Ophelia
In Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the death of a character becomes a frequent event. Although many people lose their lives as a result of their own self-centered wrong-doing, there are others whose deaths are a result of manipulation from other main characters in the tragic play. This is the case of Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius. The real tragedy of Hamlet is not that of Hamlet or his family but of Polonius' family because their deaths were not the consequence of sinful actions of their own but rather by their innocent involvement in the schemes of Claudius and Hamlet as well as other influences in their lives. Although the first of the Polonius family to die is Polonius himself, Ophelia is the next to die tragically. Ophelia's death is tragic because of her almost complete innocence in the situation. Ophelia is one of the most manipulated characters in the book, being fooled by her father Polonius, her brother Laertes, and her love interest, Hamlet. The relationship she carries on with these characters in Shakespeare's book is the real cause of her death. It takes its toll on her leading up to her suicide drowning in the river. Ophelia is frequently misguided by her brother Laertes. Laertes knows that Ophelia
One of Ophelia's most traumatic experiences in the play is when she is given instructions by her father to set up Hamlet in Act 3, Scene 1. Polonius wants to see the reasons behind Hamlet's troubles and wants to observe Hamlet and Ophelia's conversation. When Hamlet talks to Ophelia, he quickly figures out that someone is observing the conversation and takes advantage by targeting Ophelia by his rage. Their exchange quickly escalates from kind words to Hamlet telling the girl to "get thee to a nunnery (page 131)." Polonius wants to use Ophelia to find out about Hamlet, while Hamlet uses Ophelia to get a statement across to Polonius. The only looser in this situation is Ophelia who is left terrorized, very confused, and guilty for setting Hamlet up. She also feels that all hope is lost for a relationship between her and Hamlet. He knows all the good times they shared in the passed are over. When someone looses a lover, the feelings of depression are sometimes unbearable, while Ophelia is going through much more trouble than depression over a lover. Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, The picture I have included is one of Ophelia floating dead in a river. Over her is a shadow of one of the male characters in the play (probably Hamlet). It shows although Ophelia might have committed suicide, it was the actions of Hamlet that brought her to that point. It says that there is doubt in her death and a much deeper meaning. A shadow being cast over something is an indication of something out of place or rotten, whic
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1040
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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