I do not think that Laertes is in denial about Ophelia because I disagree that she even committed suicide. She was so crazy with anger about her fathers death that she became in her own world. Without even realizing she could have slipped into the water and the madness kept her calm throughout. Insanity is resonsible for Ophelia's death, not suicidal thoughts.
For this reason I do not think that Laertes is like his father. Laertes was truly saddened when he realized his sister was gone. When he was going to leave Denmark he gave her a lot of good information which proved that he did love her. Her father however may not have been so sad to hear of her death. He would probably be too caught up in Hamlet's madness to care, unfortunately.
I agree with him not being really like his father. Polonius cared about his reputation above all and I don't think he would have reacted the same way as Laertes did to Ophelia's death. Laertes actually cared enough about Ophelia to go through with the revenge and poison Hamlet. Laertes might be in denial about her death due to the fact that he could have prevented it. But there was nothing he could do because he was far away. Ophelia's death was caused by her being caught up in Hamlet's revenge thoughts.
If Ophelia really did committ suicide then just the fact that she killed herself would be really hard to accept, especially for an older brother. His denial can pretty much be expected because of the fact that he has lost his father and now his sister. His denial is what will keep him from facing the truth, which can sometimes lead to more pain, but also healing. I wouldn't necessarily say that Laertes is like his father so much, really because we really never got to know Laertes throughout the story because he was gone for most of it. So honestly, I can't really make an educated enough statement to really connect Laertes with his father except for the fact that Laertes only wants to accept what pleases him, thus causing denial and wanting to kill Hamlet.
I agree with what Leigh said, that Lae. isn't really in denial about it, but that in the end of the play he comes full circle to realize that death does happen which is something that I don't believe he understood before. He is finally at the fourth stage of the heros journey and he has sympathy for Hamlet because he gets to see who Hamlet really is. I don't believe that it is denial about anything.
I think that Laertes was in denial of Opheila's death because he was just dealing with the death of his father and then his sister kills herself thats alot for him to handle and he probably didn't want to beleive she was dead because then he would have no one he would be alone without his father or sister so he had no one to turn to in his time of need
If Laertes is in denial of the fact that Ophelia committed suicide, it is because he wants to believe that her life wasn’t bad enough to result in killing herself. Suicide is a very selfish act because it says you are too weak to deal with the problems in your life, so you must end it, which hurts others. I think Laertes hopes that his sister would have come to him for help if she were feeling this way, instead of killing herself with no care. He wants to believe she died naturally, so he doesn’t have to feel guilty for not helping her problems. I guess this could be like his father because, like Polonius, Laertes cares about his own reputation, and doesn’t want to be ashamed that his sister killed herself. He wants his family name to be strong instead of weak, which suicide makes it.
I would have to agree with michael. I believe that Laertes was in denial only because he didnt want to ruin their reputation of maybe being a happy family or at least a family that was there for each other. And the fact that it was said that Ophelia committed suicide means that she doesnt have any control of herself and her emotions that it defeated her. Also it made Ophelia's death seemed like she was dealing with so many problems and her family wasnt there for her and it seemed like they didnt even help her get through this. And Laertes doesnt want to be blamed by Ophelia's death that is why he wants to believe that she didnt commit suicide. I dont think that Laertes denial proves he is like his father because Polonius was more into Hamlets madness more than anything. While Laertes felt really bad and sad about Ophelia's death and it seemed like he really love his sister.
I agree with Leigh that Laertes isn't in denial about Ophelia. He is trying to protect her soul by denying that she commit suicide which shows how much he cares about her. He didn't do very much about his father, which shows he cared more for Ophelia than for him. Also, what Michael said about the possible guilt Laertes felt for not being there for his sister is, I think, right on the mark. I do think that Laertes is similar to his father but not because of denial. He allows himself to be a pawn of the king which leads to his death. He and Polonius suggested the plan for their own death; Polonius spying and Laertes punishing Hamlet. This is really the only way they are similar. Laertes had many more redeeming qualities than Polonius. He realized his faults at the end and told the truth, and even though he did meddle in a few cases, he wasn't the sneaky little rat that Polonius was.
Laertes is in denial because He knows how used she was and that she reached her breaking point. I don't think he agrees with the fact that she took her own life but he understands that if she did commit suicide there's only so much someone can take. From what I understand he still is in denial of her commiting suicide. I think with Laertes being away for so long he kind of blamed himself because he wasn't there to support his sister in a time of need.
I think that Leigh has said it best. I personally don't think that ophelia killed herself. Out of all the reasons she could have died, she either slipped or tripped or something along those lines. I only think that Laertes is like his father in they way that they use people, because they both used Ophelia. Laertes loved her and we saw that from just the small conversations between them and their little remarks about eachother. Laertes was kinda selfish, but he is not as bad as Polonius, who would have probably barely even noticed she was gone.
I don't believe that Laertes was in denial, but I disagree with Leigh's reason. I think that he was fighting for his own family's honor and by burying his sister with a full Christian burial, he was fulfilling that desire. I also felt that Laertes may have been selfless in wanting Ophelia to have a Christian burial. He may have simply wanted her to be rightly judged in the afterlife and he felt that he could excel that process by making sure her body was treated in a holy way. In this way I don't think that Laertes was acting like his father. Polonius was quite self-centered in his treatment of both Laertes and Ophelia. In his eyes, they were his to be controlled and he took advantage. Sending a spy after Laertes was extremely innappropriate and if he had ever known his son, he may have placed more trust in him. And bending Ophelia to his and Claudius' will was also an abuse of power. Laertes may have been selfish, but he sought forgiveness in the end. He may have been a decent person who was twisted by people like his father and Claudius.
I don't think that Laertes is necessarily in denial about Ophelia's suicide. I think that he is much like his father becuase he deeply cares about Ophleia and her well being. I think that is lot of the reason he hates Hamlet so much.
I agree with Leigh that Ophelia did not commit suicide. It is nearly impossible to intentionally kill yourself by drowning without tying yourself down. Ophelia having been in an extremely emotionally distraught state, probably unintentionally killed herself in her grief. Laertes is in denial of a suicide because he knows that she would never do such a thing. He is in many ways like his father because he thinks the best of Ophelia. Polonius truly thought Ophelia to be a perfect little obedient child who would never do anything like commit suicide.
i done think that laertes is in denial. First of all, ophelia was so crazy that it shouldn't even be considered that she committed suicide. she has lost all common sense and didnt know what she was doing. also i dont think that drowning ones self would be the easiest way to kill yourself. If she wanted to commit suicide than she probably would have drank poison or something. he is like his father not because they were both in denial but they both care for ophelia and strongly dislike hamlet.
I don't think that Ophelia committed suicide so i don't think he is in denial. She was crazy, fell in the water and drowned. It was an accident not suicide. I also don't think that this denial proves that he is like a father because anyone whose sibling committs suicide would go into denial and not believe that they would do so.
Laertes is in denial that Ophelia committed suicide, because he knows that he had a hand in it. Even though he loved her, his inability to step in and prevent Claudius and Polonius from using her ultimately caused her death. Laertes is aware of this, and by convincing himself that she was murdered he removes all responsibility of her death from himself.
If we assume that Ophelia committed suicide, and not everyone thinks she did, then one could see how Laertes could be compared to Polonius. It is possible that Laertes is denying Ophelia's suicide because it will make him look bad. Polonius does the same thing when he tries to ignore Ophelia's involvement with Hamlet because it will reflect badly on him. It is more likely however that Laertes denied Ophelia’s suicide because he really loved his sister and wanted her to have a proper burial.
I think Laertes is feeling a sense of a loss of love and time for his sister and feels like he wasted any relational connection that he should have with his sister. It is good to see Laertes finally live up to his ignited anger and take a responsible position as a big brother for Ophelia.
I think Laertes is feeling a sense of a loss of love and time for his sister and feels like he wasted any relational connection that he should have with his sister. It is good to see Laertes finally live up to his ignited anger and take a responsible position as a big brother for Ophelia.
Laertes is in denial because at that time suicide is considered unacceptable, especailly in a strong christian family. ALlso he doesn't want to believe that he or his fathers actions could have possibly lead to her suicide. Like Polonius, he refuses to see any corruption in his family and focuses on the corruption in others.
I feel that Laertes knows that Ophelia committed suicide and is deeply sadened by her death. Laertes is still trying to get over the death of his father and now losing his sister makes him believe that her death couldn't be true. I think he realized how crazy she was really was and how she wasn't healthy mentally. I also think that Laertes wants to believe that her soul will go to heaven and by committing suicide her soul may not get there. Laertes wants both his father's and sister's soul to be in heaven so when he dies they can all be there together. It is likely that he denied his sister's death based on suicide because he truly loved his sister and wanted nothing more for her to be happy and to of been seen by God in a positive way. Unfortunately she won't get a proper burial because she committed suicide and I feel that this is what he wanted for Ophelia's life.
22 comments:
I do not think that Laertes is in denial about Ophelia because I disagree that she even committed suicide. She was so crazy with anger about her fathers death that she became in her own world. Without even realizing she could have slipped into the water and the madness kept her calm throughout. Insanity is resonsible for Ophelia's death, not suicidal thoughts.
For this reason I do not think that Laertes is like his father. Laertes was truly saddened when he realized his sister was gone. When he was going to leave Denmark he gave her a lot of good information which proved that he did love her. Her father however may not have been so sad to hear of her death. He would probably be too caught up in Hamlet's madness to care, unfortunately.
I agree with him not being really like his father. Polonius cared about his reputation above all and I don't think he would have reacted the same way as Laertes did to Ophelia's death. Laertes actually cared enough about Ophelia to go through with the revenge and poison Hamlet. Laertes might be in denial about her death due to the fact that he could have prevented it. But there was nothing he could do because he was far away. Ophelia's death was caused by her being caught up in Hamlet's revenge thoughts.
If Ophelia really did committ suicide then just the fact that she killed herself would be really hard to accept, especially for an older brother. His denial can pretty much be expected because of the fact that he has lost his father and now his sister. His denial is what will keep him from facing the truth, which can sometimes lead to more pain, but also healing. I wouldn't necessarily say that Laertes is like his father so much, really because we really never got to know Laertes throughout the story because he was gone for most of it. So honestly, I can't really make an educated enough statement to really connect Laertes with his father except for the fact that Laertes only wants to accept what pleases him, thus causing denial and wanting to kill Hamlet.
I agree with what Leigh said, that Lae. isn't really in denial about it, but that in the end of the play he comes full circle to realize that death does happen which is something that I don't believe he understood before. He is finally at the fourth stage of the heros journey and he has sympathy for Hamlet because he gets to see who Hamlet really is. I don't believe that it is denial about anything.
I think that Laertes was in denial of Opheila's death because he was just dealing with the death of his father and then his sister kills herself thats alot for him to handle and he probably didn't want to beleive she was dead because then he would have no one he would be alone without his father or sister so he had no one to turn to in his time of need
If Laertes is in denial of the fact that Ophelia committed suicide, it is because he wants to believe that her life wasn’t bad enough to result in killing herself. Suicide is a very selfish act because it says you are too weak to deal with the problems in your life, so you must end it, which hurts others. I think Laertes hopes that his sister would have come to him for help if she were feeling this way, instead of killing herself with no care. He wants to believe she died naturally, so he doesn’t have to feel guilty for not helping her problems.
I guess this could be like his father because, like Polonius, Laertes cares about his own reputation, and doesn’t want to be ashamed that his sister killed herself. He wants his family name to be strong instead of weak, which suicide makes it.
I would have to agree with michael. I believe that Laertes was in denial only because he didnt want to ruin their reputation of maybe being a happy family or at least a family that was there for each other. And the fact that it was said that Ophelia committed suicide means that she doesnt have any control of herself and her emotions that it defeated her. Also it made Ophelia's death seemed like she was dealing with so many problems and her family wasnt there for her and it seemed like they didnt even help her get through this. And Laertes doesnt want to be blamed by Ophelia's death that is why he wants to believe that she didnt commit suicide.
I dont think that Laertes denial proves he is like his father because Polonius was more into Hamlets madness more than anything. While Laertes felt really bad and sad about Ophelia's death and it seemed like he really love his sister.
I agree with Leigh that Laertes isn't in denial about Ophelia. He is trying to protect her soul by denying that she commit suicide which shows how much he cares about her. He didn't do very much about his father, which shows he cared more for Ophelia than for him. Also, what Michael said about the possible guilt Laertes felt for not being there for his sister is, I think, right on the mark.
I do think that Laertes is similar to his father but not because of denial. He allows himself to be a pawn of the king which leads to his death. He and Polonius suggested the plan for their own death; Polonius spying and Laertes punishing Hamlet. This is really the only way they are similar. Laertes had many more redeeming qualities than Polonius. He realized his faults at the end and told the truth, and even though he did meddle in a few cases, he wasn't the sneaky little rat that Polonius was.
Laertes is in denial because He knows how used she was and that she reached her breaking point. I don't think he agrees with the fact that she took her own life but he understands that if she did commit suicide there's only so much someone can take. From what I understand he still is in denial of her commiting suicide. I think with Laertes being away for so long he kind of blamed himself because he wasn't there to support his sister in a time of need.
I think that Leigh has said it best. I personally don't think that ophelia killed herself. Out of all the reasons she could have died, she either slipped or tripped or something along those lines. I only think that Laertes is like his father in they way that they use people, because they both used Ophelia. Laertes loved her and we saw that from just the small conversations between them and their little remarks about eachother. Laertes was kinda selfish, but he is not as bad as Polonius, who would have probably barely even noticed she was gone.
I don't believe that Laertes was in denial, but I disagree with Leigh's reason. I think that he was fighting for his own family's honor and by burying his sister with a full Christian burial, he was fulfilling that desire. I also felt that Laertes may have been selfless in wanting Ophelia to have a Christian burial. He may have simply wanted her to be rightly judged in the afterlife and he felt that he could excel that process by making sure her body was treated in a holy way. In this way I don't think that Laertes was acting like his father. Polonius was quite self-centered in his treatment of both Laertes and Ophelia. In his eyes, they were his to be controlled and he took advantage. Sending a spy after Laertes was extremely innappropriate and if he had ever known his son, he may have placed more trust in him. And bending Ophelia to his and Claudius' will was also an abuse of power. Laertes may have been selfish, but he sought forgiveness in the end. He may have been a decent person who was twisted by people like his father and Claudius.
I don't think that Laertes is necessarily in denial about Ophelia's suicide. I think that he is much like his father becuase he deeply cares about Ophleia and her well being. I think that is lot of the reason he hates Hamlet so much.
I agree with Leigh that Ophelia did not commit suicide. It is nearly impossible to intentionally kill yourself by drowning without tying yourself down. Ophelia having been in an extremely emotionally distraught state, probably unintentionally killed herself in her grief. Laertes is in denial of a suicide because he knows that she would never do such a thing. He is in many ways like his father because he thinks the best of Ophelia. Polonius truly thought Ophelia to be a perfect little obedient child who would never do anything like commit suicide.
i done think that laertes is in denial. First of all, ophelia was so crazy that it shouldn't even be considered that she committed suicide. she has lost all common sense and didnt know what she was doing. also i dont think that drowning ones self would be the easiest way to kill yourself. If she wanted to commit suicide than she probably would have drank poison or something. he is like his father not because they were both in denial but they both care for ophelia and strongly dislike hamlet.
I don't think that Ophelia committed suicide so i don't think he is in denial. She was crazy, fell in the water and drowned. It was an accident not suicide. I also don't think that this denial proves that he is like a father because anyone whose sibling committs suicide would go into denial and not believe that they would do so.
Laertes is in denial that Ophelia committed suicide, because he knows that he had a hand in it. Even though he loved her, his inability to step in and prevent Claudius and Polonius from using her ultimately caused her death. Laertes is aware of this, and by convincing himself that she was murdered he removes all responsibility of her death from himself.
If we assume that Ophelia committed suicide, and not everyone thinks she did, then one could see how Laertes could be compared to Polonius. It is possible that Laertes is denying Ophelia's suicide because it will make him look bad. Polonius does the same thing when he tries to ignore Ophelia's involvement with Hamlet because it will reflect badly on him. It is more likely however that Laertes denied Ophelia’s suicide because he really loved his sister and wanted her to have a proper burial.
I think Laertes is feeling a sense of a loss of love and time for his sister and feels like he wasted any relational connection that he should have with his sister. It is good to see Laertes finally live up to his ignited anger and take a responsible position as a big brother for Ophelia.
I think Laertes is feeling a sense of a loss of love and time for his sister and feels like he wasted any relational connection that he should have with his sister. It is good to see Laertes finally live up to his ignited anger and take a responsible position as a big brother for Ophelia.
Laertes is in denial because at that time suicide is considered unacceptable, especailly in a strong christian family. ALlso he doesn't want to believe that he or his fathers actions could have possibly lead to her suicide. Like Polonius, he refuses to see any corruption in his family and focuses on the corruption in others.
I feel that Laertes knows that Ophelia committed suicide and is deeply sadened by her death. Laertes is still trying to get over the death of his father and now losing his sister makes him believe that her death couldn't be true. I think he realized how crazy she was really was and how she wasn't healthy mentally. I also think that Laertes wants to believe that her soul will go to heaven and by committing suicide her soul may not get there. Laertes wants both his father's and sister's soul to be in heaven so when he dies they can all be there together. It is likely that he denied his sister's death based on suicide because he truly loved his sister and wanted nothing more for her to be happy and to of been seen by God in a positive way. Unfortunately she won't get a proper burial because she committed suicide and I feel that this is what he wanted for Ophelia's life.
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