Oedipal Complex in Hamlet Essay -- Shakespeare Hamlet Essays

Hamlet and the Oedipal Complex    In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the title character's main, and only flaw, is his delay. This seems to constitute the central part in Hamlet. By the definition of tragedy, there should exist a flaw in the character of the main hero, who is a great personality that is engaged in a struggle that ends catastrophically. Various reasons for Hamlet's delay are given. Important issues like madness, melancholy and cowardice are discussed, but the evidence reveals that he is capable of swift action, we deem him as an intelligent man and can therefore conclude that he is only pretending madness. To regard him simply as suffering from melancholy is not a sufficient explanation as he is eager to avenge the death of his father, but cannot bring himself to take action. It is obvious that the reason for not carrying out the revenge is not due to any moral apprehensions or fear of divine retribution. There is something special about this task that makes it impossible for Hamlet to carry out th e deed. The inability to take action stems from distinctive feelings within Hamlet, his Oedipal Complex. Hamlet has the perfect opportunity to kill Claudius in Act 3 Scene 3, yet he fails to seize it. He fears that killing Claudius will automatically send Claudius to heaven without punishment. Hamlet himself remarks: "And now I'll do't. And so `a goes to heaven; and so I am revenged. That would be scanned: A villain kills my father, and for that I, his sole son do this same villain to heaven." (3.3.74-78). Hamlet may believe he is delaying from fear of sending Claudius to a "heavenly" afterlife; however, there are times when Hamlet could have killed Claudius when he was not at prayer. Claudius is not ... ... he is delaying out of fear is invalid. Hamlet also may have plenty of time to kill Claudius when he is not in prayer, so any interpretation that includes Hamlet's concerns for Claudius' afterlife is also invalid. Both of these interpretations rely on Hamlet being conscious of his actions. If Hamlet is not conscious of his behaviour, it must be because his desire stems from that part of him in which he is unaware, his id. Works Cited and Consulted Guerin, Wilfred L., Earle Labor, Lee Morgan, Jeanne C. Reeseman, and John R. Willingham. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. Leong, Virginia. "The Oedipal Complex." 06 December 1997. (07 December 1997) Shakespeare, William. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The Riverside Shakespeare. ED. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Haughton Mifflin Company, 1974.

Langston Hughes’ “Salvation” Essay

Some people may believe that ‘salvation’ comes to those who deserve it. Others may believe that salvation comes to those who seek it. Still, there are those who believe that salvation is not a ‘privilege’ but is rather a free gift for all. But for Langston Hughes, it appears that salvation for him is not what it seems to be. Apparently, Langston projects the image that a child’s innocence may be a way of looking at salvation in such a way that our basic senses and sensibilities are put back to their simplest and uncorrupted state, devoid of fear from non-conformity from dogma and filled with eagerness to experience what is real. Perhaps Langston Hughes is attempting to channel across the message that adulthood or perhaps our ‘matured’ state, so to speak, has dictated so much of what we believe in that we forget that we were once innocent beings eager to absorb what the world was willing to give us. This is the point where I would like to agree with Langston Hughes. In the many events in our lives that shape who we are and what we want—apart from the things that we want to want—our daily experiences have largely contributed to our personality and character. Sometimes an encounter with an atheist will strike your faith and religious beliefs and be put aback into a state of doubt, weighing odds at both ends and figuring out if your faith is strong enough to resist the temptation of atheism. Or perhaps an encounter with a tribesman living in a far-off, desolate forest may change the way you look at life, especially in terms of material possession. Whether or not we have already encountered these things, it can hardly be doubted that our personal experiences shares a large role in shaping our identities as individuals. As we grow, we start to acquire more of these experiences. Not surprisingly, our earlier knowledge is replaced with fresher ones, relieving ourselves of the burden of having to carry the weight of obsolete beliefs as we go on with our lives. This is the point where Langston Hughes may very well agree: we have grown to a point that we can remember all but one—our state of innocence. It does not surprise me at all to see individuals busy with the complexities of life. After all, people change and so are the things we experience. The evolution of humanity, apart from the scientific sense, has paved the way for more of these complexities. And sometimes we are prompted to lie or to deceive ourselves out of innocence in order to blend together with our environment. In order to convince other people, Hughes lied which made others reaffirm their belief in salvation. No doubt the believers would believe all the more in cases where their beliefs are reaffirmed at least by what they see. But sometimes—in fact, many times—what they see is not the one we or others see. In the end, we are confronted with the startling feeling of self-deception after convening and bending to what others believe in. We mourn over our ‘mistakes’ and hope to convince ourselves that all will be well although it simply cannot be the case after our actions have been committed. Salvation is such a broad concept that it simply cannot be confined within the closed spaces of churches and congregations alone. If, indeed, salvation is free for all then why must there be a need to encroach ourselves into religious orders? And for God or Allah’s name, where among these hundreds, if not thousands, of religious dominions are we to find salvation? Langston Hughes’ â€Å"Salvation† embodies these important points and the rest of what has been said here. Maturity betrays us in such a way that our innocence is hindered from allowing us to view the world outside the box detached from whatever it is that ties us to dogma, delusion and self-proclaimed salvation. Reference Hughes, L. (2007). Salvation. Retrieved November 7, 2007, from http://www. courses. vcu. edu/ENG200-dwc/hughes. htm

Religion Is An Organized System Of Worship - 905 Words

Faith is a belief or a prediction of the future while religion is an organized system of worship followed by a group of people (Pyle 1). While both sound mostly superstitious, they are very necessary for the running of the daily human lives. Humans, for the fear of the unpredictable future, often come up with myths that they hope will keep them safe. It serves them well, as it helps them carry on with their daily activities with reduced fear and anxiety. However, the problems begin when they think that everyone one else must follow their faith. With their superiority in numbers or other forms of power such as firearms, they might be tempted to follow other minor and weaker groupings to be part of them or perish. In this way, religion and faith have been used to steal wealth from weaker kingdoms and make slaves out of previously free humans. One significant positive impact that has been created by religion is the unification of people from various cultures through one faith. However, this has also created a lot of trouble as some cultures have been swallowed up by others. Religions have given us great timeless artistic masterpieces and musical composition for the use of worship by the masses. A common misconception regarding faith and religion is that other people have to believe what one believes. The misconception convinces the believers that only their religion is the right one, and other people should follow it without question. Such indoctrination has led to inter andShow MoreRelatedThe Belief Of Organized Religion1173 Words   |  5 PagesBelief of Organized Religion All over the world there is some kind of conspiracy. One is the Organized Church Conspiracy or the Organized Religion Conspiracy. 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For that reason, it is believed that a nations prevailing religious belief system affects its politics. this is accurate in countries that attempt to maintain the separation between the church and the state as well as countries that are openly theocratic. in order to get a better understandingRead MoreBuddhism Is A Path Of Spiritual Development Essay1538 Words   |  7 Pages Controversy has been raised for years on whether two groups of people who claim to be a religion actually fall into the category of such a broad term â€Å"religion†. The term Hinduism includes a wide variety of traditions, which are closely related and share some common themes but does not form a unified set of practices and beliefs. Hinduism does not share the same organized system of beliefs within their community. On the other hand, Buddhism is a path of spiritual development leading to the trueRead MoreIn the 13th century BC, the Mongols rose to power and conquered an empire whose size still has yet800 Words   |  4 Pagesused to instill fear in people, they are actually civilized because they had a strategically organized army, and because they were accepting of the customs of other peoples. These two elements would eventually lead them to their success. The Mongols could be considered barbarians because of the violent and barbaric war tactics they used to instill fear in people. They often took advantage of their organized army to carry out many of these military tactics. When the Mongols attacked places such as