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Post by ETypeRegymon on Jan 31, 2016 11:45:17 GMT
There's not much question that Hamlet is the protagonist of the story. Hamlet is the character that has the most focus in the story, and he's the one with a clear goal in the story (avenge his father). Is he the good guy though? For one, Hamlet has no problem killing Claudius, even though it would cause chaos in the country due to missing a leader (like in Beowulf, though unlike Beowulf, there's no clear successor since the prince in line, Hamlet, dies too), believes the ghost, which had been established to not like the daylight (so the ghost isn't good), and lets his rage out against his mother and lover. But, at the same time, Claudius kills Hamlet's father so he could become king, Hamlet has a point about Gertrude (I think that's the queen's name) getting over her husband's death so quickly, and it's clear that Claudius wants Hamlet out of the picture (which is why they shipped Hamlet away).
So... Who are we rooting for and rooting against in this story? Hamlet doesn't seem very nice, but is he justified in killing out of vengeance? Is Claudius the bad guy due to his act of murder? I guess the real question is, who's the lesser evil? (I feel like if Claudius cares for the country after ruling it, maybe him, since having a ruler brings stability.)
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Post by Jonathan on Jan 31, 2016 13:42:00 GMT
I feel like Hamlet is just a story full of chaos. Hamlet wants revenge but also loves his enemies daughter. It looks like Claudius cares about the kingdom but he is the one who took control of the kingdom by killing its king. I'm thinking that if Hamlet turned mad after meeting the ghost, he wouldn't care much about the kingdom itself. I would take both Claudius and Hamlet evil because one already killed and one is planning to kill and I believe that murder cannot be justified by anything even if your parents were killed.
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Post by mayurika98 on Jan 31, 2016 14:32:08 GMT
This is human nature at it's best again. Both Hamlet and Claudius have ambition and are people that get what they want no matter who they hurt. I don't want to cluncoolify them as good or evil because it is hard to say. Hamlet sometimes doubts himself and shames himself for not acting sooner for avenging his father. So we know that he his aware of his actions. He is devising a way to make Claudius confess that he is the murderer. On the other hand Claudius is predicting bad things if Hamlet stays any longer in Denmark which is why he wants to send him to England. Both minds are working towards getting rid of each other. I cannot pick a side at this point.
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toufiq
Junior Member
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Post by toufiq on Jan 31, 2016 14:42:09 GMT
I'm really confused about this story. It changes tone and mood every scene. Hamlet seems to be going crazy as the story progress. I've also seen some parts of the movie where Hamlet clearly shows a body language of a mad man. He keeps seeing the ghost while no one else can see it. His attitude towards his mother is rough and he keeps on struggling to make rational decisions point to point. So I have no idea if his point of view is right or not.
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kevv
Junior Member
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Post by kevv on Jan 31, 2016 14:55:06 GMT
For me, I don't like Claudius and his men like polonius? and ophelia;s brother (I forget his name sorry.) The brother loves his own sister..thats like nasty and Claudius who is said to have killed the former king Hamlet. Anyways, I think that King Hamlet is most evil and next being Claudius and making Hamlet the last. The reason for this is because that King Hamlet has been killed by Claudius for whatever reason and after that, He manipulates Hamlet to kill Hamlets' uncle which is bad. Hamlet just being stupid trying to avenge is father listens to that and takes action. But honestly, I think all three of them are evil and stupid.
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Post by jonah21 on Feb 7, 2016 3:29:05 GMT
I think that Hamlet isn't as good as Claudius. When I'm reading, I feel that there isn't any sort of protagonist in the story. Everyone has their own ambitions and goals to achieve. Hamlet wants to kill Claudius, Claudius wants to stay King, and more. A typical story may be that Hamlet is the good guy trying to stop the bad guys but in this case, it doesn't really seem like so. The tone helps to create this sense of darkness(?). There isn't really any sort of happiness in the story.
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Post by toomuchchanmin on Feb 7, 2016 10:53:03 GMT
Nothing is black and white in real life. And I think good stories tend to reflect this. Usually good villains have clear motives and the reason for their villainy could be tragic, so we could sympathize with them. In Hamlet's case, he could be considered both a hero or a villain. A hero that is trying to avenge the death of his fater, or a villain that is trying to destroy a nation's prosperity because of his own selfish needs. It depends on how you interpret it really.
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Post by maysamyounis on Feb 7, 2016 13:33:58 GMT
The think hamlet is the less evil because he was young and he want to revenge to kill his uncle Claudius because he thinks that, will be better. And also, I don't found a problem if hamlet to became king insisted his uncle Claudius. I do not thing Claudius I have not been real taken care bout country because there is no evidence prove that, especially Claudius have Problem with hamlet.
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Post by juliaj on Feb 7, 2016 13:37:44 GMT
I like that there is no clear right or wrong side in this play. In this way, we are able to see our morals and our own values even more and decide for ourselves who we want to side with. It's funny because we start to root for Hamlet because we see his side of the story more, but the more the story progresses, the less reliable he is. I think more than good or bad, there are things that each character needs to be judged for as people instead of a villain or a hero.
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Post by graceyichen on Feb 10, 2016 2:21:53 GMT
This is a really good question Regy! And I like how a lot of people mentioned there is no good or bad side. As I grow older, I feel myself observing characters rather than liking or disliking them, labeling them as good or evil. It's like in real life, every one has a reason for doing something, and their actions are just a reflection of their experiences. There really is no evil in that, because life wasn't fair to begin with, some people are born into families that can give them no support, so they gotta look after themselves however they can; some people are born in loving families that taught them good morals growing up...we can't judge someone for being a certain way (realistic, cold, selfish...), call them good or evil, because we'll always only have our own perspective of things, its impossible to experience what anybody else has gone through.
It's like Draco Malfoy. He didn't chose to be born into a Slytherin family or have parents that work for the Dark Lord. He could've grown up to be like Harry Potter, I don't believe Draco's any less smart or athletic. But that was his "destiny", his life. Would you call him evil? I wouldn't. Same for Hamlet, Claudius, Polonius, and even Gertrude. Some of these characters have done some really messed up things, but they only appear that way because we are using our own understanding of their situation. So in Hamlet, I really have no one I'm rooting for, I'm kind of just observing every character and trying to understand why they do what they do.
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Post by juliaj on Feb 13, 2016 17:09:37 GMT
I think part of the reason why this play is so great is because there is no set good or bad guy. I think that it also helps us learn about real life in that the good and bad is based on perspective. We get to decide on who we think is the good guy or the bad guy based on our values and our morals.
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sunnyp
Junior Member
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Post by sunnyp on Feb 13, 2016 18:03:43 GMT
Hamlet definitely is not a good guy. Firstly because of what he had said to Gertrude and Ophelia. Just like Julia said, I also think the best part of the play is that there are no good and bad guys. It's like real life, no black and white, just dark to light grey. Personally though, I think Hamlet is really dark grey. I don't like him, and I don't like how he is treating some people although I do understand he is in a very hard situation.
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Post by anniee on Feb 14, 2016 13:54:34 GMT
I'm not quite sure if I'm rooting for Hamlet to succeed in carrying out his revenge scheme, but I know for sure that I am against Claudius being king, for Claudius is definitely a 'bad guy' in the story. You mentioned that Claudius is less evil because he cares about Denmark after coming to power, but what I want to point out is that he is the reason for the kingdom's troubles in the first place. King Hamlet was successful while he was the sovereign of Denmark. King Hamlet was the one with a stable royal family and popular song next in line for king. King Hamlet was the one who had captured all of the lands from young prince Fortinbras' father. Claudius destroyed all of this by pouring the poison in his brother's ear: he rid the nation of a powerful and successful king just so that he could come to power. He's the one who brought instability with the murder of his own brother.
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Post by melody on Feb 14, 2016 17:47:11 GMT
It is true that revenge is not the best way to pay back to someone who hurt you. However, when it comes to murdering your loved-ones, who would be able to stay calm and just let them live their own lives?
Nowadays, there's police and equality of law but at that time, if someone killed your father and became a king, how would you be able to let him suffer for his own crime? There's no way to punish or make him suffer for his own crime. I am not justifying his murder, however, I still understand if it comes to my situation, I would probably thought the same way as him. I do admit that Hamlet's father wasn't a king who led the world in peace. He captured lots of lands for his own goods. Also, he made bad choices and made other innocent people suffer. Just as Grace said, he's like Draco Malfoy. He didn't choose to be have his own family, he was just born with it. He was raised up to be that way which he did't have a choice. Hamlet is neither bad or good. He's just responding to his instinct which are grief and madness who would all do when their father's get killed by someone.
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Post by Jessica (Yeeun) Kim on Feb 21, 2016 14:34:23 GMT
As the story goes on and on, I believe Hamlet slowly becomes similar to Claudius, who killed his brother, the King Hamlet, and took his position and wife. In my opinion, there is no character who is less evil or not. This is because no matter of fact, Hamlet and Claudius are both murderer although, Hamlet commits a revenge for his father. Hamlet does feel any guilty towards Polonius. It is impossible to measure the weight of murder without reason.
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