Hamlet and Structural Functionalism Essay

In the famous play crossroads by William Shakespeare, family takes an enormous part in the failure in the main character, juncture. What is interesting astir(predicate) his family dynamic and the way his family affects hamlets actions, is that it directly correlates to Emile Durkheims theory on structural functionalism. It is a theory that studies our social structure and culture, and how they work unneurotic and affect us. Durkheim suggests that our social system is made up of a bunch of different parts and when one of these components dismays taken away, we suffer and go into normlessness- which Durkheim refers to as anomie. anomy is an indication of a loss of our sense of determine and rules of conduct, creating problems. In relation to the play Hamlet, we can establish a tie-up between structural functionalism and Hamlets family through the losses he encounters through turn up the book. While dealing with the death and re-appearance of his father, his uncles deceit and hi s mothers betrayal, he finds himself falling into anomie while overthinking, and becoming mad in result of his loneliness.In the beginning of the play Hamlet, we are promptly made aware of Hamlets family piazza and what has new-fangledly happened with his father, Old Hamlet. When a child is born, the parent of the same sex as the child will usually be the one they feel the biggest connection with. Theres a feeling of common understanding, and when one gets that individual taken away it truly is devastating. That is how it was for Hamlet. We get to see the gravity of his fathers death destroying his optimism, when hes talking to Claudius and tells him that people can act sad, but he has real grief beneath the clothes that he wears. unneurotic with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, That can de none me truly. These indeed seem, For they are actions that a man might play. But I have that within which passeth show, These but the trappings and the suits of woe. (1, 2, 83). both purvi ews later, we are showed how the death of his father affects his mental state. When Horatio and Hamlet lay eyes on the ghost in scene 4, Horatio begs Hamlet not to follow him. What if it charm you toward the flood, my lord, Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff That beetles oer his base into the sea, (1, 4, 72). Hamlet answers him with a shocking comeback and follows the mysterious figure into the mist. Why, what should be the alarm? I do not set my life in a pins fee, And for my soulwhat can it do to that, Being a subprograme immortal as itself? It waves me forth again. Ill follow it. (1, 4, 67) This quote reveals Hamlets opinion on his self-worth. He explains to Horatio that he does not value his life. If Hamlets father had not died, and he had not been so fragile and in such grief, there would have been a significant difference in the way that he handled the situation. His fathers death, right from the beginning of the play, started affecting his sense of values and rules o f conduct- leaving him in a state of normlessness. This is what spun the chaos of Hamlet into action, starting Hamlet out on his path to self-destruction, eventually to the point where his death is the result of his own medalling. In the words of a man who lived capacious ago, what we fear, we create.After the death of his father Hamlet continues to mourn the loss, as one would usually do if their parent were to decease. Oddly enough, his own mother and lest we forget the recent wife of his father, says to him Do not for ever with thy vailed lids Seek for thy noble father in the dust Thou knowst tis common all that lives must die, button through nature to eternity. (1.2.2) This is shocking because normally, if ones spouse has passed away they would experience some sort of great grief, however Gertrude takes little discomfort in the matter and in the quote above, tells him not to fret, for everybody must die at some point.To this, Hamlet says to himself, O, God a beast, that wants discourse of reason, Would have mournd longermarried with my uncle,My fathers brother, but no more like my father Than I to Hercules (1.2.151). Clearly her insensitiveness and incentive to quickly re-marry angers Hamlet. How could she not mourn the death of her own husband, and re-marry his brother almost right after? Hamlet demonstrates great disgust for his mother and accuses her of incest. She Gertrude married. O, most wicked speed, to post. With such politeness to incestuous sheets It is not nor it cannot come to good But break, my heart for I must hold my tongue. (1.2.158).With the loss of his own mother, Hamlet (as would any child) starts to act out and feel a loss of control. We see this in his quote in act 1 scene 2 O, that this too too solid framing would melt Thaw and resolve itself into a dew Or that the Everlasting had not fixd His canon gainst self-slaughter O God God How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, dep remnant to me all the uses of this world (128) Here, H amlet talks about how he wishes God had not declared suicide a sin, and how pointless life is to him now. This is huge because we get to see how the loss of his mother is affecting his sanity. He require his mother to support and protect him, yet she is nowhere to be found. Rather, she is with the man that he needs to be protected from. This affects his sense of values and rules of conduct- leaving him in a state of normlessness. This is just another push from Gertrude to Hamlet towards his death (failure) in the end of the play.Meanwhile, Hamlets uncle and new step father Claudius is being a villain, villain, smiling, damned villain (107) as Hamlet describes him in act 1 scene 5, because he feels that Claudius has been deceitful and betrayed his own brother. Which he in fact has. In act 3 scene 3, Claudius says he feels guilty for murdering Old Hamlet, yet he states, That cannot be Claudius cannot ask God to accept his apology), since I am still possessed Of those effects for whic h I did the murder My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen. (56) Revealing that he knows that he cannot as for forgiveness when he is still in possession of his brothers belongings and is not ready to let them go.This whole affair leaves Hamlet very clearly bitter and upset with him. In act 3 scene 4, Hamlets mother says to him, Hamlet, thou hast thy father often offended. (9) And he replies with a snarky remark claiming that Claudius is not his father at all, and that the one doing the real offending is her (Gertrude) to his father (Old Hamlet). Mother, you have my father much offended. (3.4.10) This quote proves to us how betrayed he feels by his uncle. Three scenes before these quotes, Hamlet presents his to be, or not to be soliloquy about suicide.To be, or not to be that is the question Whether tis nobler in the perspicacity to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles. (3.1.57) He, again, is debating whether or not he sho uld kill himself. This validates the theory that he is losing his mind due to his uncles actions, and essentially the robbing of his uncle entirely as a person that he once put his trust into. It affects Hamlets sense of values and rules of conduct- leaving him in a state of normlessness, pushing him even more off of the edge towards failure.Hamlets inability to remain mentally stable throughout the play is in the fault of the unfortunate death of one parental figure, the betrayal of the other, and the people that he invested into emotionally whom ultimately took advantage of his trust. When a kid is faced with such instability it becomes ridiculously difficult for them to continue on as fully functioning, emotionally stable human beings. When the most central people in Hamlets life disappeared, he started to go into normlessness, like we would if we were to lose a vital component in our society, such as the government. He fell into anomie, losing his sense of values and rules of conduct, creating multiple problems within himself. We see this as he overthinks throughout the entire play. He cannot make conscious decisions, think, or function properly. In conclusion, Emile Durkheims theory on structural functionalism does in fact directly correlate to Hamlets family and their part in his failure.