Comparison of Ophelia characters in Hamlet and Child of God Essay

The play, juncture, by Shakespe ar and the novel, electric razor of graven image, by Lolita Files tells of Ophelia l character that displays similar base behaviors. In twain small town and Child of God, the two Ophelias be static one-dimensional characters who argon both victims of their circumstances. However, the Ophelia in Hamlet meet a sad residual eyepatch the Ophelia in Child of God is able to get hold of a positive ending. In short, Files Ophelia became the tragic heroine that Shakespeares did non.The signifi put forwardt and most important similarity between the characters of Ophelia in Hamlet and Child of God is that both are a static-one dimensional character. These characters do not change throughout the play or novel and continued to be predictable. They act like robots that do not exercise an aggressive bear e realwhere their own lives and effect any purposeful independent personal change in their environment. They are powerless-willed, soft, fragile, tende r beings whose main function and purpose in livelihood is to be dominated and used by other more than aggressive, strong characters surrounding them.Files Ophelia is express to be, naive about the human being and the state in it and Shakespeares Ophelia is described by Hamlet as frailty, thy name is woman (Files 65 Shakespeare & Hapgood 116). Ophelia in Child of God is used by his pal for his selfish, passionate desires while the Ophelia in Hamlet is used by her father and brother to be a spy against the man she retires, Hamlet. Files Ophelia put up a midget but unconvincing resistance to his brothers advances (but Im your sister) perhaps because her situation is more delicate while Shakespeares Ophelia readily obeyed without question (Files 68).It is verbalise that Files Ophelia loved her brotherand would have done anything to make him happy (Files 68). Moreover, the two characters in both stories are both predictable creatures that one could easily predict to either fall when circumstances are good-for-nothing or triumph when circumstances are good or in their favor. Sure enough Shakespeares Ophelia became a madwoman when circumstances turn from bad to worse, as first, she is betrayed by her lover, Hamlet, who tells her I love you not, and and then second her father is murdered by Hamlet himself (Shakespeare &Hapgood 182).Files Ophelia, on the other hand, also almost went angry when her child dies in the fire after lay left her, and would surely have gone raving mad if her mother did not make the initiative to turn her life around by sending her to college in another State. Such behaviors show both Ophelias incapability to direct their own destiny in fire of their circumstances. One reason is that they seem to be women who have no opinion of their own. In Hamlet, Ophelia did not bear out Hamlet against her father but willingly submits to their plans even though it may hurt the man she loves. roughly scholars who made an analysis of her charact er accused her, that because of her willingness to be used against him, she therefore does not really love Hamlet (Madariaga 41). However, it is obvious that this Ophelia cannot make up her mind, as suggested by her reply I do not know, my lord, what I should think(Shakespeare & Hapgood 127). Similarly, the seemingly innocent Ophelia in Child of God who ironically loves to read books that could have imparted her knowledge from which to forge her own opinions is easily convinced by her own brother to have internal relationship with him.Both authors therefore, presents two Ophelias who emulate and illustrate the dangers of the celebrated frailty , naivety and middle of feminity for it, in fact, exposes women to domination and hence, to becoming victims of circumstances. On the other hand, one of the major differences that a reader can observe is that Ophelia in Child of God had an incestuous love affair with his brother Lay while the Ophelia in Hamlet, who also has a close relations hip with his brother, did not. It appears that the major difference lies in the brothers themselves.Lay is chiefly a wicked, selfish man (as attested later by destroying his own brothers life to drugs). His childhood is greatly influenced by his aunt Sukie who is also a wicked, selfish woman. His love and concern for Ophelia, therefore, is compulsive more by his passionate lust and using persuasive words (I thought you said you loved me), convinces her to enter into an incestuous love affair with him. He later left her pregnant and effort her away from his life when Ophelia establishes contact with him (Files 68). On the other hand, the Ophelia in Hamlet has a brother, Laertes, who genuinely loves her.He thinks Hamlet is yet going to destroy her virginal innocence (your chaste treasure open, to his unmasterd prod) and therefore warns her (Shakespeare & Hapgood 124). Files Ophelia recognizes that it is sin to have incestuous affair with his brother but she speaks with little con viction (what happen between us aint normal, and when Lay asks her who said it she replied, it just aint) indicating that she was not as interested to the moral implications of her actions (Files 69). What is important for her is that her brother loves her and he wants her. some(prenominal) people present this kind of argument when confronted with their sinful or questionable actions. As long as their needs are met they do not care so much what the law or others say. Interestingly, the people who are capable of this kind of lifestyle are those who are less pricked by conscience. Nowhere in the book in the Child of God can one see that Ophelia struggles with guilt over her incestuous affair with Lay. When she was almost overcome with madness, it was not because of guilt but because her child (the one she sired with her brother) is burned to death.On the other hand, one would wonder what would have happen to Shakespeares Ophelia if Laertes had made physical advances to her like what L ay did to his sister. It is quite possible that she would be gone crazy or mad also. The reason is that she seemed to be indue with a higher degree of conscience, arising from a nurtured family loyalty, than the Ophelia in Child of God is although looking at both their lives in entirety it seems that they do not struggle much with moral choices or alternatives (Shakespeare et. l. 78 ).It is observable in Hamlet that the madness of Shakespeares Ophelias is caused by the grief over her fathers death ,nevertheless, judging from the events surrounding her fathers death( like Hamlets insult over her betrayal and the possible likelihood that she thinks Hamlet killed her father in revenge) it could be that it is in fact the apogee of all the guilty feelings she harbors inside as she cries out, O Woe is me, to have seen what I have seen, what I see (Shakespeare & Hapgood 185).The authors therefore do show that the relationships that both developed with their brothers is largely influence d by the behavior of their brother themselves although one cannot discount the role of the degree of moral conscience in these two characters. Shakespeares Ophelia is more inclined to be pricked by conscience (therefore more likely to avoid it) than Files Ophelia is. some other significant difference is that Files Ophelia became a tragic heroine that Shakespeares Ophelia did not.It can be noteworthy that these two fragile maidens encounters and are caught up in a tragic family drama. However, the life of Files Ophelias can be said to be more tragic (and cursed with sin) than that of Shakespeares Ophelia for her line of credit is tainted with family murders, family hatred, gender biases (homosexuality) and incest and therefore more prone to failure and bitter end. On the other hand, the Ophelia in Hamlet can be said to have only a tragic incident in the murder of her father by her lover Hamlet.Weighing these two backgrounds, one therefore can conclude, that Shakespeares Ophelia h ad a more chance to experience a triumphant life. Unfortunately, the opposite is true. Shakespeares Ophelia became crazy and guess to commit suicide while Files Ophelia overcome her tragic past. Their different endings are really caused by the respective lack or abundance of support that they get from others. As mentioned earlier, both of these Ophelia do not take initiative for their destinies.Therefore, the key to their triumph relies heavily on the people surrounding them. The Ophelia of Hamlet both lost her father and Hamlet and with her caring brother far in Paris, Ophelia is put in a most distressing state( driven into desperate terms, as Laertes put it) , struggling with her brokenheartedness and grief alone which eventually caused her madness( Shakespeare & Hapgood 244). Files Ophelia on the other hand, in spite of the murder, hatred and incest surrounding her life, nevertheless, has a very supportive family.Her parents protect her from possible harm, she is sent to scho ol by an evenly supportive family friend and at least she has one brother, Polo, who cares so much about her and is with her in her pertly life as a student. Then later she met a man who loves her and accepted her for who she is. Without being very straightforward about it therefore, the two authors implicitly illustrate the value and importance of support towards fragile weak characters in attaining their triumph over the adversities of their lives.As a conclusion, even though the Ophelias of Hamlet and Child of God displays and possesses the same weak, naive personality and tender feminine qualities that is subject to domination and exploitation they are, however, apprenticed to have different endings. The reasons are due mainly to their ability or the lack of it to be influenced by conscience as well as to their respective differences in getting support from others.