IntroductionDefinition of Space Colonization-Appropriation of space area in favor of humanity-Establishment of habitat in spaceReasons to Colonize SpaceVast amount of ResourcesBetter Quality of Astronomical ResearchSurvival of Human Civilization-“Humanity should colonize space to survive” - Stephen Hawking-Natural or man-made disasters
NameBritish LiteratureLecturer19 February 2016Hamlet the HeroIs Hamlet a hero? In the story, he seems to have various personalities rather than to have only heroic traits. The whole story describes his traffic life, and revolves around conflicts between him and his uncle-stepfather Claudius. Hamlet seeks to avenge his father’s death upon Claudius, and during the process he commits several misdeed which makes him seem to be a vicious villain. On the other hand, Hamlet is also put into many dangers and troubles by Claudius, and Claudius’s intentional actions to mistreat Hamlet makes him seems to be a pitiful victim. However, with his adverse situations and circumstances regarded, Hamlet appears more to be a hero than to be a villain or a victim.Although Hamlet gets troubled and victimized by others throughout the story, he ultimately achieves his goal of avenging his father’s death at the end. In Act II, Scene 2, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who are Hamlet’s close school friends, show their loyalty to Claudius, and betray Hamlet by saying “…here we give up ourselves in the full bent to lay our service freely at your feet, to be commanded.” (2:2:30-32) In addition, Gertrude who is Hamlet’s only alive family turns her back to Hamlet, and helps Claudius. She promises not to tell anyone that Hamlet killed Polonius, but she runs right away to Claudius, and tells him what Hamlet has done, claiming that he is “mad as the sea and wind when both contend which one is the mightier.” (4:1:7-8) However, despite all these adversities against him, he surmounts his unfavorable situations and kills Claudius at last. That fact that Hamlet weathers through hardship and eventually attains his goal of avenging his father’s death makes his revenge seem dramatic and heroic. Thus, Hamlet is a hero rather than a victim.Moreover, Hamlet’s wisdom and astuteness in critical situations make him more qualified as a hero. With his intelligence, he maneuvers situations and evades dangers. He succeeds in eliciting Claudius’s confession that he killed the King Hamlet by formulating a brilliant plan. In Act II, Scene 2, when a group of actors arrive at the castle, Hamlet decides to devise a trap for Claudius; he will let the traveling actors play “something like the murder of my father before mine uncle (2:2:596-597)” and see how Claudius acts. Just as expected, Claudius leaves the play before it ends, showing an unpleasant feeling, and Hamlet figures out that Claudius killed his father. Furthermore, Hamlet avoids death by making a quick decision to fake the Claudius’s letter. In Act IV, Scene 3, Claudius sends Hamlet to England in order to dispose of him with a letter ordering that Hamlet be killed. However, Hamlet is not killed, and returns to Denmark. In fact, he “devised a new commission (5:2:32)”, and replaced the original one written by Claudius. His swift and keen management of the situation saves his life, and renders him heroic.Although Hamlet makes such heroic deeds, it is undeniable that he commits murder, which makes him appear to be a villain. He stabs Polonius who was eavesdropping behind the curtain, and runs through Claudius with a sword, forcing him to drink poisoned wine. However, his murder can be warranted because he has a reasonable motivation to kill them. Today, it is socially unlawful to avenge with an eye-for-an-eye method, but in Shakespeare’s period, it was common to kill a person who killed someone’s family or friend for revenge, as Romeo kills Tybalt for Mercutio’s death in Romeo and Juliet. Therefore, Hamlet has a right to kill Claudius and his loyal advisor Polonius, and is not a villain but just a good son who revenges his father’s death upon Claudius.Throughout the play, Hamlet continues to display many heroic deeds. No matter how harsh his situations are, he persistently overcomes difficulties with shrewd decisions, and succeeds in revenging his father’s death by murdering Claudius. Therefore, Hamlet deserves to be called a hero.Park PAGE 2