Thursday, January 19, 2012

Midterm Essay 2 - Evil & Immorality

The concept of evil is relative to the way society views it. The values and norms that society has fed us determine what we feel, as a group, to be considered wrong. However, in some cases, this apparent immorality can be justified, depending on the situation that a human being is placed in. Prince Hamlet, in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, witnesses his father’s ghost admitting to him that the new king, the prince’s uncle, killed him to gain both the crown and his former wife. Hamlet reacts with trying to expose his uncle for what he is – a murderer and an adulterer. As Hamlet tries to do so, many people tend to obstruct his goal, causing him to react in ways that are not commonly viewed as moral in society. He ignores his girlfriend, Ophelia, because of his preoccupation and eventually kills her father. These actions alone can be viewed as those of a sociopath. But what Hamlet is doing stems from his remorse for his father and his undying need to get revenge in his name. Therefore, it is not immorality that causes Hamlet to commit these acts; instead, it is his need to avenge the evil that has emerged in his father’s kingdom.
Hamlet, by his words alone, seems to verbally abuse Ophelia by telling her to “get thee to a nunnery (3.1.119),” and often accusing her of being unfaithful. Any man in modern society who offended a woman so would be marked as evil – a man who does not know how to properly treat a woman. However, Hamlet’s distress can be blamed for his constant abuse toward Ophelia. His immense misery when he learns of her death shows that he was truly in love with her, despite the way in which he treated her for much of their relationship.
After Hamlet kills Polonius, his son Laertes comes to avenge his death. Laertes serves as the foil to Hamlet, showcasing their similarities and differences. As a strong, educated, level-headed man, Laertes makes Hamlet seem like a miserable boy who is only trying to make his father’s kingdom right again Laertes’s willingness to listen to Hamlet displays Hamlet’s inability to act rationally, which makes the reader feel sorry for him. The reader is more sympathetic to Hamlet because Hamlet’s motives are made obvious. He does not wish to do wrong to the kingdom, only to avenge it.

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