My opinion of Ophelia

"Ophelia" by John Millais

Ophelia is a character almost everyone feel sorry about. She is being bullied by her father, brother and Hamlet, the one that she thought to be in love with. At first, her father Polonius and brother Laertes insists her not to meet Hamlet, then Hamlet says he doesn't love her anymore and sends her to the nunnery. I think we all agree, it's a bit too harsh.

In my Ophelia is an important character, as she is one of the tragic elements in the play. She brings the play closer to the readers through her pain because of the ones she love, at some points her life seems to be a complete mess and she has no one to trust. We can draw parallels between Hamlet and Ophelia, they both have lost their fathers and both get crazy afterwards. Without her, they play would be bald, as she also brings romantic elements in.

The death of Ophelia is one of the main questions to think about - did she kill herself or was it an accident? Also, the way it is being told by Gertrude leaves me suspicious. After all that had happened in Ophelia's life, it wouldn't be a surprise if she really took her own life away, we don't know what was in her head at the moment she drowned, but we can imagine it. On the other hand, at the time of her death she was mad and maybe didn't realise what's happening so it was an accidental death.

There are lots of discussions to rise whether Ophelia is a needed character or whether she committed suicide or not, but I don't think there's only one right answer to those questions.

"Hamlet" : Act I and II

By the end of Act two comment on Hamlet's character. What is he doing? Why? How have the tragic elements of the play been established?

Act I.

Act I shows us Hamlet's grief, which is because his father has died. Another tragic element is the marriage of Hamlet's mother and uncle, which is held shortly after the death.
Since these two things have happened in a short amount of time, Hamlet's state of mind is unstable and at some points we can clearly see his craziness, he feels as though his father has been forgotten. Hamlet meets a Ghost, who says that he is the dead father and reveals that he has been killed by his brother, Hamlet's uncle, the new king of Denmark. The Ghost asks Hamlet to revenge his death and Hamlet together with Marcellus and Horatio swear that they will not tell anyone about what they had seen. At the end of Act I, Hamlet is left wondering whether the Ghost he had seen really is his father or maybe it's a devil's trick. Hamlet writes down some things the Ghost says so we are thinking "Why is he doing it?"

Act II.

This act introduces us to Hamlet's plan for revenge, which turns out to be tricky because he wants to kill the uncle but doesn't want to hurt his mother. Even though Hamlet still doubts whether the Ghost had told the truth, he is planning to make a play reflecting the way his father died. He is hoping that the uncle starts acting strange while seeing the play, suggesting that he isn't feeling comfortable and is the one to blame.
Hamlet is acting mad at some points, but this is probably a part of his plan. He also feels a bit relieved because of his plan.
The tragic element in this act, as well as the rest of the play, is the lack of trust between the characters. The only person Hamlet can trust is himself.

The Great Gatsby : Chapter VIII and IX

Chapter VIII.

• Narrative style:

The narrator of this chapter, as well as it is in the rest of the book, is Nick Carraway. This chapter tells us about the events which follow Myrtle's death. At first, Nick tries to warn Gatsby to go away for a while, so no one could find him. Since Gatsby isn't even considering the leaving, he takes the blame on himself. Meanwhile George Wilson starts to think about Myrtle's death and comes to a conclusion that Gatsby was the one who drove the car. He then goes to Gatsby's house, enters his garden and kills him while he's in the pool. George Wilson later kills himself. Chapter VIII starts with the day after Myrtle's death, then there's a description of Daisy, followed by Gatsby's life during the war and Gatsby's thoughts about Tom. This chapter has parallel actions, one is Nick in New York, receiving a phone call from Jordan, another one is Gatsby planning to use his pool for the first time in the summer, getting ready and putting his bathing suit on and another one is George Wilson sitting in his garage and coming to the thought of killing Gatsby, then going to his home.

• Characters:

Gatsby is the main character, he gets shot by George Wilson in Chapter VIII. This event is almost like an ending of the book. Gatsby tells Nick about his youth and about Dan Cody.
We can see that Nick's and Gatsby's friendship is getting stronger, as Nick reveals that he doesn't want to leave Gatsby and also says "They're a rotten crowd" to cheer Gatsby up.
There's a description of Daisy through Gatsby's point of view. She is "the first nice girl he had ever known"

• Themes:

Death - Gatsby's and Wilson's death
Love - Gatsby's love for Daisy
Sacrifice - Gatsby decides to take the blame on himself
Revenge - As Wilson starts thinking, he comes to a wrong conclusion that Gatsby has killed Myrtle so he goes to Gatsby's house and shoots him before shooting himself

• Settings:

Gatsby's house that seems so enormous after Myrtle's death. This house symbolises the emptiness of Gatsby's life and it also contrasts with Myrtle's apartment. Daisy's house and her life was an inspiration to Gatsby, he knew that he wants to have a life like hers. Some action is set in Wilson's garage as it is the place where he remains after Myrtle's death.

• Language:

Colour - yellow is used to warn the readers that something is about to happen, for example, Gatsby has a yellow car and it hits Myrtle, then, right before Gatsby is killed, there's a sentence "Once he stopped and shifted it a little, and then the chauffeur asked him if he needed help, but he shook his head and in a moment disappeared among the yellowing trees."
"It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson's body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete." - the death of three people is compared to the holocaust, which is quite unusual because, as we know, millions of people were killed during it. The word "holocaust" is probably used to show just how significant this event was in Nick's life.

Chapter IX.

• Narrative style:

Written from Nick's point of view, this is the last chapter in "The Great Gatsby". Chapter IX is a reflection of Nick's memories from the day Gatsby died. He tells about how he tried to get people to come to Gatsby's funeral. This chapter also reveals just how careless the rich people are, because no one wanted to come and Daisy together with Tom had gone somewhere without leaving a message, they didn't care at all what they had done. Nick contacted Meyer Wolfshiem, but he answered he couldn't come because he "cannot get mixed up in this thing right now". Nick Carraway later meets Gatsby's father Henry C. Gatz who shows him a book that belonged to Gatsby. Few days later, the funeral is held, but the only persons to come is the Owl Eyes and Mr Gatz.

• Characters:

Meyer Wolfshiem is a friend of Gatsby, probably the closest one. Nick asks him to attend Gatsby's funeral, but he says that he doesn't want to "get mixed up with this thing".
We learn about Myrtle's sister Catherine, as people are trying to contact her.
Gatsby's father, Henry C. Gatz, appears in this chapter. He tells Nick he read about Gatsby's death in a newspaper. He is described as an "old man". Henry also shows Nick a book which belonged to Gatsby when he was younger, showing Gatsby's plans for self development.
Daisy and Tom appear in this chapter as Nick tells about them. They are a great example of just how careless can people be. Daisy hasn't left any message, nor sent flowers.
Owl Eyes is the only person to attend Gatsby's funeral together with Mr Gatz.

• Themes:

Death, as Gatsby's funeral is held. Carelessness, lack of friendship. We learn that Gatsby has no real friends.

• Settings:

Gatsby's house, the room where his body was lying(the drawing room), the cemetery where his funeral was held.

• Ideology:

Henry C. Gatz ideology, his belief in Gatsby. He always thought that Jay's future is going to be bright, "If he'd of lived, he'd of been a great man", he said.

• Language:

A precise time is used, "About five o'clock our procession of three cars reached the cemetery" and "at six o'clock of a December evening". At the time of the funeral it's raining, showing the sadness and misery of the characters. This also links with another chapter from the book.