelling, "You must die!" Other voices joined in shouting, "You must die!" "You will die!" (Schiller 5). Lori was not only tormented by voices they screamed at her, called her filthy names and laughed at her but she was also haunted by horrifying images. A police officer who stopped her for speeding appeared to her as a wild creature, with “bugged-out eyes and hair standing on end” (Schiller 25). Faces appeared and then became distorted, melting. Body parts hanging off trees. Eventually, the illness overwhelmed her. She made the first of repeated suicide attempts in March 1982. So the main problem through this book isn't a character but the character's illness as she explains “ i let the voices gain power over me. I lost all power of my own.” (Schiller 145).
DeleteBecause I have never read The Quiet Room I could be mistaken in the severity of Lori's schizophrenia, but it seems to me the problem may be the handling of the schizophrenia. Not only Lori's but her support system. Schizophrenia, while impossible to treat, can be alleviated slightly with the level of care given and it sounds to me due to multiple suicide attempts, the care was poor.
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