A Doll's House

In the beginning of the short story “A Doll’s House,” the main character, Nora, at first glance acts ditzy, and child-like. She seems to have no depth and follows the petty rules enforced by her husband. Her dumb act irritates and annoys readers. They react emotionally to her foolishness. They insist she is clueless and are angered by her stupidity, but in fact, I do not believe she is dumb at all. I feel Nora does not know herself, and therefore follows her husband’s guidelines and aims to please him for she does not know any other way to behave. Nora’s husband Torvald helps Nora continue to act naïve. He treats her as though she is a toy, or a doll, that he has to play with. He does not treat her with any true respect or treat her like a person with any substance. Because of the pleased response Nora receives from her husband when she acts ditzy or follows his commands, she continues to act in an immature manner. Nora does not know any better than to please her husband. She does not think of herself or how she feels, and therefore does not her know herself. Nora does not know what she wants, what she needs, or what she deserves. Nora’s relationship with her husband is empty and fake because Nora is unable to reveal her true self in fear of what may come from it. So, instead of listening to her thoughts, Nora ignores them and plays the role of Torvald’s ideal wife. But I believe in the end, Nora will know better and develop self-respect allowing her to no longer play the role of a “doll” but instead become a woman who learns about herself, and will finally realize what she deserves and needs.

Hamlet's Justified Insanity

This past week in class we discussed Hamlet’s possible insanity and his thoughts of suicide. The majority of the class seemed to believe that Hamlet is somewhat crazy, but I think his actions are an outcome from stress and anxiety. Over the course of only a few days, Hamlet lost his father, discovered his uncle was the killer, and was betrayed by his mother. On top of that, Hamlet believes the woman he loves, Ophelia, does not have to same feelings for him. It takes a very strong person to be able to remain stable when all of this stress is piled onto their lives. It does not surprise me that Hamlet questions whether he wants to live or not, and I think that if Hamlet is too depressed to live, it is okay for him to take his own life.

When Hamlet sees his father as a ghost, he is told to kill his uncle to avenge his father’s death. At this point Hamlet himself could be questioning his sanity, but despite a possible sense that the ghost may not truly be his father, Hamlet feels he has an obligation to avenge his father’s death. The thought of murdering someone I feel has shaken Hamlet. He does not seem like a violent man, and when Hamlet has an opportunity to kill his uncle, he stops because he thinks that if he kills his uncle while his uncle is praying, his uncle could go to heaven. In class, some people suggested that he was just a coward, but I think he wants to make sure that if he kills his uncle, it is done at the right time and is the right thing to do. Murdering his uncle may be too difficult of a task for Hamlet to fulfill. He may not have the strength to murder a man, and the responsibility he feels toward his father may be too much for him to bear. At this point, I feel that Hamlet feels too weak to live, but after Hamlet discovers Ophelia has killed herself, he seems to realize the finality of death, and steers somewhat away from the thought of taking his own life.

Overall, I do not think that Hamlet is crazy, and I think his thoughts of suicide are justified. Even though Hamlet questions whether his life is worth living, and he seems to be ready to give up, I think that he is too scared to kill himself. Once Ophelia is dead, he seems to realize there is more to live for, and life shouldn’t end so suddenly. I believe this will keep Hamlet from killing himself, and he will become a stronger man.