Scarface And Hamlet

The masking of an identity is a common solution that many people of today’s society turn towards. Whether it is to hide something from someone or to use it as a form of protection. William Shakespeare’s popular play Much Ado About Nothing is an excellent example of masking that is achieved by some of the characters. The story reflects events of people masking themselves intentionally, unintentionally or having the ability to see through other’s masks. It demonstrates that masking can end in deception, although not constantly.

“Hamlet” and “Twelfth Night” are two Shakespeare plays of complete opposites. Due to one being written as a tragedy, and the other as a comedy, many comparisons can be drawn between the two plays, on themes and motifs that develop throughout the plays. One of the themes that is easily recognisable in the early stages of both plays, is that of deceit and disguise. In “Hamlet”, we learn early on that Hamlet decides to act as a madman in order to try and weed out a confession from his uncle about the murder of his father. Although he does not actually reveal to any other characters his plan until Act 1 Scene 5, when he tells Horatio that he plans to “put an antic disposition on”, the audience can recognise very early that Hamlet is going to show some kind of deceptive characteristics in order to execute his plan.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic play about murder, betrayal, revenge, madness, and moral corruption. It touches upon philosophical ideas such as existentialism and relativism. Prince Hamlet frequently questions the meaning of life and the degrading of morals as he agonizes over his father’s murder, his mother’s incestuous infidelity, and what he should or shouldn’t do about it. At first, he is just depressed; still mourning the loss of his father as his mother marries his uncle. After he learns about the treachery of his uncle and the adultery of his mother, his already negative countenance declines further. He struggles with the task of killing Claudius, feeling burdened about having been asked to find a solution to a situation that was

Shakespeare sprinkles subtle lines alluding to Hamlet’s apparent cowardice and failure as a classical revenger. In addition to this, Shakespeare may intentionally delay Hamlet’s revenge and remove emphasis from his passion to break the trend of morally blind, obsessive, psychopathic avengers as traditionally depicted in plays such as “The Spanish Tragedy”.

In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the playwright introduces the compelling, complex, and complicated character of the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet. In the events of the play, Hamlet swears revenge against his uncle for the foul murder of his father, the king. However, despite his intense catalyst, Hamlet reveals to be continuously torn between his motive of revenge and conflicted conscience, generating an inability to carry out his desired actions. While Hamlet possesses the passion and intellect to murder his uncle, Claudius, his actual inclination to act upon the murder directly opposes that of his powerfully emotional contemplations (S.T. Coleridge). Hamlet’s overzealous thoughts become unrealistic compared to his actual endeavors throughout the play.

The Gangster film ‘Scarface’ (DePalma) is about the rise and eventual fall of Cuban immigrant, Tony Montana. Throughout the film the viewer witnesses how Tony Montana goes from a criminal in Cuba to a drug overlord in America. The average viewer cannot connect to the arc of Tony Montana. But, the average viewer can connect to what Tony Montana is working for, the American dream. Brain DePalma chooses purposefully to have a hyper-masculine, narcissistic, megalomaniac immigrant as the main character of a story of American dream. In ‘Scarface’, DePalma show the universality of the American dream. By utilizing various filming techniques, DePalma shows how the American dream is available for everyone.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a work of immense depth in character development, most notably the personal, moral and psychological battles

In Hamlet, Hamlet knows that he must avenge the death of his father, but he is too indecisive, too self-doubting, to carry this out until he has no choice. His failings cause his downfall, and he exhibits some of the most basic human reactions and emotions.

Comparing a novel to a play can be sometimes challenging. When comparing two characters, it is harder to see the similarities than the differences. Hamlet and Billy Pilgrim are two different characters, from two different centuries, from two different countries, from two different worlds, and yet their search for the meaning of life was astonishingly similar. The search for the meaning of life becomes quite difficult for Hamlet and Billy Pilgrim. They both experience horrific adventures in their lives along with insanity which their personalities attract. The delirium that takes place throughout their adventures continuously brings them one step closer to finding the true meaning of life.

No two human beings that have ever inhabited the earth were, are, or will ever be alike. Every individual possesses his or her own looks, qualities, morals, personality, and much more. Comparing two characters from arguably, two of the greatest stories ever written, is quite a feat to accomplish. One could already relate the two main protagonists of Hamlet and The Great Gatsby just by looking at the titles of the novels! Hamlet and Jay Gatsby are two characters, who can easily be overanalyzed without truly researching into their own stories and unveiling just who these two gentlemen are, for they are enigmas, and can be scrutinized into being more similar than one may think.

Shakespeare's main character Hamlet is a victim of both internal and external conflict. His conflict includes a physical nature as he goes about to avenge his father's death. Shakespeare translates further the idea of internal versus external conflict by giving it a physical nature. Shakespeare also uses soliloquies to emphasise Hamlets inner thoughts and conflict. This stands in contrast to the way he acts amongst others; with the intention of highlighting the inner turmoil he is experiencing. The infamous quote, "To be or not to be: that is the question: whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer…." (Act III, scene i, 58-90). It is during this soliloquy that

Franco Zefferelli’s film, Hamlet, adapted from Shakespeare’s text, Mel Gibson’s Hamlet, struts and frets his life in Denmark, convincing almost everyone that he is “mad.” The film bases the question of whether or not Hamlet is actually insane almost solely on Gibson’s acting interpretations, but Zefferelli’s editing choices assist in making the point that Hamlet is not insane, but either in a fog of confusion and anger from his grief, or pretending to be mad to manipulate others.

With Hamlet’s tragic flaw being his inability to act, he is plagued throughout the play by his immense intelligence and philosophical nature, which causes him to overanalyze each situation, rendering him unable to carry out any action in response. This is evident in the play by the frequent delay of acting out his father’s revenge due to the uncertainty of the evidence pertaining to his uncle’s crime. Hamlet’s inability to act creates a discourse between hamlet and his consciousness, generating an abundance of stress, which causes him to become increasingly frustrated as the play progresses. This frustration leads to him at moments in the play to behave in a rash and impulsive way or acting in an inappropriate manner, contradicting his methodical and reserved disposition. It is the consequences of these “inappropriate” actions that resurfaces at the plays end, to haunt the character, as Hamlet’s inability to act while using his renowned logic and intelligence ultimately leads to his eventual demise at the plays conclusion, due to his inability to act both “effectively” and “appropriately” in critical situations.

Hamlet faces challenges throughout the play that try his inner strengths and test his ability to handle the situation. He is torn between wanting to seek justice, and avenge his father’s death. Hamlet is also caught up in an intricate web of lies and deceit, he is considered mad by most characters when in all actuality it is just playing off of the actions of others to benefit himself. He puts on different acts trying to hide the truth, which makes him seem sincerely mad to the people around him. The truth of the matter is that Hamlet can’t decide whether or not his convictions are accurate. This dilemma ultimately leads to not only the deaths of the main characters, but the downfall of the kingdom.

Hamlet is one of the play’s I’ve read throughout this course and I’ve gained many insights as to what dramatic irony could be. Moreover, I was able to make connections with American Gangster and Hamlet because the audience had a better idea of what was happening more than the characters. This is because, in American Gangster, Frank Lucas didn’t know that the police, Richard Robert’s, was trying to uncover Frank’s heroin business. Hamlet also includes a dramatic irony when the audience realized it was Hamlet’s uncle that killed the king. Through the Dramatic irony, it established a suspenseful effect that influenced me to continue