Performance choices

In the lines from Hamlet that Alec and I did, I only had a few lines. My characters speech was mainly of shock and dismay of finding out that they had been caught, then of begging, trying to please the lord Hamlet. I chose to act it out this way to really show the tonal shifts that take place in that scene. One alternative could have been to act suspicious of Hamlets words the whole time, then be obedient once they knew they were caught, but I got the sense they were very surprised when Hamlet questioned why they had come to Elsinore.

questions 7 and 14

7. Hamlets reaction to the trauma of his father's death and the circumstances involved is understandable. On the other hand, most people don't go insane after such events. He is clearly not insane, rather, he is trying to setup disallusions with in the minds of those around him so that he can go about his private buisness in peace.

14. Hamlet lets us know that he is mearly acting his insanity. Insane people can't turn on and off their madness. It is absolutley true that someone can create their own good or bad, but overall, Hamlet clearly has a plan to take down his foes in obscure ways that may or may not work in the end.

number 4

Laertes objects to the love between Ophelia and Hamlet because he is worried that Hamlet's stature as prince of Denmark would get in the way of the love they share, whereas Polonius' rejection is solely political. P feels that a prince for treaty purposes must marry a princess from another country. Laertes seems to be more persuasive because it is based upon actual marital issues that could come up, not simply political. The two are very similar however in how they view women. To them, women are almost just trophies. That scene clearly showed Ophelia as an object to them that they didn't want Hamlet to have. Class functions as a block to Ophelia's goal of marrying Hamlet.

Bad Dad mini essay

Jane Austen’s use of Mr. Bennet offers two interesting perspectives on parenting style. At first, we see that to understand people and their actions, we have to know and understand them for much longer than just the first few encounters. But below the surface, she also provides a message outlining the harms of parenting through satire. Jane Austen purposely allows the reader to enjoy and appreciate Mr. Bennet and his wit at first to plant a seed in the reader’s mind of how enjoyable Mr. Bennet is. She eventually turns the reader against Mr. Bennet and displays the faults of relying on first impressions.  At first, Mr. Bennet criticizes flat characters such as Mrs. Bennet and Lydia.  Then, he starts to criticize in the same way whole characters such as Elizabeth. Because of this new understanding of his personality, the reader is turned against him. 

Mr. Bennet’s parenting style is also most peculiar. Instead of normal fatherly love and compassion for his family, he ridicules them and often makes a mockery of them. While it seems to be in good humor, it doesn’t stop. Eventually, it makes its way to the most beloved character of the book, Elizabeth. Once the satire reaches her, the reader is no longer amused by him, rather they are repulsed. The ultimate downfall of using satire as a parenting tool is that the family will not longer want to be around the parent who acts in such a negative way. Jane Austen understood that, and portrays those risks to her readers in Pride and Prejudice.