Hamlet Reflection

[Reaperx43]

Why is Hamlet portrayed as a man that cannot be trusted? What course of events occurred that caused Hamlet to be seen as having a character of dishonesty? Laertes and Lord Polonius both urge Ophelia to avoid relations with Hamlet, and to not trust him. "Be wary then; best safety lies in fear" (line 43 pg 24).  "In few, Ophelia, Do not believe his vows..." (line 126 pg 27). Hamlet has done nothing in the past to show he is untrustworthy. Hamlet has spoken of his love for Ophelia. He is a man known to think everything through. Why would he say such things if he did not mean it? He has had no record of wrong doings toward women, and no record or bad relationships, so therefore he should not be thrown under the bus. 

[andyc]

I agree with the fact that it is unfair to judge Hamlet. It is unfair for Polonius and Laertes to keep Ophelia from someone she desires. However, i see the things that Polonius and Laertes tell Ophelia as justifiable as well. Like Sam Estes stated in his reflection, an entire scene was dedicated to this. If Hamlet was a good and trustworthy man for Ophelia to be with, the people close to her would not spend time trying to convince her not to be with him. In the scene where Hamlet learns a secret from his ghost father, he is very indecisive in telling his friends the secret as well. He makes them swear by his sword and takes a long time to determine whether or not they are worthy of knowing. All of this relates back to the disagreements about Hamlet within Polonius, Laertes and Ophelia. Ophelia is right in thinking it is wrong for them to judge Hamlet because they do not know him. But Polonius and Laertes are right in what they are saying because the they as well as the reader can see how Hamlet has issues within himself, especially trust.

[andrewmarkhoukal]

I agree with this statement in that Hamlet has not committed any wrong doing against any women that has been known of. I think though that she should be careful about Hamlet, I mean how can you trust someone completely until you know everything that they have done in their past life. What i mean is that yes their is no reason to doubt hamlet with the current information that we know about him, but, how do we know he hasn't committed, in the past, a sexual crime or other cruel thing against women?

[mbenoit]

(Not for extra credit) The emoticons greatly added to the effect of the reflection. Cyber High Five.

[Response to Reaperx43]

Joseph is right that Laertes and Polonius do not trust Hamlet. These men think that Hamlet is two-faced and deceitful. For example, they both warn Ophelia against a relationship with him. It does seem that Hamlet’s true character will be soon shown. These thoughts can be anchored to the fact that the characters know more about Hamlet than the reader does. The fact that they are trying to prove to Ophelia that Hamlet is not a trustworthy man may be an important clue to the reader that Hamlet isn’t the reliable character we first thought him to be.
Although, there might be another reason why they lecture Ophelia about Hamlet that we are clueless about. I do not think that Hamlet is a decietful man, for he has done nothing yet in the story to show he is not honorable. Maybe they do not feel that Hamlet is proven enough and is established enough for Ophelia to be with. Speaking ill of Hamlet’s trustworthiness may just be an excuse being used by her brother and father so Ophelia will not fall in love with Hamlet. No one can prove that this is the case yet because the story has not developed enough, but because Hamlet has not done anything to abuse his honor I think it is unfair for Laertes and Polonius to judge Hamlet off of opinion. Especially because they are telling what could be false information to Ophelia. I think Laertes and Hamlet are just looking for any excuse to stop Ophelia from getting involved with Hamlet.

[dollface]

Joseph is right that Laertes and Polonius do not trust Hamlet. These men think that Hamlet is two-faced and deceitful. For example, they both warn Ophelia against a relationship with him. It does seem that Hamlet’s true character will be soon shown. These thoughts can be anchored to the fact that the characters know more about Hamlet than the reader does. The fact that they are trying to prove to Ophelia that Hamlet is not a trustworthy man may be an important clue to the reader that Hamlet isn’t the reliable character we first thought him to be.
Although, there might be another reason why they lecture Ophelia about Hamlet that we are clueless about. I do not think that Hamlet is a decietful man, for he has done nothing yet in the story to show he is not honorable. Maybe they do not feel that Hamlet is proven enough and is established enough for Ophelia to be with. Speaking ill of Hamlet’s trustworthiness may just be an excuse being used by her brother and father so Ophelia will not fall in love with Hamlet. No one can prove that this is the case yet because the story has not developed enough, but because Hamlet has not done anything to abuse his honor I think it is unfair for Laertes and Polonius to judge Hamlet off of opinion. Especially because they are telling what could be false information to Ophelia. I think Laertes and Hamlet are just looking for any excuse to stop Ophelia from getting involved with Hamlet.