Comparing Hamlet And The Handmaid's Tale

A question that philosophers have been pondering for centuries is, what does it mean to be human? Is it to be happy, to desire or be miserable? It is one of the most famous and inexplicable question that is interpreted differently for each person depending on their experiences, beliefs and their values. Earth is not a planet free of criminals or negative people but in order to balance this, there are people who see the positives of life and are grateful for every minute of the day. Offred from Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale lives in a dystopia in which she cannot escape. She could rebel, be manipulative or be a villain but she did not instead, she coped with the situation.
Similarly, Hamlet in Shakespeare’s, Hamlet thinks that living
He is too kind hearted therefore he was unable to kill Claudius from the beginning by pushing it back and back causing a lot of innocent people to die. Hamlet had an opportunity to kill Claudius when he was “praying” but said, “to take him in the purging of his soul, when he is fit and season’d for his passage? No. Up, sword; and know thou a more horrid hent :”( III.iii.86-89). He denying the death because it is not an easy job to kill someone no matter what the circumstances are or how much a people despises another individual. Unless they are cold-hearted who do not having feelings. Hamlet sees the beauty of the human condition and doesn’t want to bring the bad side of himself and harm humanity but is kind that is what he finds more important to be
In chapter 25 Cora drops the breakfast on the ground thinking that Offred have committed suicide. Having the breakfast wasted, it meant that Cora would have to bring a new plate of food for Offred which will arise a bit of questions like why they needed extra eggs. But Offred saw that Cora faces and knew. “She looked up at me sideways, slyly, and I saw that it would be better if we could both pretend I’d eaten my breakfast after all…but Rita would get surly if she had to cook a second breakfast” (Atwood 188). Even though this was an advantage for Offred as well because it would cover the fact that she was not sleeping in her bed but she did not want troubles for Cora. It was not her fault in the first place and wanted to make the best of the situation. Instead of asking for another breakfast, she embody kindness even though how much she hates the people in Gilead for keeping her in a prison. Let’s go back to the question, what does it mean to be human? Everyone will have their own unique answer because people see the world differently and this is never going to change. This is why we have wars, protest on the streets and mass shootings across the globe but Offred and Hamlet both do not fit quite in with their worlds. Hamlet does not see the reason to live at times and sees the afterlife as a better place but he does not become evil