Role Of The Women Of Hamlet English Literature Essay

Role Of The Women Of Hamlet English Literature Essay The women of William Shakespeares Hamlet appear to be frail, passive figures used as pawns and dying prematurely after the mistreatment of men. However, there is more to Gertrude and Ophelia than meets the eye. Even though Hamlet is certainly not a play based on women, both female characters are more active than their vices and virtues previously lead us to believe. A closer inspection reveals that the true roles these female characters took on had purpose; these women were not as passive as they seem at first glance. Our first perception of Gertrude is  influenced by Hamlets response to learning she has married her brother-in-law after he has murdered her husband.  Hamlet shows anger and disillusionment toward her, believing that she should remain loyal to the memory of his father the king. Yet, there is no evidence that she knows of the murder Claudius has committed. It appears she has allowed herself to be seduced by Claudius, but once again there is no evidence of whether the seduction has taken place before the death of King Hamlet or afterwards. Gertrude finds herself in a position where she is conflicted by the roles different men wish her to play. She feels somewhat guilty about her sons disappointment in her, but feels that she can do nothing about the situation due to her relationship with Claudius. Claudius also has expectations of her, including his wish that she disregard Hamlet and remain loyal only to him. It could be said Gertrude is so fickle she lacks virtue, however, in Act II, scene IV, she shows motherly concern for Hamlets welfare and makes plans to speak with him in her chamber.   After Hamlet accuses her of lust, she does not make excuses for herself; she openly  admits her shortcoming.   What redeems Gertrude is her final act of loyalty to her son.   In the final act, when Claudius pours the poisoned wine, Gertrude claims thirst while reaching for the goblet.   Claudius warns her not to drink; nevertheless, she does, knowing it was poured for Hamlet, and as she dies, she tells  her son  that the drink is poison for him.   In her sacrifice of herself for her son, there is redemption for Gertrudes lust, immaturity, and fickleness.   She has now shown, not passivity, but strength and loyalty. The role of Ophelia is presented as a gentle, loyal, obedient, and young woman who is meant to be the love of Hamlets life, even though he rarely thinks of her or considers her in his plans. Most of the time Hamlet just appears to be cruel to her, as if he is just using her as a pawn, as is so when Ophelia tells her father that Hamlet appears to her to be looking and acting like a crazy man. It seems very likely he is just using Ophelia as part of his plot to get the word out that he is insane. Ophelia is an example of a perfect daughter who obeys her father without argument. Even when she is asked to reject Hamlet whom she believes is the love of her life, she responds subserviently that she will obey, and meets with Hamlet to deceive him. Polonius also uses his daughter for his own reasons, which in this case, is to spy on Hamlet. This actually becomes a turning point in the play. Hamlet reveals his complicated feelings for Ophelia as well as the depth by which he is hurt and betrayed by her. As Ophelia tries to return his gifts his feelings become evident. Hamlet becomes defensive refusing to accept the return, and responds with, I never gave you aught. He then continues to express his anger and disgust with women and humanity as he tells her, Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? This hurts Ophelia mentally as well as physically since he has thrown her around a bit and she expresses this with her own thoughts. Oh, what a noble mind is here oerthrown. The courtiers, soldiers, scholars, eye, tongue, sword; The expectancy and rose of the fair state, The glass of fashion and the mold of form, The observed of all observers, quite, quite down! And I, of ladies most deject and wretched, That sucked the honey of his music vows, Now see that noble and most sovereign reason, Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh; That unmatchd form and feature of blown youth Blasted with ecstasy: O, woe is me, To have seen what I have seen, see what I see! Basically, Ophelia is saying, Wow, he seemed like such a wonderful guy; before his words to me were so sweet and I let myself fall for him, and now hes gone totally gone around the bend.   Ophelias perfection also becomes her downfall, unfortunately she has no voice nor does she seem to have any obvious heroine qualities; and one thing of interest that comes to mind is her lack of desire to defend herself. Even with all this being said, Ophelias life and death have a profound influence on some of the most important characters in the play, including Hamlet. Her own madness has importance in the play. It gives Ophelia the freedom to do and say what she could not before. She passes out flowers to the court and gives columbine and fennel to Claudius, this is a jab at the king since these flowers were representative of ingratitude and infidelity at the time. This is where she loses her innocence, and this loss of innocence finishes with her eventual suicide. At the time, suicide was a sin against God and people that committed suicide were not allowed a proper funeral. Ophelias innocence is somewhat preserved by allowing her a funeral even though her death was at her own hand. Looking closely, Ophelias role appears to be a precursor for Shakespeare to foreshadow future events. In her opening scene, her brother and father warn her to stop seeing Hamlet. This warning could be said to foretell her future conflict with Hamlet. At the beginning of Act II, when Ophelia rejects Hamlets advances he goes off-the-wall, there are two ways to interpret the scene, one possibility being that after Hamlet warns Horatio and Marcellus that he will put an antic disposition on he acts crazy when meeting with Ophelia to get the word out there that he is mad. Another possibility is that Hamlet was genuinely distraught by Ophelias recent rejection. Anyway you look at it these scenes with Ophelia seem to foreshadow things to come. We begin to realize also that Ophelia is not as passive of a character as originally thought. She is obviously a tool for Shakespeare, but also for Hamlet and Polonius, as the plot thickens around her. After Ophelias death Hamlet is reminded of his deep feelings for her, which had been hidden due to his obsession with vengeance and his lack of trust in women. Ophelias death also deepens Laertes need for vengeance. He already has much reason to kill Hamlet, since Hamlet had murdered his father and driven his sister mad, but Opherlias suicide is that last little push over the edge; that drives and justifies Laertes revenge. As it turns out Ophelia is the common factor that brings together Hamlet and Laertes. She is the reason for their irrational actions, and in a twist of fate, the being that brings them great emotional turmoil. None of this has she done intentionally, yet she becomes her own play within a play. Our focus on Hamlet and his sufferings are set aside, as Ophelias story shocks us when she suddenly breaks, is driven mad, and then commits suicide. To one that simply reads the play and thinks nothing more about it, these women may seem trivial. However, those taking the time to think about Gertrude and Ophelia are rewarded with the knowledge that each of these characters is woven into a role that affects and motivates a main character. They are the characters that passive, as they may seem, actually spur the men in the play to further advance the plays central action. Clearly the roles Gertrude and Ophelia take on are a contribution to the terrible events that occur in Hamlet, making for a perfect dramatic tragedy. Work CitedShakespeare, William. Hamlet, Literature and Its Writers: A Compact Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 4th ed. Ed. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2007 1252-1354.

Accountability

Force, one is expected to be professional and ethical enough to make decisions that positively impact on his or her department to the extent that he/she can be accountable for actions or consequences that arise as a result of their decisions or choices.In the true essence of the word, accountability comes in where an individual is under the obligation to Justify their choice of actions o an interested party, in this case the US Air Force. As a medical professional within the air force, one is free to choose but never free from the consequences of his or her choice. It is important to be accountable especially in the military because it means one is under obligation to execute a given task whether they are willing to do it or not.Being accountable calls for the basic understanding of one's tasks and responsibilities, like in this case of a medical professional who is expected to know hat to do and when to do it with as minimum supervision as possible such that if anything goes wrong a s a result of their chosen actions, they can be held accountable. The importance of accountability in the US Air Force cannot be taken lightly as it may mean the difference between losing and saving a life. A military medical officer is expected to not only do his Job well, but also ensure those around him execute their tasks properly too.One does not have to experience combat to understand that Just being in the military Is Inherently dangerous given the types of equipment and weapons that are used to train and deploy with. As an example any live weapons range you go to part of the safety brief Is â€Å"everyone here is a range safety' meaning anyone can call a cease fire If they observe dangerous behavior or a situation regardless of rank and It can be a Colonel or a brand new private or even a medical officer, does not matter. As such In that event everyone becomes accountable.

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All About the French Adverb Comment

The French adverb comment is one of the most common in the language. It means how or what and can function as an  interrogative or exclamative adverb. In conversation, you may use this word to ask someones name or to clarify your understanding. It can even be used as a means of expressing incredulity at something youve heard or read. Usage Comment is the French equivalent of how. Here are some examples: Comment vas-tu?   How are you? (Literally, how are you going?)Comment as-tu fait à §a?  How did you do that? With à ªtre, comment means what is ___ like? Comment est-il?  Ã‚  Whats he like?Comment est ta maison?  Ã‚  What is your house like? It also can be  used to ask someones name: Comment tappelles-tu?   Whats your name?Comment sappelle-t-elle?   What is her name? Comment is also used to say what? when you didnt hear or cant believe something:   Philippe est mort.   Philippe is dead.Comment?  Ã‚  What? It is found in a few simple exclamative constructions: Tu as bien mangà ©? Et comment!  Ã‚  Did you eat well? And how! I sure did! I should say so!Comment donc!  Ã‚  Of course! By all means! Exceptions There are a number of uses of how in English that are not translated by comment in French. For instance: How about (we do something)?   Et si  (on fait quelque chose)?How about you? Et toi?How about that! Ça alors!How big/long/tall is it/he? Combien mesure-t-il?How come?   Pourquoi  ? (or Comment à §a se fait?)How far is ___? ___ est à   quelle distance  ? ___ est à   combien?How much/many? Combien?How much is it / does it cost? Combien à §a coà »te?How old are you? Quel à ¢ge as-tu?to know how to do something   savoir  faire quelque chose