You wake up and get ready to go to school. Some see this decision as something they are forced to do or simply it is the right thing to do. However, the truth is you are the only one making that choice, the choice of going to school or not going to school. To live a life with education or a life without education, it only boils down to what gives your life a meaning. Existentialism is the understanding that the whole meaning of life comes from the actions you choose to take and the meaning you decide to give your life. People simply exist and they decide if they choose to live their life unaware or face the angst of being alone trying to find the meaning of their life. The character Hamlet in Hamlet by William Shakespeare has been looked at…show more content… Tekinay brings up plausible points that Hamlet’s existential outlook on life causes his character to have more of a nobility and heroic factor but also causes him to have a tough time trusting the people in his life like Ophelia. However unlike what Tekinay claims, despite Hamlet undergoing a transformation when he finally discovers his meaning of life his motives of avenging his father’s death in fact are never lost.
By examining Hamlet’s life through an existential lense, he is seen to have a certain nobility and heroism that no other character brings out. He realizes his actions have consequences so it is key for him to know the fate of each action instead of just acting impulsively. Tekinay outright states that Hamlet’s character truly has a “nobility of its hero” (Tekinay) and this is mainly due to the distinct characteristic that Hamlet has, which is he truly contemplates and thinks before acting. It is “his superior power of insight into and reflection upon his situation” (Tekinay) that causes him to…show more content… The existential way of thinking is all about entering and living your life alone in order to find your own purpose. Tekinay points this out in Hamlet as he states “Hamlet is the model of the existential man who lives in a symbolic exile, alienated from others” (Tekinay). Since Hamlet is alienated and cannot confide in others the thought of truly loving someone is far out of his reach. This is why no matter what because “…that nausea has pervaded his world, he can never truly love [Ophelia]” (Tekinay). The nausea of understanding that in this world people are alone, there are no correct rules to follow and people just simply exist. Existentialists believe that your purpose does not come from having to depend on others, so “Hamlet may desire Ophelia but hate the fact he needs her” (Tekinay). Like Tekinay mentions many critics see this as misogynistic, the way Hamlet treats the women in his life especially Ophelia. However, it is not that Hamlet refuses to love Ophelia because she is a woman but it has more to do with the idea of Hamlet being dependent on someone other than himself. In fact it was not even till the last act of the play that Hamlet shows a bit of trust in someone else; Horatio. All this lack of trust in people is not coincidental and actually revolves around Hamlet’s way of thinking. As Hamlet becomes to have a more existential look on life, he