DRJ #4, Hamlet Act 4 & 5

The amount of action contained in the ending of this play is overwhelming. Many of the characters either die, have their ulterior motives exposed, become mad, and their true colors are shown. I can't personally relate to any of the events that take place in this act, but it reminded me of a soap opera. There were so many elements involved; life, death, revenge, deceit, along with many others. After reading these final acts I felt a little relieved over the fact that no one was lying at this point and everything was out in the open. I felt like a weight had been lifted off each character, especially Hamlet, since he had more problems to handle.

I mainly focused on the character Hamlet, since he was finally able to come face to face with the numerous amount of issues he had been dealing with. Up until these acts, he was not able to to talk about his worries or the pressure he was under. He was too concerned with what would happen if his plot for revenge was exposed, how he would feel if he didn't remain loyal to his father, and whether or not he would make it to heaven. Once his plan began to unravel after the death of Polonius, it didn't seem like he cared what would happen from that point on and developed more courage.

There were many themes that I found in these acts, but the theme that stood out to me the most was honesty. Each character had become so enthralled in the issues that would surface, that they eventually became deceitful and conspired against the people that they cared about. Toward the end of the play, however, the chaotic events that took place forced everyone to come forth with their issues.

DRJ #3 Hamlet, Act III

After reading this act, I was shocked at how each character seemed to reveal their true motives and didn't seem to be as conniving as they had been before. Throughout the play, each person kept a secret from someone else, and in this act they were able to expose their underlying thoughts. Hamlet was able to tell Gertrude about the turmoil that he was consumed by as a result of her marriage and the death of his father. Gertrude even admitted that her marriage with Claudius was hasty, and was completely honest with her true feelings. Hamlet acknowledged the fact that he could no longer trust anyone, including his close friends and family. After they had relinquished their darkest secrets I couldn't help but feel relieved for each character.

For this character analysis I chose Ophelia. I couldn't understand why she would conspire along with Polonius and trick him the way she did. Maybe she was just trying to please her father and didn't want to disappoint him, but it seemed as though she liked the attention she received from Hamlet. She mentioned that she was afraid of him, but Polonius put the idea in her mind that Hamlet was madly in love with her and I think she was flattered.

One major theme in this act was honesty. Most of the characters came forward with everything they had kept secret, such as Gertrude and Hamlet. Hamlet admitted that he wasn't insane and revealed his plan for revenge, and was honesty with his mother about the frustration he felt regarding Claudius. Gertrude also found out about the reappearing ghost that Hamlet sees.

DRJ #2: Hamlet, Act II

After reading Act II, my initial reaction was that Hamlet was going mad. He kept everything to himself, his thoughts, feelings, plan for revenge, and eventually it all became too overwhelming for him to handle. We see that his emotions are all over the place, which comes across as him being confused about how he should feel. He isn’t able to discern whether or not the ghost of his father is telling the truth, yet he doesn’t want to be disloyal to his father and disappoint him by not murdering his uncle. This issue continues and becomes a tormenting conflict for Hamlet. The hatred he has for his mother and Claudius’ marriage grows stronger, which persuades him to want to act on his revenge. He also seems confused regarding his feelings for Ophelia. Polonius believes that the reason for Hamlet’s sudden “lunacy” is because he is in love with his daughter. The way that he acts around her lead me to believe the same thing, but Hamlet himself doesn’t confirm it.

Throughout most of the play I felt that the Queen overlooked Hamlet and how her marriage was effecting him, but in this act she admitted that it was a hasty marriage and was worried about Hamlet’s sanity. To figure out the root cause of Hamlet’s change in personality she sent his friends to spy on him. While she could have handled the situation in a much better way, it still showed her concern. The King also expressed his fear for Hamlet. In the first act I thought that Claudius was telling Hamlet to move on from his father's death simply because he wanted to avoid possible insinuations that he was the murderer. In the second act however, while he was dealing with the issues that surfaced regarding Poland, he was much more worried about Hamlet and his well being.

One of the main themes in this act is dishonesty and deceitfulness. Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, Hamlet’s two childhood friends, were sent by the King and Queen to spy on him and figure out the true reason for his odd behavior. Meanwhile, since Polonius was convinced that Hamlet was in love with Ophelia, he devised a plan to send  her to talk to him alone while he hid in the room to listen to their conversation. Ophelia, who is frightened of Hamlet and does not love him, agreed to do so. Each character completely went against Hamlet in some way, which made me feel sorry for him. Even though his two friends practically explained that they were sent by the King and Queen to spy on him, they still agreed to do it.

DRJ #1: Hamlet, Act I

        After reading the first act, I initially felt sorry for Hamlet for the loss of his father. Everyone else seemed to sympathize with him, but they all felt that his grieving process was far too long and that it was time for him to move on with his life. Losing a family member is hard enough as it is, but Hamlet's mother married Claudius soon after his father's death. All of these changes must have been hard to accept. I thought the fact that his mother married Claudius was strange, and wondered why she would get married so quickly.

        So far Hamlet cannot be described as a protagonist or an antagonist. Of course, murdering someone would in no way make you a protagonist, however, he was seeking revenge against his father's murderer. I don't think Hamlet is normally a violent person, so I'm not sure how to categorize him. He doesn't cause any conflict intentionally; the ghost of his father was the one who gave him the idea to seek revenge against the murderer. He didn't exactly give his son an option, he ordered him to do it. Hamlet's loyalty obviously remains with his father and he wouldn't want to disappoint him. Hamlet clearly was angry at the murderer for killing his father, which would be another contributing factor for revenge. 

       One of the main themes in the first act could be loyalty. Remaining loyal to family members was very important to Hamlet, and he wanted to stay faithful to his father even after his death. He was torn between the loyalty of his mother and father. His mother marrying Claudius was much to his dismay, but he did love her. 

Hemingway Extra Credit

         I have never been away from my family or friends for an extended period of time that would result in feeling alienated from them, however, I can understand this type of situation involving Krebs and anyone else, and can sympathize with them. The difference in experiences did not change the way in which I viewed this story. If you have been gone for an indefinite amount of time, especially during the years in which you grow and become an adult, it would certainly be hard to return home the same exact person you were before you left. Krebs wasn’t simply on vacation, he was overseas during a war. Witnessing such tragedy would obviously have a major impact on one’s life, and being surrounded by that type of chaos on a daily basis could change your perspective on things. As the reader, I wasn’t fully able to identify with Krebs. Many people whom have read this piece might find a few similarities between them and Krebs here and there, but his term as a soldier and being apart of a tremendous battle is hard to fathom.

SSRJ#4 Carver

After reading this piece, I wasn't at all sure what to think of it. Being an extremely short story there wasn't much detail given by the author. The reason for the argument is unknown but it was clearly a serious matter if it ended in such turmoil. I thought that the symbolism in the story had to do with the flower pot that shattered. Both characters fought over who got to keep the baby. They each felt that they could take care of it better than the other, but their actions seemed to contradict their feelings when they began tugging and grabbing at the baby. The flower pot could have symbolized their inability to properly handle the situation they were in, or maybe it revealed how irresponsible they were for fighting over a fragile baby. The broken flower pot was also a little ironic; their fighting resulted in damaged life. With that being said, was the baby's life even in danger in this story? The author left the ending open to interpretation, but what decision was made at the end?

SSRJ#3 Colette

This short story, from what I was able to interpret, focused on relationships and growing to love what you admire and don't admire about a person. A young woman in love has a change of heart when she notices her "perfect" new husband's hand and how unattractive it was. She mentions that they had only known each other for a month before they got married, which isn't exactly enough time to get to know someone. I thought that the symbolism in this story was the hand. The young woman thought that she knew her husband very well, but she later on found out something she didn't like about him. Even though she didn't like his hand, she was able to move past it and love him for who he was. I sensed that she was began to question whether or not they got married too soon; the epiphany of "The Hand" seemed to overwhelm her. I was wondering why she mentioned that her husband was newly widowed and made it seem like a positive thing? Also, did the young woman realize in the end that she was in love with him despite "The Hand", or was she just accepting the fact that she did not know her husband very well, but would stay in the marriage amyway?

SSRJ#2 Hemingway

       The story "Soldier's Home" focuses on the life of a World War I soldier and the events that took place once he returned home. I was immediately sympathetic toward Krebs because of the horrific things he must have witnessed during the war, and even more so as the story went on to describe his emotionless personality and the distance between him and his family. My interpretation of the story was that his life was much different before he left for war, in terms of having more passion, motivation, and happiness. When he returned it seemed as though his time overseas forced him to become a stronger, more sensible person. Surely the things that he faced would affect him in that sense. 

       The symbolism in this story were the photographs mentioned in the beginning. One is of Krebs along with his fellow soldiers, the other is of himself, two German girls, and another soldier on the Rhine. These photographs reveal how Krebs is as a person. While he presents himself with a tough exterior, he could be hiding emotions and thoughts that no one knows about. A picture can only describe a moment so well; there might be a story behind the photograph. Krebs seemed to be content in this story, yet he knew that he wasn't reaching his full potential. He could have a girlfriend, but he didn't want to work for it since he thought the process was far too complicated. He wanted his life to be easy going and without any conflict, and avoided doing anything that might possibly interfere with that peace. 

       Why wouldn't Krebs try to show that he did care for his mother? Why was he so adamant on refraining from forming a relationship between his family or a girl? Why were his thoughts about the young girls in the story so repetitive? 

SSRJ#1 Chopin

        In the beginning of this story I couldn't help but feel sorry for Mrs. Mallard. I've never personally lost someone that I'm close with, but my best friend lost her dad a few years ago. I witnessed how the death of her dad had taken its toll, not only on herself, but her mom. Although she is usually one of the strongest people I know, the overwhelming shock and sadness that she felt was obvious. Mrs. Mallard initially had the same reaction; of course she would be upset by this news. As the story continued, however, I had a change of heart when Mrs. Mallard suddenly became over-joyed at the thought of her husband's death. 

       I can understand how the ability to do whatever you want without having to consider another person first would be nice, but I couldn't imagine feeling that way only moments after hearing what had happened. Clearly this sort of reaction was not expected by her sister or friend, whom decided to gently break the news to her considering her heart condition. Was this reaction possibly a way for her to avoid feeling the pain of losing her husband since the feelings are so overwhelming? Was she not in love with her husband to begin with? Even if she wasn't in love with her husband, wouldn't she still feel sad about losing someone she had known for so long, and was close with?

Hi, Everyone!

I'm Kristen! I'm seventeen years old and I'm apart of the high school enrichment program, which allows high school students (over the age of sixteen) to take two community college courses a semester. I'm a junior but plan on graduating this May. I was born in Santa Cruz, CA and lived there until I was twelve. My family and I moved to Folsom and have lived here for five years now; I absolutely love the beach so this area isn't really for me. I'm taking this course because it is a requirement for General Ed, and because I enjoy English and love to read and write. When I finish college I hope to become a veterinarian or vet tech; basically any job where I can help animals!