DRJ #2: Hamlet Scene 2

My initial reaction to act 2 was that I wanted to hear more about Hamlet and Ophelia. I was interested in there romance and wasn't sure how that one was going to play out. Overall in act 3 I felt like their was a lot of events taking place. People were going to Paris where Laertes, Ophelia was thinking about Hamlet, Hamlet's friends arrived to see him,the actors showed up at the court. So many events were taking place at one time it was hard to keep track of where everyone was at.
The character that I would analyze would be Gertrude. She is Hamlet's mother who is in love with the new king Claudius her old brother-in-law. She seems like a caring and loving women for Hamlet but as for Hamlet Sr. she seemed to not love him so much. She listens to what people tell her to do like Claudius. She doesn't have much of an opinion on anything but just seems to worry about Hamlet. Gertrude is in a way an antagonist because she is to blame for Hamlet's death and  is tends to complicate the situation when it comes down to Hamlet's craziness.
If I were to choose a theme that this story is depicted it would be deception. This scene had many events taking place where people were going to do certain tasks but most people were not truthful of what their motives were. Like Reynaldo going to Paris to check up on Laertes he was going to lie to people and deceive them in order for them to tell him stuff about Laertes. Also how Gertrude and Claudius brought in Hamlet's friends to find out what was wrong with Hamlet. They said to tell Hamlet they just wanted to see him. Then Polonius and the king and queen were going to set up a trap to see if Hamlet loved Ophelia. So in this act everyone had different motives then what they were actually portraying. Then to top it off the actors come into town at the end of the scene only to amplify deception.

DRJ #1: Hamlet Act 1

My initial reaction to act one was that it was going to be a bit odd. I felt this from the very beginning because the first thing they talk about in the book is a ghost. I'm not really into fiction so I didn't really think I was going to like it all that much. It was a dramatic story from the beginning but i guess that's what I should have expected since it was Shakespeare.
Focusing on the character of the Ghost in act one i can say that he as Hamlet's father is the antagonist. His purpose is to cause the problem of Hamlet's craziness. He does kind of fit a concept of tragic hero because he was wrongly killed. To us he seemed like a good man with a good heart so we sympathized for his death. But in the end he is the antagonist even though it doesn't seem like he want's to be intentionally. He seeks revenge through Hamlet for his murdering but doesn't expect the revenge to be such a mess. The Ghost could also be used as a foil for Hamlet. Showing Hamlet's dedication and love for his father, kingdom, and mother. All the murders and dramatic scenes throughout the story after Hamlet see's the ghost is for the or because of what the Ghost wants Hamlet to do. So the Ghost is the main antagonist of the story.
In scene one I think Shakespeare is trying to say that women are weak and are to blame for the fall of men. I choose this theme because the first scene discusses how Hamlet's uncle killed Hamlet's father in order to be with Gertrude. So she is to blame for Hamlet Sr's murder. Then basically immediately after Hamlet's death she is swept into the arms of Claudius. "With witchcraft of his wit, with traitourous gifts- O wicked with and gifts, that have the power to seduce!- won to his shameful lust. The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen" 1.5.40-45. Shakespeare writes this explaining the Gertrude seemed like she had virtues and dignity but then felt short and weak to be pursuaded by Claudius's power of lust. She was naive and let Claudius win! He got away with murder and became king. Then to top it off Gertrude let him get away with all this by falling in love with him.

SSRJ #2 - Colette

At first it made me feel sad and empathy for the women. The time and setting of the story made it feel as if the women was some type of property especially since the man had just widowed  a month before he married the girl. He was an older man as well. To me this story was about relationships and being able to really get to know  your spouse. To know them up close and personally. I could relate to this story because I have been in a pretty long term relationship and can connect with how difficult it is to see someones true colors. In a relationship when you get to know someone better and better, you begin to see the good and the bad.

In the piece "The Hand" Colette describes how a women sees a mans hand from afar then how it really looks  close up. Colette discusses how the women sees his "strong" hand so far away from the mans body. The women admired the hand at first. The women admired that it was big, had hair on it, that it was masculine. Then  Colette writes how the hand transforms into something not so admirable. She discusses how once the man gets startled and jolts the hand begins to look like something different. With the women still watching the hand starts to stiffen and appear apelike. Colette writes "It looks like a crab, ready for battle."  Which in turn startles the women and makes her gasp. The women is surprised at this new site of the hand which she had never noticed before. Colette uses this symbolism of the hand transforming to discuss the fact that people jump into marriages to quickly before they are able to see someone for who they truly. People get married before they really know someone up close. Before they see someones good and bad qualities. The women in Colette's story is almost disgusted with what she see's after the hand turns into something ugly. She doesn't even see how she was able to kiss that hand. Colette had the women not notice the ugliness before all the women saw was someone she admired so after only after a month of knowing the man they became married.

I think this story is very relevant to recent times. With the divorce rate so high (over 60%) , I think people get married to quickly. People get married before they actually know someone then once they start to see that whole person, they don't like what they see. So they end up getting a divorce over noticing something they never noticed before.