Suicide is the third leading cause of death among teens. (Hogarty 1) Suicide is a painful conversation to have because when you lose someone to suicide, it affects more than just that person. In Hamlet, both Hamlet and Ophelia are battling depression and discuss suicide in great lengths. If people talk about suicide, it could be avoidable.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 25 suicides are attempted for each one completed. (Hogarty 1) Suicide is becoming a problem. You can tell when someone is contemplating suicide by a change in their behavior. Students who are bullied might become antisocial. Students who have relationship problems at school and at home might become depressed. It is seen daily on social media and the news. Suicide doesn’t belong to just a certain age of students. Students who mention to their peers that they have thoughts of suicide often speak with a counselor or therapist regarding their thoughts. However, many students do not have the correct training or classes to discuss suicide with their fellow classmates. According to the New York Daily News, “Nearly 1 in 6 high school students has
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seriously considered suicide, and 1 in 12 has attempted it… the suicide rate among teens has climbed in the past few years, from 6.3% in 2009 to 7.8% in 2011, numbers which reflect the trend gaining national attention as more teen suicides are reported as a result of bullying.” (Neal 1) In “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” by William Shakespeare, main characters Hamlet and Ophelia discuss suicide. In Act I, Scene 2, lines 129-138, Hamlet wrestles with the thought of suicide and how, if unchecked, it can overcome and destroy your life. “Ah, I wish my dirty flesh could melt away into a vapor, or that God had not made a law against suicide.
Oh God, God! How tired, stale, and pointless life is to me. Damn it! It’s like a garden that no one’s taking care of, and that’s growing wild. Only nasty weeds grow in it now. I can’t believe it’s come to this.” (Crowther 1)
Fortunately for Hamlet, he doesn’t commit suicide because he still had to get revenge for his father’s death. In the end, Hamlet is killed in battle after murdering his uncle, the man responsible for the king’s death. However Ophelia does commit suicide by drowning herself. “Ophelia, driven crazy by Hamlet’s cruelty and the death of her father, plunges from a tree branch into the current below.” She fell on accident but could have easily saved herself but chose to drown which is viewed as suicide. (Mabillard
1) Suicide is dangerous because people feel that they can’t get through hard times, they’re uncomfortable with themselves, or they have gone through a tragic event. “How many teens do we lose to suicide for similar reasons because their feelings are either ignored or overlooked, much like Ophelia, who is left to wander offstage into a white light?” (Dobie Bauer 1) Suicide is often seen as a taboo subject and many schools do not offer programs in which teens can talk about thoughts of suicide or what suicidal thoughts can do to you. Teachers should bring to light about suicide awareness because it could possibly help many students to come out and talk about their thoughts on suicide and what it means to them. If they have ever thought or attempted suicide, they would know that they could talk to their teacher or school counselors and try and receive help. Students sometimes feel like if they talk to their teachers about them and suicide, they would look at the student differently. Students also want to remain private about their conversations and, with suicide, an adult in the home must be alerted immediately. Teen suicide and Hamlet are connected because teen suicide is sometimes overlooked and you can’t tell when people are dealing with suicide. It’s easy to prevent through because all you really have to do is sit down with someone and talk about what you are dealing with so you
...been poisoned. Finally, Hamlet dies because of his own inaction to revenge his father’s death (V.II.) All of these characters died in some manner because of suicide. Suicide is a difficult subject to discuss because it relies heavily on personal opinions. Shakespeare effectively uses this subject throughout the play and the reader can understand the information that is delivered.
Ophelia descends into madness during the play, mostly because the death of her father, Polonius, has sent her reeling. Ophelia’s true insanity is the perfect contrast to Hamlet’s contrived insanity. Hamlet appears weak and indecisive compared to some of the other characters, especially Fortinbras and Laertes. However, Ophelia seems more fragile and vulnerable when compared to him. Although we don’t know for sure if she committed suicide or if her drowning was accidental, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume she killed herself out of weakness. Conversely, although Hamlet does consider killing himself, his suicidal thoughts are brief. He decides that revenge is better than doing himself in at that moment. (“Hamlet” C: 697). Through Ophelia’s promise to her father not to see Hamlet anymore, she is restricted from engaging directly with him. Thus, she becomes a site for the audience to locate his frustrations. Hamlet, being unable to talk with her, cannot understand Ophelia’s actions. She leaves for the last time saying “And will he not come again? / No, no he is dead/” (“Hamlet” C: 728). The death of Ophelia is only reported back to Hamlet. Spoken in song, Ophelia’s final words are not even truly her
Approximately 24% of 12-17 year olds have considered suicide and up to 10% have attempted suicide.” (Suicide Intervention Training PG 3). Teens today are very likely to commit suicide for various reasons. In today’s society there are a lot of judging and bullying cases around the world. No matter how much we promote a bully free zone there will always be a couple of cliques, or individuals, who want to bring others down and who do not know the seriousness of bullying. Although bullying is a big cause of suicide, the leading cause is a mental illness that many people are familiar with called depression. “Psychiatric disorders can affect diverse aspects of an individual’s life.”( Dispelling Myth Surrounding Teen Suicide, PG 1). If you or someone you know seems down most of the time, the best thing to do is to go see someone about your despair. If you are diagnosed with depression, prescribed depression medicine can help and can be one way to prevent suicidal thoughts or actions. “There is a lot of evidence that suicide is preventable.”(Cont. Principles of Suicide Prevention, PG
There have been many instances of suicide that have occurred in the past years at universities across the country, and since it is such a sensitive subject, there have not been nearly enough coverage as this topic deserves, considering this issue does not seem to be going away. When collecting data about suicide statistics, the age range is broken down as people ages 15-24, which spans most developmental years. Within this bracket are college-age students and this age-group has by far the most troubling statistics around it.
The Chief Counselor of Denmark, Polonius and his family, play a big role in determining the motivation of a possible suicide. Hamlet was in the midst of avenging his fathers death, to kill Claudius. He was having a conversation with his mom when he heard someone in the room spying on them. Thinking it was Claudius, he drew his sword and stabbed though the curtain where the impostor was in concealment. It turned out to be Polonius, who was now dead, and again Gertrude couldn’t help but feel accountable. Polonius’ daughter Ophelia was affected dramatically by his death. She was romantically involved with Hamlet, and couldn’t handle the fact that her boyfriend murdered her father. This destroyed Ophelia’s character and led to her suicide. Polonius’ son Laertes, had now lost his entire family and wanted to get revenge by assassinating Hamlet. Laertes was having a meeting with Claudius and they were planning the details of how to kill Hamlet.
Going into the story of Hamlet, suicide is something that has been thought about coming from the mind of Hamlet, but we also see it happen with Ophelia. Hamlet was a man who had some serious problems going on within the family, most importantly
Everyone at some point in their life will have to deal with a tragic death. Either the death of a family member like a mother or father, or a best friend. It is easy say how you will feel once it happens, but what if you had to be the one to make the decision? Could you be the one held responsible to keep someone you love alive longer then they originally intended?. Many stories have turned into a media frenzy with the assisted suicide by Dr. Jack Kevorkian to help 54 yr. old Janet Adkins end her suffering from Alzheimer’s, to Terry Shiavo who suffered from extreme hypokalemia and her lifeless body was torn between her husband wanted to pull the plug to let her die a painless death to her family who wanted to keep her artificially kept alive.
Imagine what one can do during the course of his life while here on Earth. This individual can pursue any endeavor during his life and, in this country, has every opportunity to do so. The taking of one’s own life is a tremendous waste of precious human life. What is considered to be even worse is the aiding of this horrendous action by another individual. Assisted suicide is a wasted opportunity in regards to human life and ruins the potential for further life experiences, societal contribution, and self-advancement. Suicide in and of itself is a terrible occurrence for a family to have to go through. The loss of a family member to suicide has the potential to tear a family apart due to the immense amount of grief involved in this tragedy.
Assisted suicide is a necessary worldwide implementation so that people everywhere can have a sense of security when they fall ill with an incurable disease, where they can be comforted with the thought of having that choice to simply end it all and not have to suffer through everything anymore. When one no longer feels as though they are human and see no purpose to life anymore because of the constant pain and humiliation they are forced through, they should have the ability to end their suffering. The right between life and death is something every human being holds in their grasp. It is a right that can be denied by no one, not the government and not their family. It is not humane to force them through all that agony that resides with terminal
How would you feel if this was your mother or any loved one? Euthanasia or assisted suicide for terminally ill patients should be legal."Supporters of the right to die movement argue that the courts have found just as there is a constitutional right to refuse medical treatment, that there is a constitutional right to ask for medical assistance in dying"(text 2). People should have the choice of Euthanasia or assisted suicide if they are terminally ill. Euthanasia and assisted suicide should be legal in all fifty states because people deserve the right to die with dignity and free from pain and suffering.
In Hamlet suicide is an issue of controversy and question. Hamlet is a confused man from everything that he has experienced in such a short period of time. And even though Hamlet contemplates suicide he is not the one who suffers from it. Ophelia is actually is the victim of the actual act of suicide. His morality, religion, and philosophical views on suicide keep him from committing the dreaded act.
This is still very relevant today, because everyone can relate to it. Suicide is still a huge problem in today’s society. An article from American Foundation for Suicide Around 44,000 americans die due to suicide every year making it the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. In this story Hamlet chooses life. Ophelia on the other hand does not.
Hamlet's reason for suicide is the death of his father, the late King Hamlet - or at least this is what he tells the world. He claims his father's death as the reason in his first soliloquy (1.2.133-164), but we are led towards other reasons by the evidence he gives. In the famous "to be or not to be" soliloquy, he says: "For who would bear... the pangs of despised love... when he himself might his quietus make/with a bare bodkin?" (3.1.78-84). The word "despised" is glossed as "unrequited" - and thus we are led to speculation that Ophelia, not the late King, is the true cause of his suicidal urges. The claim that he is mourning his father seems to me to be at best an excuse - in the public eye as he is, Hamlet cannot sink so low as to be moved to kill himself by a woman.
Calob Hotovec Mrs. Stallman English 10 17 May 2017 Assisted Suicide Many people have been wondering what’s the conflict on assisted suicide. This essay will inform you on that topic to help with understanding it. Assisted suicide has been around for hundreds of years and now there has been conflict on if it should be legalized or illegalized.
A young, teenage girl sits with her friends, talking, laughing, and making jokes. She seems completely normal and happy, even. What people don’t know is that this is nothing but a mask covering the loneliness that seems to run through her veins, and the unexplainable sadness that never goes away. She fears speaking of it, of admitting the uncontrollable hatred she feels for everything about herself, so much that she contemplates ending it all. The fact is, suicide is the third leading cause for death in people under the age of twenty-five. Our country needs to stop seeing this as a casual thing. Depression, anxiety, and suicide in youth are real and serious issues that we need to be more aware of in today’s society.