PA HW what hamlet character are you-2 PDF

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Jen Hart...

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Laertes Character Analysis The main character of Shakespeares’ Hamlet should obviously be the title character Hamlet, but Hamlet is a protagonist that exhibits all the characteristics and actions that a man should avoid in their life. A much more noble character to strive to be like is Laertes. He is the son of Polonius and brother of Ophelia and he outperforms Hamlet in his social interactions, psychological motives, and moral principles. Laertes comes from a line of men that are not common people but have positions in court. His noble birthing means that he is educated and able to have a refined manner. The social interactions that Laertes has in Hamlet shows that he understands the social norms of the times and is able to greatly respect them. When he first talks to the new king Claudius, he has great respect for the man and states his case to go back to his schooling in France. The entire kingdom feels the loss of the late king Hamlet but Laertes, unlike Hamlet, still recognizes Claudius in his new royal position. Another social norm that Laertes strives to maintain is the importance of women keeping their purity. As a member of the upper class, Laertes understands the position of women in society mostly because of his sister, Ophelia. He knows that the most critical factors for her being able to have a good life are marrying a high status man and maintaining her virginity. From the start of the play, Laertes warns Ophelia from Hamlet as he can tell that the king’s son is not sincere or serious enough about Ophelia to be a good match for her. Laertes does his absolute best to protect his sister from harmful social interactions. The keen understanding that Laertes has of society can clearly be seen throughout the play. The motives Laertes has in this play are very similar to Hamlet as both men are family oriented. Being the first son, Laertes will step into his father’s position one day as the sole heir. It

is also jus duty as a good big brother to look out for his sister and make sure that no harm comes to her outside of the household. While Hamlet does care about his family, namely his murdered father, he puts his own wants and desires above doing what he should as King Hamlet’s son. Laertes does not have the same issue of putting himself above his family but would do anything and does do anything to uphold the family name. When he finds out that his father has been killed, Laeretes makes the vow to do absolutely anything to avenge Polonius. As soon as he is back in Denmark, he takes the steps necessary to do so immediately while Hamlet takes his time to avenge his father. This shows how strong is Laertes will and his totally committed and dedicated to his family. The last aspect of Laertes is his moral principles. He understands that people are due a certain respect when they are dead and that his father’s funeral was not the event that a man of Polonius’ stature deserved. This means that it is up to Laertes to right this wrong. During a time period where it was not the norm for people to take whoever to court or there to be a police like group, arguments and decisions can often commonly be solved by a duel. Laertes is firmly of the mind that the only justice for the murder of his father would be the murder of Hamlet. By sticking to what he believes to be morally right, Laertes does cause his own death, however it is all justified because he enters the duel with Hamlet for his now dead father, not himself. Throughout the entire Hamlet, Laertes shows himself to be a man who is morally upstanding, intensely committed to his family, and mindful of his role in society. He is the perfect foil to Hamlet as he shows what avenging one’s father should look like and makes a much better protagonist to admire and respect than Hamlet himself....