Comparing Hamlet And Death Of A Salesman

Hamlet and Death of a Salesman Thematic evaluation

Throughout time, humans experience many positive and negative life experiences. These experiences can be categorized under various themes, ranging from; love even onto betrayal, and through these themes human emotions and experiences can be studied. “Hamlet,” by William Shakespeare, and “Death of a Salesman,” by Arthur Miller, are two well written plays, displaying a both very tragic and thematic approach. Although, they take place in two very different time periods, under two very different circumstances they share a common effect. Hamlet’s tragic story takes place in the royal castle Elsinore, Denmark, while the Loman’s story takes place in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Boston in the late 1940s.

These tragic stories have common themes such as: deception, procrastination and indecisiveness, and betrayal. Through each tragedy the themes are further evaluated and developed.
Through the two tragic stories the theme of Deception is depicted, and the thematic development is further examined. In Hamlet there are situations in which this is displayed, in this first case it is revealed to Hamlet that his uncle Claudius murdered the king in order to obtain his throne. “O villain, villain, smiling, damnèd villain! My tables—meet it is I set it down that one may smile, and smile, and be a villain. At least I'm sure it may be so in Denmark”(William Shakespeare 1.5.113-116). Hamlet remembers how King Claudius would smile, he thinks that instead of smiling about a positive event, he has been smiling about his success in killing the king and achieving his throne. Hamlet sees that Claudius has deceived a nation with his smile, and how he tried to deceive him as well. Furthermore, soon after his discovery of the king's crime Hamlet pretends that he is insane, in order to discover the truth about Claudius. Consequently, since Claudius was worried about what Hamlet was up to so he sent Hamlet’s childhood friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to investigate and gather knowledge about him. “You were sent for, and there is a kind of confession in your looks which your modesties have not craft enough to color. I know the good king and queen have sent for you” (Shakespeare 2.2.300-304). Hamlet knows that there is something not quite right about his ‘friends’ demeanor and knows that they have been hiding something. He knew that they were not there to see if he was okay, but to gather intelligence for the reason behind his ‘insanity’. Hamlet tells them that he can see through their deception and that their was no point in trying to deceive him anymore. The theme of Deception is developed through the lies that have been building up throughout the play, as more lies are told, the more prevalent the deception is.
In the same way, Deception is developed in Death of A Salesman. In this case though Willy Loman is lying to his sons, leading them to believe that he is well liked and has influence over the police force. “I have friends. I can park my car in any street in New England, and cops protect it like their own”(Arthur Miller19). Unfortunately, for Willy, this is not the case, and in reality: he is just an ordinary salesman, suffering from slow business and trying to make ends meet. He deceives his sons and makes them believe that he is successful bussiness man, who has his life together, who is able to get benefits that no normal person would be able to obtain, ‘cops protect it like their own’. What is more, Willy is shown to be contradicting what he said to his sons, when he is talking to Linda about how slow business has been. “I don’t no the reason for it, but they just pass me by. I’m not noticed”(23). Willy claims he has friends and connections at one moment, the next moment he is admitting that nobody notices him. This proves Willy guilty of the crime of deception, because he cannot even support his own ideals. In addition, to Willy’s self proclaimed status, he brags about how he does not wait for his buyers. He says that when he is in the room, they would never make him wait for his turn. ‘“I never have to wait in line to see a buyer. “Willy Loman is here!” That’s all they have to know, and I go right through”(20). Willy is very arrogant and believes that he is well rounded, he deceives his sons into believing that he is a master salesman. To sum up, Willy loman uses deception as an instrument to develop a high status. Willy Loman and King Claudius both have needs that they use deception to achieve, for Willy he uses deception to develop his status. Similarly, Claudius uses deception to hide the truth and to gain a virtuous image amongst his kingdom. Therefore, they have developed the theme of deception through their lies and selfish desires.
Indeed, in both plays they use deception to satisfy their own needs, but in both plays there are characters that procrastinate and are very indecisive about their plans for the future.

In Hamlet’s case he is watching one of the Players act, and notices that even though it is just a play, the actor still takes haste to cry. “Yet I a dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak like john-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause, and can say nothing--no, not for a king upon whose property and most dear life, a damned defeat was made. Am I a coward”(2.2.593-598)? Hamlet on the other hand is not so quick to gather his rage, to avenge his father’s death. He realizes how much he is procrastinating, and how indecisive he has been on decision making. As result of this, Hamlet evaluates himself and questions if he is a coward. Further, Hamlet evaluates his procrastination and indecisive nature when he see Prince Fortinbras trying to replenish his kingdom. “Witness this army of such mass and charge, led by a delicate and tender prince, whose spirit with divine ambition … To all that fortune, death, and danger dare, even for an eggshell ”(4.4.50-69). Hamlet can see that Fortinbras is willing to do anything to strengthen his kingdom and to gain what his father has lost, and seeing this ambition makes him think about why he is taking so long to get his father's revenge. Hamlet sees that Fortinbras is fighting virtually for nothing but he at least put in an effort towards his cause. Hence, Hamlet’s lack of

desire and ambition, develops and reflects the theme procrastination and indecisiveness.
Similarly, Biff expresses the same lack of aspiration, as a result it reflects his own procrastination and indecisiveness.

In order for Biff to survive in a working environment he must put in the effort. “Biff, where were you? You’re supposed to study with me today”(20). Biff is similar to any ordinary high school student, who puts off homework or studying to the last minute. Through Bernards reminder, it is discovered that Biff has been stalling and not doing his studying. Consequently, Biff’s procrastination leaves him a future of uncertainty. Furthermore, when Willy tries to find out why Biff has not been able to secure a future for himself, he learns that Biff never put any effort into it in the first place. “He never trained himself for anything”(71). Bernard tells Willy this because he has: grown up, watched, and learned from Biff’s actions, that if he applies himself to his work, he would be successful. Since Biff always procrastinates he deprives himself from obtaining a future. In the same way, Hamlet does not take haste to his opportunity, and their procrastination and indecisiveness has caused them to either suffer great loss, or realise they have been wasting time. Through, their lack of ambition the characters have revealed their procrastination, and this develops the theme of procrastination and indecisiveness, because neither one of them have taken action to fulfill their

purpose.
Moreover, the theme of betrayal is prevalent in the two plays. In Hamlet, betrayal is shown right at the beginning, when Hamlet visits the ghost of his father. “Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast , with witchcraft of his [wits], with traitorous gifts- ”(1.5.49-50). Betrayal is easily shown in the first line. If incest has been committed, that means that Claudius has violated his brother’s wife. The ghost says how this act is adultery, and although he is not alive, he feels that he still has the marital rights to her and that what Claudius has committed is a sin, so not only is Claudius betraying his brother, but he is also betraying God by breaking his commandment. Moreover, Hamlet betrays his father by not killing Claudius as soon as he had the opportunity. “Do not forget: this visitation is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose” (3.4.110-111). Hamlet was ordered by his father to get his revenge, but when Hamlet does not cease the opportunity, his father feels betrayed. With this in mind, betrayal is developed through the deceit and self serving minds of the people in Hamlet.
In a like manner, the Lomans also experience betrayal, father blaming son and son blaming father. Willy is talking with Linda and they are discussing Biff and his life situation, Willy says, “Not finding yourself at age thirty-four is a disgrace ”(5)! Willy feels betrayed because Biff has disgraced the family through his many unsuccessful job attempts. Since Biff continues to fail the family Willy thinks of it as a disgrace. Willy had high hopes for Biff and he feels that Biff is betraying him personally. Likewise, Biff feels that Willy has betrayed the whole family because of the ‘other woman’ he has been having an affair with. Biff looks up to Willy as a father figure, while growing up his greatest influence was Willy, and he thought that Willy could do anything. His father established a good image for himself, but when Biff found out the truth, he knew that his father has betrayed the family and lied to him. Since Biff and Willy are always getting into confrontations, Biff expresses to his mother what he really thinks of his father. “Because I know he’s a fake and he doesn’t like anybody around who knows”(42)! At the time Linda had no idea about the affair, that taken place years earlier. But to digress back to the topic, Willy cheated on his wife, lied to his sons and never told the truth, similar to how Claudius committed incest with his brother’s wife, lied to Hamlet and kept his own dark secret. In the same way, Hamlet betrays his father by not listening to his commands. This develops the topic of betrayal because through their own transgression, they have turned their back on their loved ones resulting in the negative outcomes of each play.
The stories of Hamlet and Death of a Salesman, both have expressed and developed the themes of deception, procrastination and indecisiveness, and betrayal. Through the story, developments broaden and expand these themes and explain why for so long human experiences have been categorized and evaluated.