Gilded Age

ENGL   203:  

  1.   Explain the factors affecting Hamlet’s negative behavior in the play.

The factors affecting Hamlet’s negative behavior stem from his father’s death and his
mother’s decision to remarry his uncle. As Hamlet says,   “Frailty thy name is woman”, her actions cause Hamlet to curse women all together (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 146).   In the first Act, Claudius and Gertrude question Hamlet’s depression.   They push Hamlet to accept his father’s death and move on with his life.   While Hamlet should admit his hatred of their marriage, he hides his feeling.   While Hamlet is holding back his feelings, he becomes more angered at their attempts to calm him.   Gertrude is also aware of Hamlet’s feelings for Ophelia and uses this as an excuse for Hamlet’s actions.   Hamlet is arguably the greatest dramatic character ever created. He is reckless yet cautious, courteous yet uncivil, tender yet ferocious. He meets his father's death with outrage and indignation, yet shows no compunction when he himself is responsible for the deaths of the meddling Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and the sermonizing Lord Chamberlain, Polonius. He uses the fragile and innocent Ophelia as an outlet for his disgust towards the queen, and cannot comprehend that his own vicious words have caused her insanity. Hamlet is full of faults. These seemingly negative qualities such as indecisiveness, hastiness, hate, brutality, and obsession enhance Hamlet's position as a tragic hero; a 'prince among men'.

  2.   Why is Jerusalem considered the holy city?
Sanctified by religion and tradition, by history and theology, by holy places and houses of worship, Jerusalem is a city revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. It reflects the fervor and piety of the three major monotheistic faiths, each of which is bound to Jerusalem by veneration and love. The Jewish bond to Jerusalem was never broken. For three millennia, Jerusalem has been the center of the Jewish faith, retaining its symbolic... [continues]

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