Comparing Hamlet And Saramago's Blindness

Human Nature relating to Tragedy in Shakespeare's Hamlet and José Saramago’s Blindness

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet’s uncle Claudius kills the king, takes the throne, and marries Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. Hamlet then devotes himself to avenging his father’s death and killing Claudius. Throughout the play many characters are killed, including the tragic deaths of Claudius, Gertrude, and Hamlet. The play ends with the prince of Norway taking the throne, giving hope to the future of Denmark. Blindness by José Saramago is also a tragedy. An epidemic created by an unknown cause, called the “white sickness”, sweeps the world. At first the government sends people into quarantine, where fights for resources quickly arises. The wife of the man who first went blind is the only one who does not lose her vision, but must witness the deterioration of the civilization that had lost its sight. Both Hamlet and Blindness comparatively prove how human nature is affected in a time of distress; The disaster amplifies the true nature of one's character, as greed, selfishness, and vengeance in the characters tarnishes their moral choices, and then finally through hope and through a prevailing goodness, there is a sense of justice at the end, despite the great tragedy.

When misfortune arises it amplifies the character's true nature, whether that misfortune is the murder of one's father or a plague of blindness.

Although Hamlet dies, he manages to complete his task to avenges his father's death by killing Claudius. As well, after Hamlet's death, Fortinbras takes the throne; someone who Hamlet respects. Hamlet also gets a soldier's burial at the hands of Fortinbras and his army: Bear Hamlet like a soldier to the stage,

For he was likely, had he been put on,

To have proved most royally. And for his passage,

The soldiers’ music and the rites of