The Toughest Play

Shakespeare is not only something you learn in school and then forget about it. It´s a piece of literature that exist in your everyday life, even in the harshest places: a level 4 high security prison. It is hard to picture an Act V scene taking place in the prisons theater, filled with huge tough guys looking at the scene and at their fellow inmates. It kind of reminds me to Adam Sandler´s, The Longest Yard were all the inmates are recruited for the football team to play against "THE GUARDS!!"

During this radio show from This American Life Jack Hitt hits up the prison every 2 months to meet and talk to the inmates that make the Shakespearean play possible. The prisoners not only tell them their experience in the making of the scenes but also their personal experience in dealing with the plays message of committing or not committing a murder, which many of them can relate to. Personally I think many of the inmates get a chance to over think their life decisions during the Hamlet play especially the Hamlet actors. However there was one particular prisoner that grabbed my attention and that was Big Hutch a very big guy given his nickname that describes himself as the "killer whale" of the prison. It is even hard to imagine how one of the meanest guys of the prison takes part of the play, something that was thought to be lame. Again I can relate Big Hutch to the Big Khalifa in The Longest Yard a very big guy that did not talk; instead he kicked everyone's butt.

During the radio show a kept thinking on how analytical Big Hutch was and how he told Jack that Hamlet had not internal conflict, instead he was just a coward for not acting against his father's murder, comparing it to how they used to rape her daughter telling Jack that he was not gonna stay leg crossed while they did that to her instead he decided to take action for it.

Last but not least I liked how Big Hutch compared the prisons main yard to Hamlets play, the was the Claudius that wanted power, drugs, etc: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern the rats that told everything to the administration and so on.

“The Angel and The Devil

In the Northrop essay the author talks about the "central preoccupation of Romanticism: the conflict of consciousness and action." During this essay I kept thinking on how almost all of the critical essays are related to Hamlets main problem which is his conscience, which defies his ability to act. During this essay Frye talks about how Hamlets conscience doesn't let him kill his ungrateful uncle by orders of his dead father, hence the "To Be or Not to Be" soliloquy which is a confrontation between Hamlets right or wrong. Personally in this scene from the play I can actually see or imagine Hamlet just standing there while the devil and the angel each stand on a shoulder having the "To Be o Not to Be" talk. This essay in particular brought my attention due to the fact that it gives a clear understanding of the main internal conflict of the play and Hamlet.

What Is Freud Talking About?

The extract from The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud talks about Hamlets impotency. He describes him as "the type of man whose power of direct action is paralyzed by an excessive development oh his intellect". Freud describes Hamlet as the type of guy that over thinks everything, which is the most general characterization in Hamlet, Freud over thinks the topic and takes Hamlets actions as not an over thinker about everything and gives the reader examples in which he kills a series of man in the play without thinking it twice. It is the fact if vengeance towards his father that makes him over thinks everything. Furthermore Freud analyses Shakespeare and his history while he was writing Hamlet, which leads him to think that Shakespeare wrote about things that were trouble ling him during that time (like the death of his son Hamnet). I liked the fact that Freud does not only try to understand Hamlets actions of thought but those of the writer and reaches a conclusion that is not only true but interesting: "so all genuinely creative writing are the product of more than a single motive and more than a single impulse in the poet´s mind, and are open to more than a single interpretation".

To Be or Not To Be, That Is the Video

In the three different Hamlet plays the producers and directors choose to guide and tell the story in a different way, however following the same plot development. In the Ethan Hawke production Hamlet is an ordinary guy that walks through modern day life. It is during the "To Be or Not To Be" scene that the actor finds himself in a blockbuster action aisle which is kind of ironic knowing that Hamlet talks a lot about revenge, action, and death but he never makes them happen, instead he over thinks everything to the point of not over going any of his plans. This production was in my opinion the most interesting I like how the director makes probably one of the most famous Shakespearean lines something very normal as if it was only a simply question at the end of the day. However the David Tenant is completely different from this one, evoking the message of a crazy Hamlet that's seems so over thought per say that his conscious has brought him to a point of no return, a dead end. It is in this production that we can see the dark side of Hamlet as a "nut job". From this production I liked how the director uses dark lights to create a feeling of darkness to the viewer, fortifying the crazy Hamlet reaction. Last but not least the Kenneth Brennagh production seems the most boring or traditional for me, it portrays a Hamlet that just makes a question to him of life and death but does not impose a great importance on it, even though the actor tries to act mysterious and paranoiac.

Shut the Hell Up…You Old Women

Lady de Bourgh despite being called a LADY isn't really one. When Elizabeth gets to Charlottes house Mr. Collins takes Elizabeth to meet his patroness. During the meeting Lady de Bourgh spends the whole evening just "spitting" at Elizabeth faces, basically stating that her family is just a piece of crap. How all her sisters are poorly taught and how not even one excels in an art. She also takes the time to tell Elizabeth to stay out of her family's business knowing some facts about Darcy and her.

To my surprise Elizabeth doesn't bend her head and look at the ground, she looks her straight at the eye and stands up for what she beliefs and protects her family even though she knows it is not the most cultures one.

The view I had about Elizabeth changed completely in this part of the novel I loved how she can't really find her path in love, but stands up for her beliefs something a women 200 years ago would commonly not do.

I know belief that Elizabeth is a strong person that evokes confidence but at the same time an odd feeling making her such an important character in the novel.

Where Is All The Pride?

After Bingley´s escape the Bennet family especially Mrs. Bennet tries to re unite the love between Bingley and Jane sending Bingley letters over to London. Unfortunately the letter they receive in response is just stating that Bingley will stay at London further more giving an end to the relationship.

One thing that caught my attention was how letters are so important in the novel and in the historical context. As I read the novel I realized how the families exchanged information letting each other what they felt or simply talking about a hard day. Even though the most shocking things of the letters were how I compared them to today's "letters" and how the world has become such a virtual place.

Something that came to my surprise was how Charlotte a long ago friend of Elizabeth accepts to marry Mr. Collins. In my opinion I don't feel it was wrong for her to do that as long as she loved him. However I would have imagined that Elizabeth felt a weird feeling inside of her, knowing that she had the chance to marry him.

With Charlotte and Mr. Collins gone Mr. Bennet´s brother, Mr. Gardiner comes to visit and decides to take Jane to London to ease the pain she had after Bingley leaving town. I feel that it was a bad move coming from Mr. Gardiner knowing that Bingley lived in London, therefore giving Jane false hopes about trying to regain Bingley´s love.

After Jane leaves Netherfield with his uncle Elizabeth starts to questions Wickham´s love and thinks about the different opinions her family has giving her. After a while she receives a few letters from Jane saying that Miss. Bingley thinks she is an obstacle to Bingley marring Georgiana Darcy.

However the reader learns that Wickham is in love with another girl that has just gained a large fortune….hmmm this sounds fishy. Elizabeth in dismay just states that she has been hurt "but slightly… and her vanity was satisfied with believing that she would have been his only choice"

I really hate this Wickham guy he is actually a gold digger that doesn't care about hurting women's feelings, it is people like this that make the novel interesting and give the reader a space to reflect on themselves and the novels, giving a huge space for criticism…I kind of relate it to the feeling you get while watching a Mexican "telenovela".

During the next couple of months Elizabeth decides to travel to Charlotte´s new home and decides to stop in London for a night to visit Jane and his uncles. They have a conversation about Wickham being a "rat" but curiously Elizabeth defends him clearly stating that she is mentally unwell (why would you defend someone that broke your heart?). The next day she decides to resume her journey over to Charlottes, and is invited by the Gardiners to take part in a tour out in the lakes which Elizabeth accepts.

Which Side Are You In??

While the novels starts taking "sides" the reader can notice that Elizabeth is a very complicated women, at first falling for Darcy and then for Wickham. However Wickham does not attend Bingley´s balls causing a great sense of dismay to Elizabeth. Even though, Elizabeth, decides to flow with the balls spirits and finds herself dancing with Mr. Collins and lastly with Darcy, which for her is a huge mistake. I belief that Elizabeth is just a girl that hasn't really found her place in her family and simply sailing in a dark ocean not knowing where to go. It is actually very funny how she finds herself in these awkward moments, making the reader notice that she has no self-control. Elizabeth then finds out that Wickham did not attend the balls due to a fight that Darcy and Wickham have, making Elizabeth even madder at Darcy, however she doesn't really know at the time why they hate each other so much and decides to just take Wickham´s side.

An interesting event during the novel is how Mr. Collins is actually never taken seriously and is always left to be talked alone. During the ball he realizes his patroness; Lady Catherine is related to Darcy, anxious to talk to him about it Darcy simply leaves him "hanging". I also felt kind of bad when he proposes to Elizabeth but she turns him down at first very politely but Mr. Collins keeps on pushing for it making Elizabeth so nervous that she states it really loud and clear that she doesn't want to be her wife.

After the ball the reader can infer how awkward the Bennet family really is. I can perfectly picture it, a very traditional English home, wooden floors, a fireplace, and a crude animal scent that perforates the buildings walls, then Mary playing and awful piano tune, Mr. Collins giving another boring speech, and the loud Mrs. Bennet talking about how great an alliance between Bingley and Jane: a chaos.

With Elizabeth refusal to Mr. Collins proposal she runs away from home to try to cool off, but Mrs. Bennet as it would be expected of her follows her to tell her that a marriage between them would save the Bennet house. Dismayed by her mother's accusation she turns her down and Mrs. Bennet threatens her to never speak to her again but her dad decides to help her daughter at this one, also giving her spouse a hard time.

We also learn that Bingley has decided to run away from Netherfield giving an end to Jane's engagement. Furious Elizabeth tries to make her sister feels better by telling her it was just a plan of Mrs. Bingley to try to separate the marriage.