Blog 7 - The Struggle of Parenting

 Troy tries his best to be a good father to his children. He wants to be better than his father and wants his children to be better off than he ended up to be. However, in a way, Troy is like his father. He gives tough love and pushes his family away from him. Troy only thinks of himself and what he wants. Troy is hardest on Cory because he sees himself in Cory and wants him to do better.  

Even though Troy does not like his father, his attitude towards his family is the same. When talking about his father, Troy says, “he was trapped and I think he knew it. But I’ll say this for him... he felt a responsibility toward us.” (1.4.105). Troy feels that same way towards his own children. Troy tells Cory, “it’s my duty to take care of you. I owe a responsibility to you!... I ain’t got to like you” (1.3.107). Troy feels as though he just has to lead his children down the right path. He does not have to show them any emotion or be considerate towards them. 

Troy is a little more lenient with Lyons. Troy does not agree with Lyons trying to become a musician. He lectures Lyons on not having a real job or money of his own. Troy tells Lyons he will not give him a dime. He says, “I’ll die and go to hell and play blackjack with the devil before I give you ten dollars.” (1.1.113). However, Troy let him take the money anyway. He still supports Lyons when he needs it. 

On the other hand, Troy does not give Cory what he really wants. This is because Cory just wants to play sports, just like Troy did. Troy says that sports didn’t bring him any good. So he doesn’t want Cory involved in sports. When Troy is talking about Cory he says, “I don’t want him to be like me! I want him to move as far away from my life as he can get” (1.3.111). As the play goes on Troy and Cory grow father and father apart. Eventually Troy messes up Cory’s chances of becoming a football player. Cory gets so upset that he tells Troy, “You just an old man” (2.4.78). Meaning that Cory says Troy has made nothing of himself. He is no one special and he has no authority over anyone. Troy is just another old man to him. It escalates so much that Cory moves out and ends up joining the marines. 

Troy’s life ends without making things right with his son. At first, Cory does not even want to go to his dad’s funeral. His talks about how he feels towards Troy with his mother. She tells Cory, “Not going to your daddy’s funeral ain’t gonna make you a man” (2.5.72). She also tells Cory that he is a lot like his father, if he likes it or not. The situation was never resolved between the two of them. However, Cory realizes that he needs to resolve it on his own and he ends up going to the funeral. 

Blog 6 - Full of Sorrow

        Most of the deaths in William Shakespeare's “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” are caused by Claudius, the new King of Denmark. Although Hamlet kills a couple of people, it is only by mistake. Claudius, with the assistance of others, tore apart the entire empire.  Claudius is a very greedy man who only cares about possessing power. He kills every one who is a threat to take the throne away from him. He continues to kill until, eventually he is the cause of his own death.  

  Hamlet kills Polonius, thinking that it was the King, Claudius. Later on, Hamlet is face to face with Laertes and tells him it was an accident. Hamlet says, “Give me your pardon sir, I have done you wrong” (5.2.209). Hamlet is asking for forgiveness for killing his father. Hamlet is also the reason that Guildenstern and Rosencrantz die. However, Hamlet does not kill them himself. Hamlet also states, “they did make love to this employment” (5.2.57). He is saying that these two men brought it upon themselves. It is not Hamlet’s intent to kill anyone. 

  Unlike Claudius, he intends to kill anyone in his way. Of course it all starts when Claudius kills his brother, the former King of Denmark. The next person that Claudius means to kill is Hamlet. Claudius goes as far as to create a plan on how to kill him. In (4.7.152) Claudius says, “Should have a back or second that might hold.” Meaning, he creates a back-up plan to be certain that Hamlet will die. However, many others die along the way. 

  Laertes dies because the Claudius uses him to kill Hamlet. Claudius tells Laertes that Hamlet killed his father on purpose. Therefore, getting Laertes to concede to his plan. Even when Laertes forgives Hamlet and starts to go easy on him, Claudius is still persistent. Claudius says, “since he is bettered, we have therefore odds” (5.2.246). He pressures Laertes into continuing the fight with Hamlet. Resulting in the death of both of them. 

  The most shocking death is the death of Gertrude, the Queen. “The queen carouses to thy fortune” (5.2.273). She accidentally drinks the poison from Hamlet’s cup. The most upsetting part about this is that when it happens Claudius doesn’t try to help her at all. He actually tells everyone, “She sounds to see them bleed” (5.2.292). He is trying to convince everyone that she fainted at the sight of blood. Shows how much he really cares about his wife. 
  Lastly, Claudius is the fault of his own death. Hamlets says to Claudius, “Drink off this potion: is thy union here? Follow my mother” (5.2.309). Hamlet is so upset that he forces Claudius to drink the poison to die the way his mother does. Since Claudius poures the poison into his own throat, he is the one that kills himself. Even while Laertes is dyeing he says, “the king, the king’s to blame” (5.2.303). At this point everyone is aware of Claudius’ true character and knows all of the sorrows that he causes in Denmark.

Blog 5 - Hamlet Gone Wild

 Hamlet is upset for many different reasons. He is of course upset that his father died. However, most of his anger comes from his uncle and his mother. He feels betrayed from those he felt closest to. Now he just wants revenge. 

Hamlet is upset about the death of his father, and his feelings show. His mother tells him, “Good Hamlet cast thy nighted colour off” (1.2.68). His mother explains to Hamlet that death is natural and Hamlet needs to move on. Hamlet is upset with his mother at this point. He is already mad that she remarried so fast. He is especially upset that she married her former husband’s brother (it is also looked down on because it is considered incest). Furthermore, she talks to Hamlet like he should not even be upset with anything that is happening.

He is also upset with is uncle because he stepped in without even speaking to Hamlet about it. Claudius even said to Hamlet, “You are the most immediate to our throne” (1.2.109). So Claudius knows he is in the wrong but does not care. He just wants to be King. Claudius betrayed Hamlet and his father. 

Hamlet becomes more upset when he talks to the ghost. The ghost tells Hamlet, “I am thy father’s spirit” (1.5.10). The ghost also tells Hamlet, “Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole with juice of cursed hebona in a vail, and in the porches of my ears did pour” (1.5.61-63). This tells us that its is Claudius who kills him so he can take over the throne. His father’s spirit only appears at night and is left to burn and suffer during the day. Therefore, Hamlet wants to fight for his father and will seek revenge on Claudius. 

Polonius tells the king and queen that Hamlet is mad over the love he has for Ophelia. He tells the queen, “that he is mad ‘tis true” (2.2.97). So Polonius sets up a meeting so they can spy on him. However, Hamlet is really upset because he wants revenge on his uncle. It is not very easy to kill the king and Hamlet doesn’t really want to kill anyone. He believes that killing is a sin and he does not want to go to hell. So Hamlet’s plan is to create a play about it. He wants to put on the play for Claudius to watch. Hamlet speaks about Claudius when he says, “wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.” (2.2.580). He believes that if his uncle sees this play, that he will feel guilty and come forward.