Similarities Between Hamlet And Antigone

Trust within family members is one of the strongest forms of trust in the world. This is because people will tend to trust other people that they have known for a long time, which are family members. However if this trust is broken, it could be a huge disaster. If someone breaks trust with a friend or acquaintance, it will suffer some consequences. However, if someone breaks trust with a family member, not only could that connection be lost, but might also turn those family members into enemies. Hamlet by William Shakespeare and Antigone by Sophocles show how important trust is within a family and the consequences of a lack of trust within family members. The relationships between Hamlet and Gertrude, Ophelia and Polonius, Antigone and

Trust with family members is so much more significant than any other form of trust because the relationship has been built through many years, which means if it is broken, it could suffer huge consequences.

When a person spends as much time as they do with someone else, like family members do, trust will be defined and strong. Polonius and Laertes really value Ophelia and want her to be as successful in life as possible. Laertes and Ophelia were brought up together, which built the trust between them two. However, this trust disappeared at some time before the play started. Readers only see when the trust is broken between Ophelia, Laertes, and Polonius. Laertes and Polonius were telling Ophelia how to live her life since the start of the play. There was trust between these three, but it was quickly broken because of Ophelia’s early actions. The same can be said about Gertrude and Hamlet. A mother and son will always have a special connection because the mother is the one who takes care of the son at an early age. Everything was perfect when King Hamlet and Gertrude were married. The trust between Hamlet and Gertrude was extremely strong. However, once

When Hamlet lost his dad, he felt these exact symptoms. The only problem was that Hamlet’s mom, Gertrude, did not. She moved on abnormally quickly and married the new king, Polonius. Hamlet says to himself, “‘Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature possess it merely. That it should come to this but two months dead- nay, so much, not two” (1.2.139-142). This is the moment that the trust between Hamlet and Gertrude disappears. He is so disgusted that Gertrude did not even wait two months until she married her next husband, who happens to be the next king and Hamlet’s uncle. The trust between a mother and son are so important, and Gertrude breaking this trust devastated Hamlet and turned him into a different person. In Antigone, the same consequences occur when trust is broken. Antigone is very upset that the city of Thebes was told by their leader, Creon, to not bury her brother. This decision was made because her brother was once a leader of the city of Thebes and turned it into a city of chaos. Despite this, not burying a deceased is a huge sign of disrespect and Antigone would not let this happen. As a result, she asked her sister, Ismene, to help her with the mission. Ismene is really hesitant when Antigone brings this idea up because she values the law more than her family. Therefore Antigone says, “I shall not persuade you.