Albert Einstein once said, “Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” As a society, we have been taught, trained some may say, to avoiding independent thought and be submissive to the information we are taught during the course of our life. The question is sometimes asked, do our role models encourage meaningful learning and reflection? In the essay, “Diagnosing and Treating the Ophelia Syndrome” Author, Thomas G. Plummer, a professor at the University of Minnesota and at Brigham Young University, emboldens both students and the public to strive for self reliant thought through some diversified methods. Plummer talks about the play Hamlet, more specifically the character Ophelia, as the fundamental example, as someone who was …show more content…
This lead into another treatment students can adopt into their learning process is challenging themselves academically. Students need to stop finding the enabling factor, the Polonius. The Polonius is degrading factor making school a “slide through” experience for students, the common spreader of the Ophelia Syndrome. Find the teachers who deny a student the chance to be the Polonius. Locate challenging and powerful teachers who “refuse to make you a baby, and they refuse to do your thinking for you.”(Plummer, 1990, p.440) when students learn to challenge themselves, the evidence of such syndrome begins to ease. Tanner explains being academically demanding with a example of her own, posing how she analyzes all words and passages to truly understand them. “the way they are put together, the possible symbolism, the clever use of literary devices, and new meanings that I may never have noticed or understood before—all become apparent in the process of memorizing.” Is doing this easy? Convenient? No. However, to sincerely receive substantial learning, challenging yourself as a student is not only recommended, but necessary as a authentic student and gain a more heartfelt and individual learning
Often overlooked in Shakespeare’s famous play Hamlet, Shawna Maki analyzes Ophelia’s restricting role as a woman in a patriarchal society and how it essentially leads to her death being the true tragedy of the play. Maki supports this argument by stating, “Whereas Hamlet has the power and potential to change his fate, Ophelia does not and her death is tragic because the only escape she sees from her oppression is madness and death.”. The comparison between Hamlet and Ophelia is a common parallel because both characters are inevitably labeled as tragic deaths due to the quick deterioration of their state of mind.
Pennington, Michael. "Ophelia: Madness Her Only Safe Haven." Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of "Hamlet": A User's Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996.
Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. “Hamlet: A Man Who Thinks Before He Acts.” Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar. N. p.: Pocket Books, 1958.
Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. “Hamlet: A Man Who Thinks Before He Acts.” Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar. N. p.: Pocket Books, 1958.
Particularly, in the article Diagnosing and Treating the Ophelia Syndrome T. Plummer writes to us about Ophelia’s dilemma and thoroughly explains a way in our everyday life how we experience The Ophelia Syndrome. In the play, Ophelia is an adult that doesn’t form her own opinions, a photocopy of what Polonious, Laertes, and Hamlet ought her to be. In our everyday life we might be suffering from the Ophelia syndrome for example, “Universities may be rendering their most serious students, those who have been ‘good’ all their lives, vulnerable to the Ophelia Syndrome rather than motivating them to individuation.” (Plummer 2) The syndrome consist of one not being able to reach individuation which is the process of learning to distinguish oneself from the rest, failure to reach individuation opens the door of vulnerability leaving oneself prone to becoming independent o...
In life, some people may feel the need to lean on the shoulders of others, however in some cases where one is scared, the guidance of others may become ones dependence on them. This can have both positive and negative effects, depending on the circumstance of those involved. In the case of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia becomes more or less dependent on the protection of the men in her family. This eventually drives her to madness upon Polonius’s death. Through examining how Ophelia’s dependence adapts to the changes in the play, it can be seen that Ophelia is dependent on the men in her life, and when they are removed from her as per the events of the play, she cannot adapt to guide herself.
It has been said that the “To be or not to be” soliloquy gives us a picture of Hamlet the scholar, the intellectual, pondering a problem of moral philosophy. Discuss.
Ophelia, in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, represents a self-confident and aware female character. She analyzes the world around her and recognizes the multitude of male figures attempting to control her life. Her actions display not only this awareness, but also maturity in her non-confrontational discussions. Though she is demeaned by Laertes, Polonius, and Hamlet, Ophelia exhibits intelligence and independence and ultimately resorts to suicide in order to free herself from the power of the men around her.
In conclusion, Shakespeare shows throughout the play Hamlet, that when people try to cope with a lack of control created by the loss of an authoritative parent, they harm, and eventually destroy themselves. Through the lives of character’s Ophelia, Hamlet and Laertes, this truth is revealed, as they respectively lose their mind, damage those around them, and their plans retaliate against themselves because they did not cope in healthy ways. When undergoing times of trial and testing, positive ways to cope involve doing so with close friends, accepting the facts, and moving on with life at a pace that is neither to concentrated in the past, nor the future.
Hamlet's relationship and actions towards Ophelia are not exempt from his dual personalities. In private, he is deeply devoted to her; but in public, he humiliates and belittles her...
In Hamlet, one of the many things Shakespeare shows us is how the world can change a person, how certain circumstances can knock a person so out of proportion with who they used to be that they take on a new persona, a new identity. One such character is Ophelia, a young, innocent girl, who, throughout the play is torn between father and lover, accused of not being as innocent as she seems, and finally driven to insanity. In the end, she is driven to suicide, an innocent victim of the world around her.
When her father had challenged the honor of Hamlet 's desires, Ophelia could only reply "I do not know, my lord, what I should think". Used to relying upon her father 's direction and
He uses an example of one of the characters from Hamlet, he states that she let’s others think for her. He explains that this is an issue for most of society and names it the Ophelia syndrome. In his article he discusses the positive and negative effects of overcoming the Ophelia syndrome. He uses six steps to help students to be able to think for themselves. He argues about the importance of overcoming the syndrome. He believes that people have this problem from prior education, people go to school and are taught what is important. This prevents people from ever learning to think for themselves or being
In this course I experienced an important change in my beliefs about teaching; I came to understand that there are many different theories and methods that can be tailored to suit the teacher and the needs of the student. The readings, especially those from Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011), Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2007), and Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Sinclair, C., Nanlohy, P. (2010), have helped me to understand this in particular. In composing my essay about teaching methods and other themes, my learning was solidified, my knowledge deepened by my research and my writing skills honed.