How People React to Hard Realities as Described in “Hamlet” and “The Bluest Eye”

When confronted with a disastrous and undeniable fact or action, literary personalities often react with unconventional measures. Catastrophes shine a light on human nature as they broach taboo subjects such as murder and rape. Characters in “Hamlet” and “The Bluest Eye” provide readers insight into the human response to harsh truths. By analyzing how Hamlet reacts to his father’s murder and Claudia and Frieda respond to the rape of their friend, Pecola, the reader can understand the consequences of these reactions.

In “Hamlet”, after encountering the ghost of his late father, King Hamlet, Prince Hamlet vows to seek revenge on Claudius, the man who usurped the throne and married his mother. Hamlet is overwhelmed by hatred and anger, feelings which cloud his judgment and eventually drive him toward madness. In the face of his uncle’s corruption, he reacts with malevolent intentions, plotting the murder of Claudius. His resolve remains unbroken even after mistakenly killing Polonius, the father of his beloved Ophelia. From the outset, Hamlet navigates his father’s murder with primal instincts and emotions of vengeance and loathing. This obsession exemplifies the impact of revenge and hatred on his psyche.

Prince Hamlet’s actions expose the dark underbelly of humanity that has given rise to wars and suffering. If one party is wounded by another, it retaliates, striving to inflict an equal or greater injury. Hamlet’s emotions steer and blind him, fuelling his wrath until his demise. Conversely, on hearing about Pecola’s rape, Claudia and Frieda wish to support their friend and pray for her unborn child’s safety. “We’ll bury the money over by her house so we can’t go back and dig it up, and we’ll plant the seeds out back of our own house so we can watch over them. When they sprout, we’ll know everything is alright” (Morrison 192). Claudia and Frieda act selflessly, unlike their neighbours, and maintain a positive outlook. They hope for the best.

It would have been easy for them to disregard Pecola and mock her plight, just like their neighbours. Claudia seems to grasp the wider impact of Pecola’s situation on their community. “All of our waste, which we dumped on her, and which she absorbed…We were so beautiful when we stood astride her ugliness…Her poverty kept us generous” (Morrison 205). Claudia and Frieda’s behavior portrays a gentler side of humanity, one that alleviates the suffering of the less fortunate. Claudia and Frieda respond with warmth and kindness, dedicating their money to purchase a bicycle and praying for Pecola’s child. After examining both books, readers are presented with two potential responses to a grim reality: respond with hatred or with love.

Regardless of the initial reactions of these characters, they inevitably lead to unforeseen outcomes, resulting in catastrophe for those involved. Prince Hamlet, in carrying out his vengeance, dies, leaving the throne of Denmark without any remaining royal members. Because Claudius, Hamlet, and Gertrude are all dead, Prince Fortinbras easily seizes power over the kingdom. Even Ophelia, Hamlet’s love, takes her life after Hamlet kills her father. At the cost of both the kingdom and his love, Hamlet fulfills his father’s wishes. There was never a happy ending for Prince Hamlet, only the opportunity to avenge his father’s death and restore honor to the Danish throne. He brings calamity to all those around him, his judgment obscured by his drive to kill Claudius and assuage his rage. He fought “fire with fire,” convinced that death was the only resolution for both Claudius and himself. Hamlet’s apparent madness was the harbinger of the impending tragedy.

In a parallel tragedy, Pecola descends into madness, spending “her days, her tendril, her sap-green days, walking up and down, her head jerking to the beat of a drummer so distant only she could hear” (Morrison 204). Claudia and Frieda’s initial actions of planting marigold seeds and praying for the best amount to nothing. Regardless of what Claudia and Frieda did, Pecola would have still lost her sanity and her child. The community would have continued using Pecola as a scapegoat to bolster their own self-esteem. Pecola never has a happy ending – only the illusion that she has blue eyes and is beautiful. Both novels underscore the fact that intentions matter not when the situation is so extreme; catastrophes are inevitable when faced with such harsh realities. There is neither a happy nor a just ending when evil is the driving force behind either the cause or the resolution of the unjust reality.

While Hamlet’s reaction to his father’s murder and Claudia and Frieda’s response to their friend’s violation differ greatly, both unintentionally lead to failure. Hamlet avenges his father at the cost of his kingdom and his life. Claudia and Frieda ultimately waste their marigold seeds, rendered helpless as Pecola loses her sanity and her father dies. However, it should be noted that Hamlet’s intentions are malevolent. He knowingly gambles with the kingdom and his lineage for ‘setting things right’ in his perspective. His obsession drives him to madness. Conversely, Claudia and Frieda harbor righteous intentions in planting their marigold seeds and hoping for the best for Pecola. Yet, both novels culminate tragically for all parties, despite the characters’ efforts to stave off the downfall of those around them. “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

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