ACT 4:

Initial Reaction:

Initial I thought this part of the play was a little slow and didn’t have a real purpose until the end with Ophelia. I think that it says something that Hamlet was just playing crazy and he made his love interest go crazy from his actions.

Character Analysis:

 Ophelia was a supporting character who was there to further along the idea of Hamlet being crazy. Without her in the play it would be hard to see the distinct contrast of Hamlets actions from pretending to be crazy when he was really sane. She was an important part of getting her father to the room where Hamlet killed him and becomes a significant character as she starts to lose touch with reality.

Theme Analysis:

In this act the theme that stands out the most is love/Family. It was all about Ophelia going crazy due to the loss of her father and her brother wanting to have revenge on Hamlet for his actions. The theme of this is most present when Laertes states:

O heavens, is’t possible a young maid’s wits

Should be as mortal as an old man’s life?

Nature is fine in love, and where’ tis fine,

It send some precious instance of itself

After the thing it loves. (4.5.159-164)

He is clearly concerned with the state of his sister and it shows how family bonds can drive someone insane leaving others to wonder how the person go to that state.

ACT 3:

Initial Reaction:

Initial I thought good Hamlet is finally going to take care of business and kill his uncle. It didn’t really remind me of anybody or movie I have seen.

Character Analysis:

 Polonius was clearly a supporting character that was there to further the ambitions of the king and to help find out what is wrong with Hamlet. It’s unfortunate that in his efforts to find out information on Hamlet he dies due to his noisiness and trickery. Due to his eagerness to please the new king he is inadvertently foiling Hamlets idea of playing crazy.

Theme Analysis:

In this chapter I notice a lot of the theme had to do with loyalty. Weather it was Polonius trying to show Claudius his loyalty by hiding behind some wall tapestry or it was Hamlet calling other characters out for their lack of loyalty and having loyalty with the wrong individual. The one that was the most striking was when Hamlet was talking to his mother saying

To serve in such a difference. What devil was’t

That thus hath cozened you at hoodman-blind?

Eyes without feeling. Feeling without sight,

Ears without hands or eyes, smelling sans all,

Or but sickly part of one true sense

Could not so mope. O shame, where is thy blush? (3.4.77-82)

 With this Hamlet is scolding his mother for not being so loyal to his father. He is telling her that is has been foolish and moved on from his father way to soon.

ACT 1:

Initial Reaction:

I have seen some of the various movies of Hamlet and tried to comprehend them when I was younger. I got the idea of what was going on however I’m not sure that I understood some of the smaller details. Hamlet kind of reminded me of one of my brothers David. When my grandmother passed he acted almost in the same manor Hamlet does to his fathers death. 

Character Analysis:

The main character Hamlet is a very sensitive guy who is not afraid of showing his feelings. Whether it is his mourning of his father or his affection for Ophelia he makes his feelings known. This is his fatal flaw because his feelings keep him from immediately acting on his father’s request for revenge. I believe from what we know in act one that he fits Aristotle’s concept of the tragic hero because he is in a high position of power and it is clear that he has flaws. 

Theme Analysis:

Shakespeare used atmosphere to give the reader/viewer the feeling that someone is being deceiving. The fact it started with the perceived ghost of a king wandering around at night set the tone for something devious to be told of later on. When Claudius says:

 “Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death

The memory be green, and that it us befitted

To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom

 To be contracted in one brow of woe,

Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature

That we with wisest sorrow think him

Together with remembrance of ourselves…” (1.2.1-8)

 It is made clear that something is going on with Claudius. He is not mourning his brother’s death but trying to benefit from it, is a clear signal of deceit and adds to the atmosphere of something devious waiting to be told. Later when we find out that he is the one who in fact murdered the king the suspicion of deceit is laid to rest because we know the king was deceived. When the ghost of the King was telling Hamlet to seek revenge for his death Shakespeare was telling the audience that if you are deceitful eventually the truth will come out.

Thesis #2:

Chopin expresses this by having the main character Mrs. Mallard think of freedom while looking out a window of her prison. Making Mrs. Mallard idealize what it would be like to not be with her husband suggests that she was not in the marriage for love but possible forced into it from outside pressures. Chopin paints the perfect socialite life for Mrs. Mallard but leaves one thing broken, her heart. Implying that Mrs Mallard was already dead before the shock of her husband actually being alive killed her.

"The Hand" by Colette:

"The Hand" by Colette was creepy to me because at first I could not tell weather or not the guy was morphing into something or if it was just figurative. I feel like the imagery stood out the most to me because she went from loving his hand to being completely disgusted by it. The way Colette described the change in his hand made it easy to imagine what it would be like seeing it.

Colette used symbolism in "The Hand" to show how a marriage can be a nightmare if someone jumped into it too soon. She uses the hand as symbol of happiness as it should be when someone gives you their hand in marriage but later on in the story sheds light on what the hand really looks like. Leaving the reader to speculate about why all of the sudden was the hand so obscene to the newly wed wife. Colette insist that appearances are deceiving having her main character take a second look at her new husbands hand and suddenly discovering what it truly looks like. Displaying the old tale of someone only wants to see what they want to see and may not be getting the big picture about something important like marriage. Colette forces the newly married wife to kiss the hand at the end of the story to symbolize how women often sacrifice themselves in the role of wife.

If you found out a dark or sinister secret about your new husband/wife would you stay married to them like the main character in "The Hand" trying to push past the little imperfection?

--Melissa

Roselily by Alice Walker:

Initially I felt bad for the gentle man the main character was marring because it seemed she was doing it to use him. I think what stood out to me was the point of view because she was thinking one thing while the guy was thinking completely differently. This story did not really make me think of one point in my life or part of my life. However, it did make me think collectively about why I do commit to things in my life.

Walker uses point of view and setting in "Roselily" to show how women should not get stuck with all the burden of commitment. Using setting by having the preacher give the christian wedding ceremony while the bride was thinking about her future life showed how she was committing for the wrong reasons. The brides point of view on what her future would hold was not really what she wanted but her past was full of prior commitments that did not work out. The bride stated that she just wanted out of the life she was living and was ironically not really committing with her heart to the marriage. Walker cutting in with what the man is thinking showed that his point of view is almost the same as the brides. They were both doing it because it was expected for them to play house. The bride only knew that he kissed her differently then the other men in her life. So she committed one more time for the wrong reason in one of the most holy of settings.

Do you feel it is important to marry solely for love or for love and what the other person can bring to the marriage?

Hi,

I'm hoping the semester goes well for everyone.

--Melissa