There are many people that have a dramatic change after going through hard times. A person’s outlook can completely change from one experience. That person can change so much that other people might think the person has gone crazy. In Williams Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a character named Hamlet goes through a dramatic change that disturbs his whole life.

Hamlet is the King of Denmark’s son. He has no responsibility, and can do whatever he pleases. He is immature and has little interest in complicated things, but that all changes when his father is murdered. He is forced to become mature and deal with things he has never dealt with before. His attitude and outlook is completely changed, and the reader finds out what Hamlet is made of. Hamlet shows that although trials can be frustrating and even devastating at times, they can also be very instrumental in strengthening our character and revealing our mental, spiritual, and physical fortitude.

Life is good for Hamlet, until his father, King of Denmark, is murdered. His father’s spirit comes to him and tells Hamlet to avenge for his death. Hamlet has to step up and become mature. The reader sees here what Hamlet is really made of. The reader sees him as not just a lazy, weak person, but a brave man. He could have fallen victim to his bad experience, but he chooses to overcome it and do as his father’s ghost says.

Christians can learn an important lesson from Hamlet here. Christians should understand that when they experience a hard time, they should not give up and fall victim to it. They need to be like Hamlet and overcome the bad experience. Just as Hamlet decides to do what his father’s spirit says, Christians should do what God says.

At first Hamlet does have a little struggle on whether or not he should listen to the ghost. He is not sure if that is really the spirit of his father. The inward struggles he is going through makes his mother, Gertrude, and some others have concern for him. Finally he decides that it is really his father’s spirit and commits to avenge for him. The reader can learn from Hamlet’s wavering in that one should not waver when put to the test.

The spirit of his father tells Hamlet that it was King Hamlet’s brother Claudius that killed him by pouring poison in his ear. Hamlet becomes very watchful of Claudius. He already doesn’t care for him that much because he had married his mother only one month after his father’s death. Claudius is not afraid of Hamlet at all because he still thinks of Hamlet as immature. He does not know that his thinking has changed, and he is no longer immature. Claudius’ judgment of Hamlet can teach society a lesson on the impact bad experiences can have on people.

Because of the bad experience Hamlet has had, he has changed, and the change is probably for the better. The experience is very instrumental in strengthening his character and making him more of a leader. One could say he goes from being a boy to a man. Society learns from this that certain experiences in one’s life can dramatically change someone, sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad. In Hamlet’s case I would say it is for the good.

Besides the fact that Hamlet becomes mature, and his father’s ghost tells him to get revenge on Claudius, Hamlet has some other incentives on why he should kill Claudius. Not only did Claudius kill his father, but he also married his mother and prevented Hamlet from succeeding the throne. I’m sure this is also very frustrating to Hamlet. He often ridicules his mother for giving into her lust. These facts force him to step up and take the challenge. The reader learns here that if you push a man to far you will eventually push him to change and retaliate. So many things happen to Hamlet at once that he almost goes crazy and has to retaliate for his dead father.

We see when Hamlet steps up to the challenge that he is not a little weak boy, but a brave man with a purpose. Before his father’s death he had no purpose, but afterwards his purpose is to avenge for his father. His purpose is a direct consequence of his trial. The trial brings out something good in him, something he did not have before. The reader learns that good can come from bad experiences. When he goes through this hard time we see what he is made of. Hamlet stepping up to the challenge shows his bravery and love for his father that is not really seen before the death. Because of the extreme change in him, many think he is going mad. He probably does have some psychological issues going on, but for the most part we are just seeing what he is made of.

The changing character traits of Hamlet are what make this novel. Without his character being watched throughout the book would make this story less interesting. One reason why I think Shakespeare did an excellent job on this play is because along with the actual plot of the story he still keeps the reader interested with how Hamlet is feeling. There are so many other things going on in the book that one must be a very good writer to still keep the reader interested in how Hamlet is changing. During the story Hamlet is often alone with his thoughts, letting the reader know what he is thinking. This is very helpful to the reader because it allows him to know exactly what Hamlet is thinking. For this reason I think Shakespeare did an excellent job.

He did such an excellent job on the whole book that I cannot give or even think of any suggestions for this novel. I think the story is very interesting and exciting. My interest was kept throughout the entire book. Shakespeare really knows how to put his point across. I cannot say the same for other highly regarded works of literature (such as Ivanhoe). This is why I would recommend this book to anyone, because everyone can learn something from the experiences of Hamlet.

Having hard times is something that can change anyone. It only takes one bad experience to turn someone around. Hamlet is the perfect example of this. He goes from an easy life of luxury with no responsibility, to a devastating experience that disturbs his whole life. Through the experience he learns maturity and also becomes a better man, because he finally takes up responsibility.