Hamlet And Ophelia Essays (608 words) - Characters In Hamlet

Hamlet And Ophelia Ophelia is a beautiful and simple-minded woman, easily molded by the more powerful opinions and desires of others. The thoughts of her father and her brother influenced her the most. The love letters from Hamlet also swayed her opinions and confused her mind. Ophelia wasn't able to realize herself because of all the pressures exerted on her to be something she's not. That weakness of mind and will, which permitted her obedience to her father and thus destroyed her hope for Hamlet's love, finally resulted in her insanity and death. When her father had challenged the honor of Hamlet's intentions, Ophelia could only reply "I do not know, my lord, what I should think" (III, iii). Used to relying upon her father's direction and brought up to be obedient, she can only accept her father's belief, seconded by that of her brother, that Hamlet's "holy vows" of love were simply designed for her seduction. She was to obey her father's orders not to permit Hamlet to see her again. Her father also wanted to prove Hamlet's madness to the king. He used Ophelia as bait so he and the king could listen to Hamlet's words. Ophelia willingly obliged to her father's desires. By not thinking for herself and only doing as her father wished, she ruined her chances of love with Hamlet. Hamlet put pressure on Ophelia by expecting her to surpass his mother's shortcomings and be an epitome of womankind. He searched her innocent face for some sign of loving truth that might restore his faith in her. He took her mute terror for a sign of her guilt and found her to be a false person, like his mother. In his letter to her, he addressed the letter to "the most beautified Ophelia" and he terminated the letter with "I love thee best, O most best, believe it" (II, ii). He used the word "beautified" to display a sincere tribute, and it is apparent he still loves her. His attempts to win her affection are not triumphant. Ophelia is still too much under the influence of her father to question his wisdom or authority, and she has no mind of her own to understand how much she has made her lover suffer. No matter how much it pained her to not see Hamlet, all she could see in his present behavior is the madness that terrified her. Ophelia's insanity was a mixture of love and hate caused by her father and Hamlet. An example of hate is when she sings about a "baker's daughter"(IV, v). Ophelia is referring to the way her father used to treat her before the tragic incident of his death. The love within her madness is when she speaks about the events on "Valentine's Day"(IV, v). When Ophelia speaks about Valentines Day she is referring to the events of romance that she was denied. Ophelia's madness is brought on by her lack of being able to demonstrate any maturity in trying to cope with her losses and in return can only inflict her madness on the court. Abused by her lover, and bereft of her father's protection she loses control of her mind. In her insane state she came to believe that the seduction her family tried so hard to protect her from has passed. Her father's admission of error might have embittered a more independent Ophelia. This explains Hamlets rejection of her. Being tormented of scenes of death and the burial, she reaches out to the beauty of hanging flowers in a willow tree and somehow drowns. Ophelia was never able to understand exactly what Hamlet was suffering from, and in a way he created a situation for her to relate; death of a father and betrayal by a loved one. Hamlet managed to rise above insanity and feelings of suicide, but her weaker spirit could not hold the burden.

1 Berkey Research Paper

1 Berkey Research Paper 1 Berkey Research Paper Berkey 1 Kirsten Berkey Mrs. Stoltz English 9 AT/H  ­ 1 9 March 2015 Legal Drinking Age: Continuing the Legacy Every year, nine hundred adolescents below the age of twenty ­one would be buried because of traffic ­related accidents as a result of a lower drinking age at eighteen (â€Å"The Debate†). Young adults are just beginning their lives with so much potential for the future. A lower drinking age heightens the potential for young people to destroy their future opportunities. Lately, contrasting views on changing the minimum legal drinking age to eighteen have erupted into the news. Individuals feel the current legal drinking age is outdated because eighteen year ­olds receive all their rights except the right to drink. They also believe a lower drinking age would help young adults drink more responsibly and in a controlled setting. Others view the current law as a safety net to prevent the amount of deaths that are the result of alcohol use or abuse. Changing the legal drinking age to eighteen is not an option because of the effects of alcohol on brain development, alcohol ­related problems in the future for individuals who use alcohol at a younger age, and a higher amount of fatalities on the highway. A lower drinking age disrupts brain development in adolescents and young adults that has detrimental effects on brain functionality as a lifelong result. Researchers have come to the conclusion that excessive alcohol use can disrupt the growth of new brain cells or neurons that grow until adulthood in a process called neurogenesis (â€Å"Alcohol’s†). Resulting in the extended loss found in necessary regions inside the brain ­including the hippocampal function and structure in late adolescence (â€Å"Alcohol’s†). This evidence signifies the destruction Berkey 2 associated with younger alcohol use which causes more brain damage that would disturb the growth process into adulthood. In addition, the effects of alcohol use can hinder an individual's brain tissues and hurt the part of the brain that controls memories, thinking and emotions leading to perpetual changes in the brain that can require life custodial care (Wagner 14, 42). Examples like these clearly show the consequences of alcohol altering the brain beyond repair. With the drinking age kept at twenty ­one, it decreases the chance for more damage to be done that is permanent. A higher drinking age protects altercations in the minds of intellectually thriving young people. Furthermore, lowering the drinking age does not teach young people to drink more responsibly and increases the chances of young adults to have alcohol ­related problems in the future . Compared to adolescents who waited until they were twenty ­one to drink, a study has been conducted that noticed eighteen year olds were nearly twice as likely as twenty ­one year olds to engage in a physical fight and be unintentionally injured after consuming alcohol (Kiesbye 15). This research demonstrates the fact that underage alcohol consumption has huge effects on the health and safety of an individual and community. Lowering the drinking age to eighteen causes a higher amount of potential risks for being injured. In addition, alcohol is a factor in twenty eight percent of college dropouts. By allowing the legal drinking age to eighteen, there is a possibility more young people would drop out of college ("Apecsec†). Varied individuals believe that lowering the drinking age to eighteen will teach teens to drink and act more responsibly with the use of alcohol. Statistics emphasize otherwise, as adolescents would make unwise decisions that could negatively affect their future career and lifestyle options with the ability to obtain alcohol. Naturally, a lower drinking age has no place in our society as it causes unnecessary risks for injuries and the possibility to negatively affect the consumer’s future affairs. Berkey 3 Most importantly, a lower drinking age