The Universal Inner Struggle Revealed in Hamlet
Life is defined by the struggles it presents us. Without these constant tests of our fortitude, we would never grow as mature human beings. This is the one common denominator linking all people, past, present, and future. It is no mystery why our literature and art reflect this characteristic. The creation of a character is a mirror-image of a human. Shakespeare perfectly understood this truth. He crafted Hamlet, Claudius, Polonius, and his many other characters so that they would reflect life and in this way, entertain and educate his audience. Shakespeare's outright goal may have been to simply make money, but along the way, he sculpted beautiful characters filled with human qualities. In particular, Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, possesses the universal theme of internal struggle. Furthermore, he also displays a fervent desire to rectify his situation, an attitude easy sympathized with. These two aspects of Hamlet make him one of Shakespeare's most likeable and understandable characters. The reader (or the audience) yearns to identify with his thoughts and actions.
Throughout the play, the audience gets a voyeuristic glimpse into the internal struggle of Hamlet. This access allows the reader to see a quality in Hamlet that they have in themselves: a deeper conscience. While not everyone must contend with problems of murder and incest, each person has individual struggles that they keep within themselves, just as Hamlet wrestles with his hardships. Watching Hamlet deal with his problems is cathartic for the reader. One of the most powerful scenes occurs when Hamlet happens upon a chance to stealthily kill Claudius; however, the Ki...
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...Hamlet, as a character? Because he is just like us. He may be from another time and place, but his struggles mirror our own, and his need to make everything right is echoed in our own desires. Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark is a universal symbol of our own hardships and the measures we take to overcome them.
Works Cited
Boklund, Gunnar. "Hamlet." Essays on Shakespeare. Ed. Gerald Chapman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965.
Epstein, Norrie. "One of Destiny's Casualties." Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of The Friendly Shakespeare: A Thoroughly Painless to the Best of the Bard. New York: Viking Penguin, 1993. p. 332-34.
Gordon, Edward J. Introduction to Tragedy. Rochelle Park, NJ: Hayden Book Co., Inc., 1973.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. T. J. B. Spencer. New York: Penguin, 1996.
In The Awakening, the male characters attempt to exert control over the character of Edna. None of the men understand her need for independence. Edna thinks she will find true love with Robert but realizes that he will never understand her needs to be an independent woman. Edna's father and husband control her and they feel she has a specific duty as a woman. Alcee Arobin, also attempts to control Edna in his own way. Edna knows she wants freedom. She realizes this at the beginning of the book. "Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her (Pg. 642). Throughout The Awakening she is trying to gain that independence that she wants so bad.
The sum of all human traits is defined as human nature, meaning the excuse for our vices, and the flaws of mortal life. In Homer's The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus demonstrates these flaws throughout his journey, constantly struggling through the eternal fight for realization of life and death, and is weighed down by the never ending power struggle of nature versus mankind.
When Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" was published at the end of the 19th Century, many reviewers took issue with what they perceived to be the author's defiance of Victorian proprieties, but it is this very defiance with which has been responsible for the revival in the interest of the novel today. This factor is borne out by Chopin's own words throughout her Preface -- where she indicates that women were not recipients of equal treatment. (Chopin, Preface ) Edna takes her own life at the book's end, not because of remorse over having committed adultery but because she can no longer struggle against the social conventions which deny her fulfillment as a person and as a woman. Like Kate Chopin herself, Edna is an artist and a woman of sensitivity who believes that her identity as a woman involves more than being a wife and mother. It is this very type of independent thinking which was viewed as heretical in a society which sought to deny women any meaningful participation.
Hamlet (The New Folger Library Shakespeare). Simon & Schuster; New Folger Edition, 2003.
Corum, Richard. Understanding Hamlet: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport: Greenwood, 1998. Print. Literature in Context.
Goldman, Michael. "Hamlet and Our Problems." Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ed. David Scott Kaston. New York City: Prentice Hall International. 1995. 43-55
Edna Pontellier separates from her submissive life to pursue freedom, independence, and love with another man. She strives for freedom so that she can uncover her hidden persona. Independence and love fall into the same faction. Edna wants independence from her husband so she can find someone who will give her the support she needs. All of these aspects contribute to the growth of a new and improved life. She wishes to fit in and pursue her goals. However, in the end, she chooses freedom over everything else. Jumping into the water, thinking about Robert, Leonce, and her children, Edna surrenders to the ocean. Ironically, the ocean is a symbol of freedom. Many people say that “Edna was the precursor of the modern era American woman…” (Musere). She is the inspiration to other women all over the world.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Shakespeare utilizes his ability to use words to paint emotion, the story, and characters into the readers mind. Shakespeare creates the memorable character of Hamlet Junior in his poem, Hamlet, through the characteristics of insanity and madness and suicidal tendencies or thoughts of suicide. His capability of doing so enlarges the ability of the reader to understand the story, but also to construct the storyline.
...tionship she had until she was left with literally no reason to live. Throughout the novella, she breaks social conventions, which damages her reputation and her relationships with her friends, husband, and children. Through Edna’s thoughts and actions, numerous gender issues and expectations are displayed within The Awakening because she serves as a direct representation of feminist ideals, social changes, and a revolution to come.
Hamlet, of the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is a young man with many distinctive characteristics. He is the loving and beloved son of Hamlet, the deceased King of Denmark. He is talented in many ways, as actor, athlete, and scholar. Prince Hamlet draws upon many of his talents as he goes through a remarkable metamorphosis, changing from an average, responsible, young Prince to an apparently mad, raging son intent upon avenging his father’s untimely death.
Modernism can be defined through the literary works of early independent 20th century writers. Modernism is exp...
Modernism is defined in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary as "a self-conscious break with the past and a search for new forms of expression." While this explanation does relate what modernism means, the intricacies of the term go much deeper. Modernism began around 1890 and waned around 1922. Virginia Wolf once wrote, "In or about December, 1910, human character changed." (Hurt and Wilkie 1443). D.H. Lawrence wrote a similar statement about 1915: "It was 1915 the old world ended." (Hurt and Wilkie 1444). The importance of the exact dates of the Modernist period are not so relevant as the fact that new ideas were implemented in the era. Ideas that had never before been approached in the world of literature suddenly began emerging in the works of many great authors. Two of the pioneer Modernist writers were Joseph Conrad and T.S. Eliot. The tendencies to question the incontestable beliefs embedded in all thinking and to focus on the inner self dominated. Old viewpoints were tossed aside to make way for the discovery of modern man's personal spirituality. Two works that are considered important forbears in the Modern period are T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
Mack, Maynard. "The World of Hamlet." Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. Rev. ed. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. New York: Oxford University P., 1967.
It serves as the underlying force in her experience, both at the beginning and all throughout. When she first learns to swim it is a result of Robert recommending a plunge (51) and having given her many lessons (52), and he is there with her after her moment of triumph, playing the dutiful friend (54). When he announces plans to leave she is devastated by the bewildering news (79), and for much of the remainder of the novel desperately seeks any news she can catch of him, inquiring of Robert’s mother, Mademoiselle Reisz (whom Robert writes on occasion; 119), and even her own husband (90). Near the end of the novel Edna confesses her love to him and admits to this, saying “I love you, only you, no one but you. It was you who awoke me last summer out of a lifelong stupid dream” (207). And it is this, alas, which brings both her awakening and her very life to an end. Robert returns from Mexico and is on the cusp of acquiescing to her sensuous entreaties to be her man, but experiences a change of heart and refuses to commit adultery with her, telling her that his love for her forbids it (215). It is at this moment, when the final consummation of happiness seems at hand and is then irrevocably thwarted, that her endeavor for independence and being true to herself comes to an end. Having attempted to live by her own desires and dictates, and to achieve happiness with Robert,
Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." The Norton Introduction to Literature. Eds. Alison Booth, and Kelly J. Mays. Tenth. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2011. 1024-1129. Print.