An Analysis of the Topic of the Concept of Responsibility and the Bluest Eye and Hamlet

Throughout this course, the concept of duty has been prevalent in the novels and plays we have read. I have come to observe that in The Bluest Eye and Hamlet, the characters rely on their responsibilities or the notion of duty to make their decisions. In these cases, the characters define their own duties, frequently altering their understanding of duty to modify decisions based on the situation. The Bluest Eye and Hamlet have shown me that all characters have ideologies from which they derive their sense of duty.

In The Bluest Eye, Cholly is afraid of taking responsibility for his life and child, having been abandoned and abused frequently in his life. However, he makes numerous attempts throughout his life to mend his ways. Similarly, in Hamlet, Hamlet believes he has a duty to his father and to the kingdom, which prevents him from impulsively killing Claudius.

Indeed, many works of literature show how characters’ ideologies and sense of duty influence their actions and decisions. However, The Bluest Eye presents a unique situation in the case of one of its main antagonists, Cholly. His parents neglect their duty towards him, leading to him being abandoned as a child and left in the care of his great aunt, who dies when he becomes a teenager. This forces Cholly to take more responsibility for his life and make his own decisions. However, his first sexual experience proves traumatic due to racial prejudice when two white men force him to continue while they watch. From events like these, Cholly starts questioning his own identity, driving him to look for his father.

However, when Cholly finds his father, the latter fails to recognize him or take responsibility for his past actions. Such dismissal leaves Cholly feeling entrapped in a world that has persistently rejected and disregarded him. When he marries Pauline, he shows some signs of responsibility; however, his neglect for Pecola suggests the contrary. It may be that Cholly fears assuming responsibility for his family, as his own parents never took responsibility for him. Yet, raping Pecola and giving her the “love” he felt she deserved might have been Cholly’s attempt at assuming responsibility for his child. Cholly never learned how to interact with others, let alone his own kin. As such, Cholly attempts numerous times to adopt a sense of duty that no one else ever showed him. Due to constant abandonment, whether intentional or inadvertent, Cholly is left questioning any sense of responsibility he should possess.

Although some pieces of literature may offer complicated circumstances from which characters derive their sense of obligation, others present conflicting situations. In Hamlet, the protagonist has obligations to both his father and his kingdom. Initially, Hamlet prioritizes his loyalty and service to the kingdom over any thoughts of revenge. Even though Hamlet suspects “foul” play in his father’s murder and presumes that Claudius is involved, he aligns with Claudius’ rule, as his kingdom should come before his personal feelings. Hamlet wants to stabilize the kingdom after his father’s death, ensuring that Prince Fortinbras of Norway does not target Denmark, viewing weakness as potential for invasion.

However, as Hamlet’s suspicions toward Claudius’ role in his father’s death grow, he seemingly descends into madness. Essentially, he is torn between his loyalty to his father and his commitment to the kingdom. If Hamlet avenges his father and kills Claudius, the kingdom becomes more vulnerable, propelling an attack from Norway that Denmark probably cannot fend off. Conversely, if Hamlet refrains from taking any action against Claudius, Claudius would evade punishment, but the kingdom would retain its stability. Ultimately, Hamlet chooses his duty to his father, embarking on a path of bloodshed that decimates the entire royal family and leaves the kingdom at Prince Fortinbras’ mercy. Hamlet was faced with the predicament of choosing between two contrasting obligations that had profound ramifications on an entire nation.

The Bluest Eye and Hamlet have taught me that characters base their decisions and actions on a sense of duty stemming from their ideologies. This feeling often largely propels the plot, shaping the unfolding events of the story. Importantly, the sense of obligations characterizes the personalities. In The Bluest Eye, Cholly bases his notion of duty on his past experiences, apprehensive about assuming a more effective role in his daughter’s life because he lacks the necessary social connections. His attempts at adopting responsibility prove unsuccessful, thereby deterring him from improving and transforming himself. In Hamlet, the protagonist is torn between two obligations: one to his father and another to his kingdom. His ultimate decision to avenge his father leads to the entire royal family’s demise and the kingdom’s downfall. These literary works have shown me that a character’s sense of duty is what defines them, creating the sequence of events in the storyline.

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