Fatherly Advice

In Act I, scene iii of Hamlet, Polonius gives Laertes a great deal of "fatherly advice" about how to live his life. Look at this section and find advice you have heard from your own parents. How valuable is this advice? Have you used it? Have you been involved in any situation to which this advice was applicable?  How did this advice affect the characters in Hamlet? 

My parents have warned me not to spend a lot of money all at once, be careful when I'm out alone, and to have a good time. I'm not usually a partier or cause trouble so my parents never really had to warn me not to get into trouble, just to be careful when driving or whatnot. This advice is pretty valuable. It's good advice for someone going off on their own with enough warning not to do any stupid--to use their freedom wisely.

I have not really used this advice because apart from a week long band camp in the summer, I've never been completely on my own away from home. We had a very busy schedule during the band camp, and it was only for a week so I wasn't away for a long time. I have not been involved in any situation to which this advice was applicable, but it will be very applicable next year when I go to college several hours from home.

Laertes is grateful of the advice, although it delays his leaving for France. This advice caused Polonius to later send Ronaldo to spy on Laertes to make sure that Laertes followed his advice and is behaving respectably. Ophelia is probably a little resentful that her father basically told Laertes to do whatever he wants and he told her what to do and gave her little freedom.

 

"Madness in great ones must not unwatched go"

King Claudius states "Madness in great ones must not unwatched go." (III, i) How is this true in any age? What evidence can you find in recent news stories to support this statement? How do societies keep checks and balances on their "great ones?"

This is true in any age because when 'great ones' or important people show signs of madness, it is best to watch them and see what they do next. They could start to make crazy decisions that could cause harm, so it is best to be wary and watchful of them. People not in their right minds could analyze situations differently and more be aggressive or paranoid than a sane person and therefore doesn't react the same as a sane person would. Crazy people in positions of power are unpredictable and dangerous so it is best to keep an eye on them to replace them if things go too far.

Some evidence in recent news stories to support this statement is Turkey's Prime Minister and 12th President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He has been in charge of Turkey for about ten years now and it's starting to show. He is starting to show signs of Narcissistic personality disorder and megalomania. These two things and not pleasant in a person of political power and is a common result of having been in power for several years. There has been some question as to whether he is able to function as ably as in the past.

Societies keep checks and balances on their "great ones" by not letting them being in power for more than a few years. After a while, the stress and power starts to get to them and affects their brains. It has been found that certain chemicals are released to those who hold office and it affects their thinking and decision making after around ten years in power. Societies have adopted democracies and this leads to limited Presidential terms, with a new President every four or eight years so that the current President doesn't lose his mind while in office.

Plotting

Write about a time when you discovered that someone was purposefully plotting against you for some reason. Explain the situation—how you felt, how it turned out.  If you have never had this happen analyze a TV show or movie where this is a central concept. 

In Disney's the Lion King, a lion prince is born in an African kingdom, making Scar second in line to the throne. Scar then plots against his brother Mufasa, so that he can become the lion king. Scar goaded young Simba into entering the shadow lands. As Scar knew would happen, Simba's curiosity got the better of him and he went to investigate the forbidden lands, which turned out to be the hyenas hangout. Scar intended for they hyenas to kill Simba, but Mufasa came in and saved the day and soiled Scar's plans.

Scar then came up with a plan to kill Mufasa and get rid of Mufasa's son Simba all in one fell sweep. Scar told Simba to wait for him in a valley while he is plotting with the hyenas to lay a trap for Mufasa. The hyenas create a stampede and Mufasa hears Simba's cries and goes to save him from being trampled. However, Scar is there to see to it that Mufasa doesn't make it through the stampede. Scar throws Mufasa off a ledge and Mufasa dies. Scar leads Simba to believe that Mufasa's death was his fault and convinces Simba to leave the kingdom with the intension of never coming back. With Mufasa dead and Simba out of the way, Scar is free to take the throne and be the lion king.

Betrayal and plotting against someone is usually either out of jealousy or vengeance. Someone justifies their actions knowing that the other person did something they could not forgive and they deserve to be caught/killed. Others are not quite so noble, but do their plotting out of jealousy and greed. They cannot get over the feeling that they have been robbed of some privilege and will do anything to take it away from that person they feel doesn't deserve it. In Scar's case, jealousy is what drives his plotting against his own brother to take his throne. His jealousy drives him to kill his brother and led his nephew to believe it was his fault and to leave the kingdom out of shame.

#2: Are parents generally blind to their children’s faults? Why or why not?

Parents are generally blind to their children's faults. It is hard for some parents to accept that their child isn't perfect and may have a disability or is different from other kids. Some kids are naturally more aggressive than others, or some learn at a slower pace, or are not as attractive as others. These things can be seem as faults but oftentimes parents look at them and see nothing wrong with their child because they love their child so much.

Parents make excuses for their children's behavior and attempt to reassure themselves and others that their child really is normal, just wait and see. The parent with an overly aggressive child will blame the child's behavior as a result of someone provoking him. That the child is not at fault, when the child may actually need some help controlling and finding an appropriate outlet for his anger. The same thing can happen with a child who has a learning disability. Parents don't like to see the faults in their child; they want to see the good in their children, which can often blind them of seeing who their child really is.

Parents generally take pride in their children as the child reflects on the parents' parenting skills. The parent may deny that their child has faults because they certain that their parenting methods work for their child. Accepting these faults may make some parents feel like they have somehow wronged their child and feel like it's somehow their fault. This could also lead to them being blinded of their children's faults.

Hamlet Entry 1

Parents Spying

Parents are allowed to check in on their kids and have a right to know what they are up to, especially if it concerns the safety of their children. Children forgo their privacy when their safety is questionable and they refuse to answer or be truthful to their parents. Parents have the right to know if their child is involved in something dangerous so that they can do their job as a parent and tell them to stop or give them advice on how to get out of it.

Parents do not have the right to look through their kid's stuff, such as personal emails or texts constantly if there is no reasonable suspicion that they are doing something illegal or dangerous like drinking or doing drugs. Parents shouldn't go through their kid's stuff to figure out like who their crush is or how they did on a test when the crush is none of their business if the kid doesn't want to talk about it, and they can always ask their teachers about grades. Parents cannot use checking in on their kids as an excuse to look through their stuff to know every single thing they are up to. The first step as a parent is always to ask their kid "How was your day?", "Where are you going?", "Who's going to be there?", "When will you be home?" If the kid shrugs off these questions and doesn't answer and gives the parent reason to be concerned about their health/safety, then the parent is allowed to ask if they are doing something dangerous or illegal. If they deny it but the parent is still concerned, then "spying" is a last resort.

A circumstance that might prevent this would be if a parent knew that their child was going to a party but was unaware if the parents would be home or if there would be drinking. The parent should first ask the child these questions, then the parent should try to call the parent hosting the party to see if they would be home and how they would supervise. The parent does not have to resort to spying on their child to know what their child is doing. There are other methods and spying on their kid should be a last resort only.