Compare and Contrast Essay on Hamlet and Death of a Salesman

Different characters in fictional work serve to develop the plot in different ways. this happens often, be it strengthening the protagonist, or working towards weakening and destroying the protagonist. This is no exception in William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, and in “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller. The female characters in the two works choose to hide or deny the truth, and this does not work out well for them, or for the protagonists in the end. Linda chooses not to confront her husband, although she knows that he has plans to commit suicide. Gertrude chooses not to accept her wrongdoing by marrying Claudius, and she does not accept the consequences of her action. The female characters treat the protagonists in different ways, and this contributes to the development of the protagonists. The different personalities of the female characters in the stories enhance the characters of the protagonists in different ways.

By denying reality, the female characters contribute to the downfall of the protagonists. Linda is the main character in Miller’s work. She is a loving and loyal wife to her husband. She chooses to reprimand and rebuke her sons for not caring more about their father, although she knows that her husband is not well. Linda knows of her husband’s intention to commit suicide. She reveals this to her sons when she tells them of tubing, which he will use to kill himself, by letting in carbon monoxide. She can tell that her husband is sick because she has seen him talking to himself. Instead of confronting her husband and helping him to seek treatment, she chooses to reprimand her sons. She believes that her husband will recover, once her sons fulfill the dreams that he had for them. She pushes her sons to do the right thing, in the hope that her husband will heal.

Although Linda loves her husband, she cannot dare to face him, and talk to him concerning his plans. She knows the truth, yet she refuses to confront or acknowledge it. Her refusal and denial to confront the situation does not help her or her husband. Her decision to chastise her sons in place of their father does not help her family. She ends up losing her husband, and her sons do not get the chance to solve the problems they are having with their father. Linda’s refusal to confront her husband at home has affected his personality. Willy is weak in certain areas. He does not know much, or seems to have the wrong idea about success, yet he always talks to his sons about it. He does not seem to have much authority in the home and at the office. He only seems to exercise his authority on Linda. In some instances, he treats Linda badly, and he even flirts when she is around.

Linda’s decision to submit to her husband and accept everything he does has enhanced his weakness. He goes to the office to demand a transfer, but he does not get it. He does not seem to know how to defend himself to his boss. Linda enhances her husband’s character, by showing an opposing view. Linda believes that it is possible for a person to be wealthy. She believes that talent and hard work will lead a person to wealth. This is different from her husband’s ‘well-liked’ theory. Her husband believes that a person who is well liked becomes successful. Because of this idea, he does not encourage his children to work hard at their studies.

Gertrude is Hamlet’s mother, and she ends up getting married to Claudius, a short time after her husband’s death. Hamlet feels that her mother’s decision to marry Claudius means that she did not love his father, since she took only a short time to mourn him. She knows that her son does not support her decision to marry his uncle. He condemns the relationship and considers it incestuous. This affects his opinion concerning women, and marriage. It gives him a negative perception towards women, and this affects his relationship with Ophelia. It enhances the bitterness he already has towards Claudius. After Hamlet learns the truth concerning his father’s death, he has to live with the fact that he has to share his mother with his father’s murderer.

Gertrude’s decision to marry Claudius denies Hamlet a chance to succeed his father. Had Gertrude not agreed to marry Claudius, Hamlet would have been crowned the new king. Gertrude’s actions influence her son’s decision to adopt a different character and personality. Hamlet has to act as a mad person, to hide his real intentions. This enables him to reveal to the people what had transpired between his father and uncle through a play. He uses his chance of insanity to deal with the situation and reveal the truth. Gertrude’s idea to support Claudius denies Hamlet the chance to grieve and mourn over his father’s loss. It aggravates his idea for revenge towards Claudius. Hamlet suffers further when Claudius tells him that he can see him as his father. Hamlet considers this a huge burden for him.

One of the most important characters in Hamlet is Ophelia. She affects Hamlet in many ways, and contributes to his demise in the end. Ophelia loves Hamlet, and she has declared her love for him. However, she agrees to spy on him after her father’s request. She ends up killing herself when she realizes that she cannot have Hamlet. Her death brings about Hamlet’s death. Ophelia’s brother gets angry when he realizes that Hamlet is responsible for his sister’s death. He agrees to fight with him in a duel, and unknown to him, the king has poisoned his weapon. He injures himself, and he dies from the poison. He injures Hamlet with the poisoned weapon during the fight, and this leads to Hamlet’s death. Had Ophelia not died, this would not have happened. The king would probably have sought a different way of killing Hamlet.

The two main female characters differ in their personalities, and this determines the way they handle their present situation. Although Linda is submissive and loyal to her husband, she does not tolerate her children’s bad behavior. She does not encourage her son’s aggressive and bad behavior. She tries to reason with her sons in the hope that they will help their father recover and lead a better life. The two women contrast in the way they treat their sons, as a means of reconciliation. Linda chooses to rebuke her sons for not supporting their father. On the other hand, Gertrude pleads with her son to accept Claudius and reduce the conflict between them. The two women have different levels of information concerning their situation. Linda knows her husbands thoughts concerning his sons, and his life. Gertrude does not seem to know her husband’s evil intentions and revenge. She does not seem aware of the fact that her husband intends to kill her son.

Linda and Gertrude differ in the complexity of their characters. Linda’s character is simple, in that the audience is able to tell her actions. She is a simple woman, whose only mission in life seems to be helping her husband, and urging her sons to reconcile with their father. Gertrude’s character is complex. It is not clear whether she is acting out of naivety, when she drinks the poison, or whether she wants to save her son. There is a possibility that she might be aware of her husband’s decision to murder her son, and she takes the poison to save him, instead of using other means that will only cause chaos. On the other hand, Gertrude seems naïve on different matters, such as not realizing why her son is angry with her. It is possible that she took the poison unintentionally.

Although there are considerable differences between the two women, both of them share some qualities and characters. The women characters are in a position of influence, especially in matters concerning their sons. Both of them are devoted and loyal to their husbands. Linda and Gertrude deal with cases of insanity, although in different ways. Linda has to deal with a seemingly insane husband, who refuses to accept his children as they are, in the hope that they could become successful people in business. He constantly lives in the past, as he remembers the chances that his son had while he was still in school. Even in the present, he refuses to accept his son, although he is a grown man with different aspirations from him. He even plans his own suicide, and he does not think twice before flirting with another woman. Hamlet might be acting mad, but his mother does not know this. She lives in fear of him for she does not know what he will do next. In both stories, the female characters decision to compel their sons to accept their fathers fails. Linda’s decision to force her sons to accept their father, and try to please him leads to more indignation. Gertrude’s decision to reconcile her son and Claudius leads to more resentment and bitterness on Hamlet’s part.

The female characters in the book might not have bad or evil intentions in choosing to deny the reality, especially concerning their loved ones. They have refused to accept the weak areas of their lives. Linda refuses to accept that her husband needs help, and that her sons are not the solution to all her problems. She refuses to acknowledge her husband’s ill intentions. She hides away from the truth, hoping that it will soon end or disappear. The truth finally dawns on her once her husband dies. It is a truth that she does not like; one she hopes she had dealt with in the beginning. Although she is tough and more realistic with her sons, she does not act the same way with her husband. She is soft, lenient and wavering towards him. Unfortunately, this does not make him a better person, and neither does it increase his confidence. Gertrude is a complex character. She seems naïve in what she does, yet at other times she acts wisely. She refuses to see her wrongdoing, and she does not see the implication that that has on her son. She is naïve because she allows Claudius to manipulate her. The female characters in the story enhance the characters of the protagonists. In both cases, it aggravates and worsens their situation. One protagonist ends up dead because there was no one to stop him. In the other case, the protagonist ends up dead, because of bitterness and revenge, all of which could have been prevented by the female characters.

References:

Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. New Delhi, India: Pearson Education India, 2007. Print

Shakespeare, William and Roma, Gill. Hamlet. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print