Activity 1.3

The constructed reality of the play is as follows:

• Hamlet, King of Denmark, has just passed away.
• Queen Gertrude, widow of the late King Hamlet, marries Claudius (King Hamlet's brother)
• Hamlet has visions of the ghost of his dead father, and is asked to seek revenge for his murder.
• Hamlet is thought to be mad.
• Repressed feelings burst forth when the relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet is unaccepted.

Each character translates this reality into his/her own, influencing their final outcome.

Hamlet: While grieving the loss of his father, Prince Hamlet meets the ghost of his deceased father, who begs of him to seek revenge. Hamlet agrees to this most willingly. After toying with Ophelia's emotions, murdering several people, and frightening his mother with his crazed actions, Hamlet dies at the hands of Laertes and his poisoned foil.
Laertes: Laertes has a strong love for his family, and when both Ophelia and Polonius are taken away from him, he feels the need to exact revenge on Prince Hamlet. After long consideration, Laertes and Claudius agree to having Laertes challenge Hamlet to a mock fight, using a poisoned foil. He thus kills Hamlet, but is in turn killed himself.
Claudius: The cause of his brother's death, Claudius attempts several times to eliminate the threat of Prince Hamlet (exiling him, plotting to kill with a poisoned foil, attempting to kill with poisoned wine). Being the one to produce the conflict within the play, it is only right that he becomes the one that later puts end to the lives of many of the characters within the play, including himself. Claudius, by attempting to murder young Hamlet, causes the death of his dear Gertrude, as well as himself.
Gertrude: After the mysterious death of her husband, King Hamlet, Gertrude remarries Claudius (for reasons unknown to us). Noting the strangeness of her son's behavior, she seems to follow along with Claudius' plans, but still appears to somewhat care for her son. In the end, agreeing to follow Claudius' directions leads her to drink from the cup of poisoned wine, dying.
Ophelia: Ophelia's reality is a bitter one; she loses two men she loves so dearly: her love Hamlet, and her father Polonius. The loss of these two important figures in her personal life might well be what triggered her mysterious death, as she became confused as to who to trust and accept.
Polonius: Throughout the play, Polonius shows nothing but hatred towards Hamlet, due to the fact that he is so madly in love with his daughter Ophelia. Being a councilor to King Claudius, he is more than willing to attend to his plans and pushes the plot against Prince Hamlet forward. Had he not been so willing to please Claudius (by agreeing to hide behind curtains in Gertrude's room to eavesdrop on her conversation with young Hamlet), he would not have been murdered so brutally by Hamlet, who mistook him for Claudius.

Importance of the family unit to society:
I believe that it is important to have a strong family unit in society. Many of the social skills that we need are learned from family members. However, for a family unit to be successful and of any value, it is necessary for there to be love, caring, understanding, and a positive environment for learning. To learn the necessary social skills to be considered "normal" among others, a secure family unit is necessary, to teach these social skills and other skills of importance. A family must be secure, comfortable, and consistent, so that it is easier to learn, and one can become or attentive in a positive environment.