Caree's+Page


 * What I Find Humorous:**



Memes are practically the best things ever. There are many different kinds of memes that I find absolutely hilarious and addictive to look at.


 * Hamlet Blog #4**

First off, this is probably my favorite scene from the movie. It's pretty epic. media type="youtube" key="DWjn2oSVBm8" height="315" width="560"

Way to go Hamlet. Killing Claudius with a fencing sword and a very well placed chandelier.

This scene is intense, to say the least. But personally, I found it to be rather disappointing, even though I knew that everyone died. I had much fair warning from the start of reading this play, but that empty feeling still took over after everyone was killed off one by one. Then this feeling was taken over by anger at the fact that I had almost nothing to show for reading this play other than knowing the basic plot of a well known play by Shakespeare.

> And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
 * Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet prince;
 * **Horatio,** scene ii

Poor Horatio. All of his friends died and he is just stuck in a kingdom that is being taken over by Fortinbras, trying to get some last friendly words to his friend that is dying of poisoning. I really feel bad for the guy because he wasn't lucky enough to die an exceptionally bizarre way like the rest of the important people in this play. This line, as he is saying it to Hamlet, really got me thinking. What is Horatio's purpose in this play? This is very curious to me as I still have not found the answer. As I was trying to answer this question, I could think of many cases in which there are characters who appear meaningless in movies, books, or plays, but have some significant value in the overall scheme and plot, but could not view it the same for Horatio. He just kinda mobs around with Hamlet and is there to stand there awkwardly and listen to him and his crazy thoughts. This old chap, in my mind, does not add much to this play at all, other than to be a good listener and finally get a word in as he delivers these beautiful lines to Hamlet on his deathbed.

When thinking about our essential question, it is hard not to also bring up the issue of these events and how they are related to Hamlet being sane or insane. We gave to wonder if any of these things would have happened had Hamlet been in a different state of mind, whether sane it not. It is hard to ponder the fact that all if these deaths are at the hands of Hamlet himself, since he is directly correlated to each one. Either way, we can only think about what may it may not have happened had Hamlet acted differently, because everyone is dead and there is no one to ask.


 * Hamlet Blog #3**
 * I must be cruel, only to be kind: Thus bad begins and worse remains behind.
 * **Hamlet,** scene iv

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I find his line to be very interesting in many ways. For one, it reminds me of the very popular song by Nick Lowe, as heard above. I also believe this statement to be very true, but not for reasons that can be easily explained. Because this is said by Hamlet at a time when his sanity is in question, it makes it very hard to know whether he has made this statement at a time of sanity or insanity. Either way, I believe that there is some truth to what Hamlet is saying. By simply looking at the sentence as a whole, it seems rather redundant and somewhat crazy. Why would someone think that they have to be mean to someone to be nice to them? The answer is not very clear unless you look at the sentence taken apart. The first line, I must be cruel, only to be kind, can be taken out of context to mean different things. First off, it makes sense to say this because sometimes the truth hurts. In this aspect, many people understand what Hamlet means. In the second part of the sentence, Hamlet is basically saying that he knows that by being "cruel to be kind", things will go bad, but it will cause keep worse things from happening. All in all, this line is very interesting and very true, in my mind. I believe that Hamlet, whether sane or insane, has some justification and reasoning to say this line.

This line is also very good to look at when discussing the essential question of insanity vs. sanity. When taking this line into consideration, it not only occurs at a time when Hamlet has started his plan to act insane, but is actually saying something that sounds whack. Whether you look at it from Hamlet being mentally stable or not, the statement itself can help us to determine what he is actually thinking and if there is a method to his madness.


 * Hamlet Blog #2**

Ghost, Scene 5: The serpent that did sting thy father's life Now wears his crown.

In this scene, the ghost appears to Hamlet and tells him about his death and how he wants Hamlet to avenge him. I find it rather odd that the ghost practically tells Hamlet that he wants him to kill Claudius, his brother. In my mind, that is no better than the deed of the uncle. What goes through my mind during all of this is the fact that it is hard to recognize whether or not King Hamlet and Claudius were good siblings to begin with. Though one may say that it can be said that there was an obvious disconnect between the brothers since Claudius killed King Hamlet, it causes me to wonder if it had always been a bad relationship between the brothers, or if something went wrong somewhere. Though we do not know the past between these two, I feel like the curiosity of their relationship cannot be ignored or looked over, especially when seeing how their relationship ended.

With regards to the essential question, I feel like reading more of the play, only helps to answer, and pose more questions in general. I highly believe that this play can help to guide someone towards drawing a line between sanity and insanity, but it furthers one's ability to distinguish between trusting them and not. Our essential question, although it is further explained by reading Hamlet, also creates more questions the more I think about it. While I do believe that there is a definite line between sanity and insanity, it causes me to wonder who can draw that line, and why it is drawn at all.


 * Hamlet Blog #1**

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TO BE OR NOT TO BE?

In the Ethan Hawke version of Hamlet that I watched, I found it pretty hard to relate to the play. There were many details in the movie that made it hard to follow. I felt like these things, such as the language used in the original play mixed with the modern setting of the movie was quite odd and not very enjoyable to watch. The other problem I had with the movie was the fact that there were so many contemporary twists in the film that I don't believe correlate to the original play at all. With regards to the play itself, I will have to see if I will like it because of the general dislike I had towards the film. Hopefully the play is not hard to follow, like the movie is, because that really made me dislike the film as a whole and gave me somewhat of a sour taste for what I have to look forward to with the play.

Leaning towards the direction of what we read in the play, I can't really make a valid assessment of how I feel about it. I don't think that the beginning of the play truly reveals anything that prefaces what will come in the future.

Looking at the direction of the essential question made in 3rd period, I feel like Hamlet can accurately help us to think about the mentally insane. In the play, we know that Hamlet hatches a plan to pretend to be insane. But in the movie, it appeared to me that he wasn't completely stable to begin with. Due to the fact that he, in my mind, is a raging lunatic, I don't feel like he can be trusted too much. Because Hamlet was never taken as being sane after his father died, it cannot be determined that he made a plan to "become insane" in a stable state of mind which throws off a major part of the play.

Based off of what we first read in class, the first scene brings about some tension that is mirrored in what I viewed in the movie. These lines in the first act and scene do not really show anything that will come in the future other than the overall mood and vibe seen throughout the plan and film.