Intro: In the play “the tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” and the story “the handmaids tale” the characters Gertrude and Serena joy share similar characteristics. Gertrude, The Queen of Denmark, Hamlet’s mother, recently married Claudius. Gertrude loves Hamlet deeply, but she is a shallow, weak woman who seeks affection and status more urgently than moral truth and Serena Joy: The Commander’s wife who worked in pre-Gilead days as a gospel singer then an anti-feminist activist. In Gilead, she sits at the top of the female social ladder and yet, she lives an unhappy life
Thesis: Gertrude and Serena joy share the similarity of having men dominancy over their lives and they both come from line of Superior authority: Gertrude is the queen and Serena joy is the commander’s wife. Gertrude and Serena joy both love the men in their life but not get the attention they deserve.
Body 1: .Gertrude after marrying late King Hamlet, gained the title as the Queen of Denmark in which Claudius took advantage of and married Gertrude to gain the
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Has a high ranking in the social class of women. Serena Joy is always doing something to occupy herself such as knitting and gardening. It keeps her busy for the day and keeps her occupied to not notice the actions of the Commander. Despite having freedom inside her house, Serena is restricted to only do the job of a Wife and not associate herself with the work of her husband. Serena Joy Is inactive and carefree and her actions are restricted compared to her previous life
Body 3: Gertrude: is weak and inferior as she has no power over the men in her life Serena Joy: is weak and inferior as she cannot control her own life under the male dominant society. Serena Joy lives in male-dominant society in which women have no authority whatsoever and Gertrude lives in a society where men make all the major decisions.
Ouditt, Sharon. "Explaining Woman's Frailty: Feminist Readings of Gertrude." Hamlet. Ed. Peter J. Smith and Nigel Wood. Theory in Practice. Buckingham: Open UP, 1996. 83-107.
The two texts Harrison Bergeron, written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and The Handmaid’s Tale by Reed Morano explore the idea of individuality loss due to complete government control through similar and varied techniques. Both texts enable the audience to obtain an understanding that a society where there is no ability to express one’s own self, is ultimately dangerous in both execution and outcome. Throughout the two texts the authors explore individuality suppression through government control by utilising varied techniques such as motifs, similes as well the ideas of handicaps which are a result of the need for constant surveillance. The dystopian texts of futuristic, imagined universes display the illusion of perfect societies that are being created,
In the story Serena by Ron Rash, he sets the story in the state of North Carolina within mountains. The main characters he creates are Serena Pemberton who is the main character, George Pemberton who is Serena’s husband, Rachel Harmon, and Jacob Harmon who is Rachel’s son. Throughout the book, Serena and her husband George have many struggles such as marriage problems and killing people who they see as a threat or competition to them. They also have to deal with the fact that Racheal was impregnated by George; they both share a son Jacob. Within the whole conflict of the book, the two characters that really stand out as opposites are Serena and Rachel. When it comes to Serena she expresses evilness, hatefulness, mysteriousness, and she is very manipulative. With Rachel, she shows kindness, compassion, and she is very down to earth. When it comes to similarities, both of these characters express pride and confidence.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, women are oversexualized, and are given no role other than to be the item of a man’s desire. The promiscuity of the only two women in the play, Gertrude and Ophelia, detracts from their power and integrity, and allows Hamlet a certain amount of control over them. Gertrude’s sexual lifestyle is often mentioned by her son, Hamlet, and Hamlet uses his knowledge of Gertrude’s sexuality as a means to criticize her. Ophelia’s sexuality initially appears to be controlled by Laertes and Polonius, and Hamlet takes advantage of the naive image that she is required to keep. However, in her later madness, Ophelia taints this image by revealing that her innocence is feigned. By exposing the sexual natures of both Gertrude and Ophelia, Hamlet strips these women of any influence they may have had, and damages their once-honourable names.
The worlds of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Road are complete opposites; One is an anarchical society where there is no societal structure while the other is a very well-structured world with a thoroughly defined hierarchy. Despite this, it could be argued that these two worlds are simultaneously also very similar due to the way they approach the topics of patriarchy, misogyny, and survival. Atwood and McCarthy accomplish this differently, but they achieve it using the same literary techniques and, despite one of the worlds being dystopian while the other is post-apocalyptic, making heavy usage of descriptive writing.
In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, the protagonist, Hamlet, has arrived “from his university studies to find Claudius, his uncle, ruling Denmark and married to his mother, Gertrude. Her remarriage within two months of his father’s death has left Hamlet disillusioned, confused, and suspicious about Claudius” (DiYanni 1394). These types of crimes do not only happen in a person’s imagination, or in a made-up play, but also in our society today. Our society is just as immoral as Claudius and Gertrude. On the other hand, in Susan Gaspell’s contemporary play, Trifles, women are strong in character, protective of one another, and in charge of the situation, unlike Gertrude. Therefore, both Shakespeare and Gaspell have similar aspects of portrayal of the role of women, murder, and loyalty; and different aspects such as incest, suicide, and revenge.
The government in Huxley's Brave New World and Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, both use different methods of obtaining control over individuals, but are both similar in the fact that humans are looked at as instruments. Human's bodies, in both novels, are looked at as objects and not directly as living things with feelings. In both societies the individuals have very little and are controlled strictly by the government. In Handmaid's Tale and Brave New World, through issues of employment, class systems, and the control of reproduction, Atwood and Huxley forewarn that in an all-powerful society, it is destined to become corrupt.
More than 70% of women experience some form of mental or physical abuse from the men in their life. Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen, and The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, showcase two corrupted societies. Behind the layer of typical male dominance, there is a layer of pure apprehension. This makes the female protagonists, Elizabeth and Offred, feel as though they have no way out. Both protagonists in the novels are aware of the state of their society however, they must decided whether they should keep to themselves and follow the social norm; or if they should follow their hearts and rebel against the normalization of the gender binary. Both novels succeed in bringing attention to the still relevant flaw in society
Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake describes a world very different from the one we live in today, but not too far from a possible future. The story, told from the viewpoint of Snowman, possibly the only human survivor, recounts the end of days in human history. His description, given to us as flashbacks, tells of a world where technology is power, and those who lack power are doomed to a sub-par existence. This world gone mad is reminiscent of another Atwood novel written in 1986, The Handmaid’s Tale. In this story, the world of today is gone, democracy has been eradicated, and it is the elite few who control the fate of the masses. By comparing these two novels by Atwood, one can see corresponding themes dealing with governmental control, the dangers of technology, the uses of religion, and the treatment of sexuality.
Different adaptations of William Shakespeare’s works have taken various forms. Through the creative license that artists, directors, and actors take, diverse incarnations of his classic works continue to arise. Gregory Doran’s Hamlet and Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet bring William Shakespeare’s work by the same title to the screen. These two film adaptations take different approaches in presenting the turmoil of Hamlet. From the diverging takes on atmosphere to the characterization of the characters themselves, the many possible readings of Hamlet create the ability for the modification of the presentation and the meaning of the play itself. Doran presents David Tenant as Hamlet in a dark, eerie, and minimal setting; his direction highlighting the
In David Wroblewski’s novel, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, and the Shakespearean play, Hamlet, there is a prominent theme of choosing between love and duty. In both pieces, the dilemma of choosing between love and duty prevails in characters such as the protagonists, Edgar and Hamlet, as they plan to avenge the death of their fathers. The relations of Henry Lamb and Horatio with Edgar and Hamlet, respectively, reveal the theme of love and duty as they are both portrayed as the loyal friends of the protagonists, especially in times of need. The dilemma of love and duty is also revealed in the mothers, Trudy and Gertrude, as they become vulnerable to their need for the “love” of another man and when it comes to protecting their own sons before
Compared to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Almereyda’s adaptation creates a new reading and highlights various elements more directly through a change in the characterization of Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother. The movie advances her position as a woman, making her a commanding and prominent figure throughout. This new reading of Gertrude from the movie reflects the changes in societal views regarding women, due to varying time periods, progressing the position of Gertrude as a woman, and exploiting ideas of incest, misogyny, and
In the play, the females accept an inferior position by letting them be controlled by the male characters. An example of this is in Act 3 Scene 1, when Polonius and Claudius are about to spy on Hamlet, Claudius commands Gertrude to leave the room. Without any hesitation and protest, Gertrude responds by saying, “I shall obey” (3.1.37). When Gertrude uses the word “obey” she establishes her inferiority in her relationship with Claudius. By using such language Gertrude is putting herself below Claudius, in a master-to-servant type of relationship. Being the queen of Denmark and technically the rightful heir to the
In The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood, Offred was taken from her husband and child, brainwashed, and then forced into a new house where her sole purpose is to be a walking uterus. In a Brave New World by Aldus Huxley, people are made in a laboratory, no one cares about family, and everyone is high on soma. These two books are both different, but are also very similar. The main thing they have in common is that they are a dystopian society, the government controls everyone, and nobody has the freedom to do/live the way they want. However, why is it that so many authors write books like this? Where the world is controlled by terrible dictatorships, only the people higher up benefit, and the normal every day citizen is screwed? I believe that
“Frailty thy name is woman,” is the summary of the feelings towards women for the entire play. Gertrude cannot spare any time to grieve over her late husband; she must find another man to rule the kingdom. That man turns out to be her late husband's bro...