Themes in Hamlet: Act 1 Scene 2 v. The Ingenue Essay Example

Hamlet, Claudius appears to be saddened by his brother’s death and feels sorry Hamlet. He even goes ahead and tries to console Hamlet. This is only an act as in reality he is happy to be the king and to have his late brother’s wife. In The Ingenue, Danny appears to be in love with the narrator but goes head to cheat on her. These two characters portrays reality and falsity theme. Claudius is not sincere when he says that he is saddened with his brother’s death. This is because he was the one who killed him. Danny is not sincere to the narrator because if he was, he would not have cheated on her.

Differences

The difference in the theme of betrayal is that in Hamlet, Claudius does not directly betray Hamlet but rather betrays his father. Of course he does not mean harm to Hamlet but killing his father is definitely an act of betrayal. In The Ingenue, Danny betrays the narrator directly. He betrays her love by cheating on her. Although they get married in the end, she does not trust him and she only did so because she does not want to lose him.
The difference of the theme of being an outsider is that in Hamlet, Hamlet is completely isolated. He can’t really talk to his mother or step father, Claudius. He has only his university friend Horatio. He even decides to stay awake to watch for his father’s ghost. In The Ingenue, the narrator does not completely become isolated and despite the mistrust, she stays with her boyfriend until they finally get married.

In acting at reality, the difference is portrayed where in

Hamlet, in act I scene II; Hamlet does not know the truth. He is only aware of what his uncle tells him without knowing the reality. In The Ingenue, the narrator knows the reality. She knows that her boyfriend is not faithful and that he was only acting to be faithful (Keegan 79-80). And since she knows the reality, she can tell the difference between the reality and falsity. She is aware that what her boyfriend was telling her was not true and the reality is that he cannot be trusted. On the other hand hamlet does not know the reality and therefore, he cannot tell if his uncle is lying.

References

• Keegan, Mary. The Opposite Of Loneliness: Essays And Stories. New York: Simon and
  Schuster, 2014.
• Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Dallas: Huge Print Press, 1843.