A Search for Stability Does the era in which a play or book was written really matter? Nowadays, many students and even adults, argue that there is no benefit behind studying publications dating back to the mid-1500s, because life during the time they were written, is nothing as they know it. However, if life was so different at the time the pieces were written, then what make pieces such as Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet so popular? The reason why certain literary works continue to be popular and so frequently studied, hundreds of years after they were written, is due to the presence of timeless themes that carry over centuries. Two excellent examples of literary pieces that share many themes in common, as well as a time difference of almost …show more content…
Mental health is presented in a similar manner in Hamlet and Ordinary People, because both Hamlet and Conrad, are devastated, and thrown into a spiral of depression, by the loss of a family member, and the deterioration of their families. Hamlet falls into his hole of depression when his father is murdered and he finds out that his mother is guilty of incest with his own uncle. When Hamlet says, “A little month, or ere those shoes were old / With which she followed my poor father’s body, / Like Niobe, all tears-why she, even she…married my uncle, / My father’s brother,” (Shakespeare, I, II, 147-153), we see that he is extremely disappointed in his mother for not only remarrying so quickly, but, marrying her own brother-in-law, and he is upset at the loss of his father. In Ordinary People, Conrad sinks into depression after his older brother, Buck, drowns in a lake accident, and he falls deeper into depression when he realizes that his parents’ marriage is deteriorating slowly. For instance, Conrad expresses how he feels without his brother when he says, “It is like the hole in your mouth where a tooth was and you cannot keep your tongue from playing with it” (Guest 24). This quote demonstrates that Conrad feels hollow and unsatisfied without his brother, both of which are symptoms of depression. However, the …show more content…
Hamlet and Ordinary People are similar because in both stories, the families begin to corrode after the death of an important family member and by the end, both families are completely torn apart. In Hamlet, his family is ruined by the death of King Hamlet and the incest within his family. When Hamlet says, “She married. O, most wicked speed, to post / with such dexterity to incestuous sheets! / It is not, nor it cannot come to good. / But break my heart…” (Shakespeare, I, II, 161-164), Hamlet demonstrates his disgust and consternation at how quickly his mother remarried to his own uncle, and, he immediately predicts that it will not end well for his family. In a like manner, in Ordinary People, Conrad’s family falls apart at the lack of each other’s support. An exceptional example which demonstrates this is, “We are a family aren’t we? And a family turns inward toward itself in grief, it does not go in separate directions, pulling itself apart” (Guest 127). This citation is noteworthy because it displays Conrad’s realization that when he and his father require support the most, his mother, Beth, distances herself from the family, which in turn, ends up tearing them apart. On the other hand, there are pronounced discrepancies between the presentation of the theme of a sense of belonging through family
Hamlet and The Lion King are very similar in how the are made and the purpose behind them but there is many more differences between the two. The Lion King is supposed to be the modern day Hamlet but it did not follow through. The characters in Hamlet and The Lion King are almost the same but play completely different roles. Also the theme can feel very similar in these two works because there is still the vengeance and suspense throughout.
Over the course of the novel Ordinary People, Conrad Jarrett has struggled to find his own identity. Judith Guest starts this novel off with an awkward relationship between Conrad, his mother, Beth, and his father, Calvin. After the passing of his brother Buck, Conrad goes into a super-deep depression. There are many people who have had a significant impact on Conrad throughout this novel, Karen, Lazenby, and Dr. Berger, all play a crucial role in Conrad finding his true identity. Through the ups and the downs of this novel Judith Guest has shown us what it was like as if we were in the Jarrett family.
Since Buck, Conrad’s brother, is dead, Conrad is feeling depressed seeing that the house is more empty now that Buck is gone. Conrad also shows deep depression in school when his teacher questions him asking, “Why are you writing all this about violence and war? Aren’t there other things you’d like to say, Conrad? This doesn’t sound like you.” (Guest 19).
With much of the world becoming focused on individual goals and ideas, it is necessary to remember the importance of family relationships. Through family bonds, people may find support that they would not find anywhere else, giving them the strength to push through difficult situations. The support that family relationships provide may be seen with an example from my own life as well as from Elie Wiesel’s novel Night. Family can be very crucial when it comes to dealing with tough situations in life.
Hamlet is a powerful story of love, life, revenge, and death. The themes within the play are written to live on for eternity. It is difficult to fully and accurately represent a play as great as this one. The movie that we watched in class did not wholly represent the wonders and the magnitude of the themes within Shakespeare’s work.
Hamlet discusses his first suicidal thought, which shows Hamlets degree of depression. In this soliloquy, Hamlet is complaining that he cannot commit suicide and he wishes that his physical state (body) would melt away. During this scene in the play, Hamlet is still grieving his father’s death and controlling his rage towards Gertrude’s incestuous marriage to Claudius, Hamlet wishes to die himself and is having thoughts about suicide due to his melancholy state. Depression is the first symptom of dissociative identity disorder that causes or alters an individual’s personality. Audiences can observe that Hamlet is traumatized from his father’s death, which is causing his mental state to worsen.
Adversity can take us by surprise, but everyone at some point in life experiences it. The way our personal identity can be shaped is through our phases of adversity. The experiences of dealing with difficulties can shape the way we view life and the actions that will show our persona. When we persevere adversity and obstacles it shows our reputation and our true type of identity. In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare, illustrates the way Hamlet, as well as other characters, deal with adversity through the types of motives they are seeking.
In more ways than one the world of Disney has somewhat interacted in the world of Shakespeare. Hamlet and The Lion King ,all though years apart in the making, have been drafted to be almost similar with little to no differences. They are similar in the ways of the plot and the moral background, but different as far as the ending transition of Hamlet and Simba are combined. The plot of Hamlet and The Lion King alike are about an Uncle to the King, or a heir next in line to the throne trying to gain power. Thus including some of the main characters being the King, the Queen, the King and Queen’s son, the son’s first love, his first loves’ father, two of the son’s instigating friends, and of course the son’s one and only true friend.
In enduring these complex emotions, this section was the most remarkable part. One of the first apparent emotions the boy experiences with the death of his father is loneliness to make this section memorable. The boy expresses this sentiment when he stays with his father described as, “When he came back he knelt beside his father and held his cold hand and said his name over and over again,” (McCarthy 281). The definition of loneliness is, “sadness because one has no friends or company.”
Throughout the play, Hamlet is forced to make difficult decisions; as he is conflicted with almost every decision he makes, his uncertainty and unsophisticated thoughts will eventually lead to his downfall. Man vs. Self is a common theme in Shakespeare’s work, and Hamlet is no exception. The most distinct example of this sophisticated concept is Hamlet himself. When analyzed thoroughly, Hamlet is his greatest obstacle and enemy. The earliest of his internal conflicts is when his mother married his uncle, Claudius, in such a short window of time after his father’s death.
Family, for most people, is defined as a sort of safe haven for people to go to. For others, families may be fragmented, split, or may have wrong ideals as a whole. Broken families, while they may have a long lasting effect on the spouses, can also have a detrimental, long-lasting effect on the children of these marriages which can lead to certain mental illnesses. For example, in the story of the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Deborah faces the emotional effects of her mother’s death. Other stories such as “A Rose for Emily”, show how Emily 's fathers parenting techniques and a lack of a mother figure burdened her future.
Conrad has a significant breakthrough on his path toward recovery. Thus, Conrad confronts his survivor’s guilt and allows himself to begin to enjoy life. He also forgives his mother. There’s a heart-wrenching scene at the end of the movie where Conrad tries to give his mother a hug.
From the beginning, Conrad had various problems in the way he thinks. From start to finish Conrad made a radical change in his life. He learned that his brother’s death wasn’t his fault and came to terms with the fact that his mother could never deliver him what he wants and needed to stop holding a grudge against her for that. Conrad was not the only one who experienced change; his mother, Beth, did as well. Beth realized that she could not love the way her family wanted her to and decided that herself and her social status were more significant than her own sons well-being.
Compare and Contrast Lion King and Hamlet After reading the book hamlet and watching the movie Lion King I discovered there were many similarities and differences. Both come from royalty and both fathers are killed by thier uncles that reaper as ghost with helpful advice, although in hamlet the uncle gets the Queen in lion king the uncle does not, hamlet is a tragedy but lion king was a happy ending. First off. Hamlet is the prince of denmark and the son of the tragically murdered King Hamlet. Simba is the son of Mufasa the king of the lions.
Through the entirety of the play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, the characters were overcome with the need for revenge as the outcome of many deaths. Therefore, no one was happy through “Hamlet” and it resulted in a tragedy. The character Hamlet played a big role in turning towards revenge and never would classify himself as being happy. Hamlet displays positive and negative behavior throughout the play. Hamlet exhibits strengths and weaknesses as well, although his weaknesses of over-thinking, bitterness, and his inability to accept the death of his father overshadow his strengths.