I chose to take a look at this soliloquy:
To be, or not to be--that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep--
No more--and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep--
To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
“To be, or not to be”… these are some of the most famous words in the English language. They speak deeply of the struggles that men face throughout their lives. At some point in our lives, we are faced with a hardship that rocks us to our very core. Hamlet is faced with such a hard situation that he ponders whether it is worth continuing on with the struggle. Perhaps what makes these words so striking is how they compare death to sleep. Shakespeare writes “To die, to sleep – to sleep—perchance to dream.” He explores the value of death in comparison to sleep. Dreaming is what gives sleep its romantic allure, but with death, there are no dreams. Nothing exists beyond death according to him. It is all unknown. This unknown is what makes death intimidating. We have no way of knowing what lies after we take our final breath. This unknown is what ultimately keeps Hamlet from killing himself.
Personally, I’ve always
tried to hold an attitude about hardship that embraces growing from it. I suppose that it’s easy to think this way,
but when you have something happen in your life, it’s far harder to take a step
back. It’s far easier to say than to
do. I think that Hamlet reveals just how
far these struggles can rock someone.
When someone considers suicide as one of the only alternatives to their
pain, truly they know what it means to live with hardship. Out of all of this, the thing that I find
most interesting is why Hamlet decides against committing suicide. Fear of death seems like something of a
selfish reason for not committing suicide.
I would think that it would be the impact your death on others would
have would be the reason for him to not commit suicide. Suicide is an inherently selfish act, so I
suppose it would make sense that it would be a selfish reason that would
prevent him from committing it.
Evan,
ReplyDeleteYour thought process behind the idea of suicide being a selfish act and how a fear of death is a selfish reason for not committing suicide is very fascinating. I never really thought about how "selfish" this idea really was until now, but it makes a lot of sense. It's a personal motivation to stay alive, and there is no concern for others and their emotions. This being said, do you think the idea or act of suicide would be selfish if people decided to live for the people in their lives? Very thought provoking post! Good job!
I agree that Hamlet's motivation for suicide is selfish. However, Hamlet seems self centered throughout the play so far. He gives no thought to his mother's potential happiness nor the happiness of anyone else in the play. Also, it is kind of interesting to note that the views that you have on suicide are very similar to those of Immanuel Kant. Overall, I enjoyed reading your post and found it very interesting.
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