To be or Not to be
“To be or not to be, that is the question.'; Hamlet is eager to escape a life of calamity and disaster. He sees his life as a terrible burden, something he yearns to escape. The problem, however, is that death brings one into territory uncharted by t se still alive. It is not death that he fears for he perceives death as a release; the problem is death through suicide. Hamlet makes a philosophical approach to the question of whether or not it is nobler to endure life’s hardships or overcome pain an agony. Despite the fact that life can be treacherous, Hamlet foregoes suicide because the afterlife may be worse if a person takes his own life.
Hamlet also talks about life long suicide, doing nothing and allowing life to pass by. Hamlet feels as if he has resorted to this passive mode. He suffers guilt from standing by and allowing Claudius to live. Hamlet feels as if he is too gutless to t e the king’s life until he has gathered all of the facts and the right opportunity arises. Hamlet is being extremely hard on himself . It is only human nature to feel nerveless when one is unable to take action. He must realize that he is not being c ardly, but smart to wait and take decisive action.
Evidence shows that Hamlet feels life is a burden yet Hamlet still remains tranquil as he soliloquizes. The perfect iambic pentameter of Shakespeare gives this passage a sense of fluidity in contrast with the whirlpool of emotions in other soliloquies
Words such as suffer, troubles, dies, sleep, heartache, calamity, and weary, depict depression as Hamlet is a very low-spirited and depressed man. There are also images that are tools of destruction: slings, arrows, arms, and whips. Shakespeare’s c eful use of words and structure displays Hamlet’s ideas successfully.
If one chooses to take the path of suicide as a result of an unfortunate life, the afterlife has the potential to be worse.
Many people seem to get entangled into society's customs. In the novel Anthem, the protagonist, Equality 7-2521, lives a period of his life as a follower. However, Equality eventually, tries to distant himself from his society. He is shaped to be a follower, but eventually emerges in to an individual and a leader. On his journey, he discovers the past remains of his community. Ayn Rand uses Equality's discoveries of self to represent the importance of individuality in a functional society.
People all around the world are familiar with the “To be or not to be” speech. Although some might not realize it is a speech by Hamlet, they do realize how powerful those lines are. Those lines show the mark of a great philosopher, and this is precisely what Hamlet is. Because Hamlet is such a fantastic philosopher at the start of the play, it leads him to what some believe is his downfall. The fact that perhaps he thinks too much on the people and incidents surrounding him is really what pulls him down. He spends an excessive amount of his day thinking about every aspect of every event.
“I worship individuals for their highest possibilities as individuals, and I loathe humanity, for its failure to live up to these possibilities.” (Ayn Rand). Ayn’s novel lives up to these possibilities by expressing her hope for independence and individuality in the world. Freedom can only be achieved by man’s own ability to think, feel, make choices, and form their own judgement, and that is exactly what the novel is about. In her book Anthem, Ayn Rand presents the philosophy that independence and individuality are very important in a society. This philosophy is true, and can be related to historical and current world events, along with the book Anthem. First, the independence that is gained by the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Equality represents the importance of independence in a society. Secondly, the African-American people who were discriminated upon and Equality’s expression of individuality through being different, both show the importance of individuality in a society. Lastly, the Annual Gay Pride Parade in Toronto and Equality’s journey to individuality represents the importance of it for humankind.
In Anthem’s current society, it is only correct to be a coherent group. If you work alone, it is a transgression, if you work for the good of yourself, it is a transgression, and if you work to change the current society, then it is too a transgression (17). Equality believes these laws that are set in place by the Council, but by the end of the novella, he believes different. He believes that everyone should be allowed to utilize their skills and talents, and that everyone should live in a society, but
What is more important, individual or group relationships? In the book Anthem by Ayn Rand, they live in a dystopian society, in the future. Everyone is alike and ran by the government. In their society they have many laws that would be shocking to us if we had those laws in real life. The individual relationships are more important because men are forbidden to take notice of woman,it is a sin to give each other names, and all men are must be alike.
The book called Anthem is a book about a dystopia in the future. It is a realistic fiction book that was written by Ayn Rand. In this dystopia there is no such thing as one man. There is only men. Everyone lives for their brothers and not for themselves. Nobody knows about the words I, me, or my. The government decides who they are, everything they do, and every move they make. The character who tries to resist the government is named Equality. He is bigger and smarter than the rest of his brothers. Which is why the teachers lashed him. However, the government should not be able to have control over the people because everyone is their own person.
Hamlet is going going through many things and changes in his life when his Father dies, his Mother remarries to his uncle and his uncle becoming the replacement to the king when Hamlet was promised the crown. Hamlets changes are expressed through soliloquies. In the beginning of the book Hamlet appears to be calm but when in his mind he is going crazy. He begins to see his fathers ghost appear more and more often. The ghost tells Hamlet how he really died.”May be the devil, and the devil hath power T' assume a pleasing shape. Yea, and perhaps Out of my weakness and my melancholy, As he is very potent with such spirits Abuses me to damn me. I’ll have grounds More relative than this. The play’s the thing Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king” This is the quote where Hamlet plans to get to the kings head. In the Soliloquies of “to be or not to be” he is stating if he wants to live or to die. To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? (III. i) This dstates if he should end them or let someone else do it like it is planned. In the end of the book there is a dual and his opponent has poisoned the end of his sword, unknowingly do they get them mixed up. At this point in time Hamlet is on the verge of giving up. He is losing
One of the most famous Shakespearean lines-"To be or not to be, that is the question” is found in Hamlet, spoken by the title character himself. While this is the most obvious reference that Hamlet makes to this own philosophy, Hamlet makes frequent proclamations about his stifled life throughout the play. Hamlet views his life in a negative manner, to the point where he finds himself contemplating whether or not to end his own life. Hamlet does not value his life, which causes him to become flustered with himself and his lack of action. Therefore, demonstrating that Hamlet does not value his life as one should.
When Hamlet Senior dies Hamlet seems lost. Depression commonly follows a loved one’s death. He finds no true meaning in life. He wonders if we are only here to eat and sleep.
Hamlet’s psychological influence demonstrates his dread of both death and life. In Hamlet’s famous soliloquy, “To be or not to be” (3.1.64), he refers the “be” to life and further asks “whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” (3.1.65.66). By this, Hamlet is asking himself the question of whether to live or die.
William Shakespeare intended for Hamlet to be a tragic play of a hero: Hamlet. He does exactly that by allowing Hamlet to be exposed to suffering and being able to endure it without committing suicide. Although if one was to analyze the content of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be…” soliloquy once would realize that Hamlet is not really all that suicidal. However, there are moments throughout the play that arise the suspicion of Hamlet to no longer be able to endure the suffering and pain in his life. Hamlet’s judgment can be distorted when he does not act using reason but rather emotional impulse. His ability to accept and embrace suffering and pain, allows him to realize how valuable his life truly is.
In this soliloquy Hamlet once again talks about suicide. He says he would like to get rid of his endless troubles by killing himself, because in death he can sleep and have no worries.
Hamlet’s anger and grief- primarily stemming from his mother’s marriage to Claudius- brings him to thoughts of suicide, which only subside as a result of it being a mortal and religious sin. The fact that he wants to take his own life demonstrates a weakness in his character; a sense of cowarness, his decision not to kill himself because of religious beliefs shows that this weakness is balanced with some sense of morality. Such an obvious paradox is only one example of the inner conflict and turmoil that will eventually lead to Hamlet’s downfall.
"To be, or not to be, that is the question."(Hamlet) This is the question that plagues Hamlet through the entire play. Should I live or should I die, should I take revenge for my father's death? These are all issues that Hamlet battles within himself. Hamlet's indecision is followed by inaction. The reason for this struggle with indecision can be based on many factors or on a combination of a few.
Hamlet seems incapable of deliberate action, and is only hurried into extremities on the spur of the occasion, when he has no time to reflect, as in the scene where he kills Polonius, and again, where he alters the letters which Rosencraus and Guildenstern are taking with them to England, purporting his death. At other times, when he is most bound to act, he remains puzzled, undecided, and skeptical, until the occasion is lost, and he finds some pretence to relapse into indolence and thoughtfulness again. For this reason he refuses to kill the King when he is at his prayers, and by a refinement in malice, which is in truth only an excuse for his own want of resolution, defers his revenge to a more fatal opportunity, when he will be engaged in some act "that has no relish of salvation in it."