Fallacies Of The Human Condition In Hamlet

The Truths of the Human Condition in Hamlet and The Great Gatsby

The fallacies of the human condition are a popular literary topic that easily allows the reader to connect and critically assess the selection in terms of the reader’s own outlook on life. When it comes to classic literature, the selections of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare clearly examine and identify the fallacies of the human condition and easily fit the definition of classic literature. Both selections exhibit outstanding or enduring qualities accustomed to classic literature and involve truths of the human condition such as corruption, the disaster of human relationships, human mistakes, and selective

The disaster of human relationships is heavily present in the novel and the play in romantic relationships. The romantic relationships of Daisy and Jay in the novel and Hamlet and Ophelia in the play exhibit the destructive effects of obsession. Obsession is a damaging aspect in Daisy and Jay’s relationship and by the end of the novel, Jay’s obsession with Daisy admitting she never loved Tom causes hurt to both Jay and Daisy. Daisy feels overwhelmed, “‘I won’t stand this!’ cried Daisy. ‘Oh, please let’s get out.’” and Jay is left feeling hurt and betrayed, when in fact all that should have mattered to Jay is that Daisy loves him now (142). Obsession is present in Ophelia and Hamlet’s in a different way than in Jay and Daisy’s. Hamlet’s obsession with revenge ultimately leads to the death of Ophelia. By allowing Ophelia to believe that Hamlet is insane and killing Ophelia’s father, Polonius, without thinking, Hamlet’s obsession with revenge causes not only the downfall of Ophelia and Hamlet’s relationship, but also causes the emotional downfall of Ophelia, which leads to her untimely death. The romantic relationships of Daisy and Tom in the novel and Claudius and Gertrude in the play exhibit the destructive effects of adultery. Tom’s negative nature in his and Daisy’s relationship stems from his infatuation with other women and his affair with Myrtle. Adultery causes stress on Daisy and Tom’s

More important mistakes, such as the ones made by Hamlet and Claudius in Hamlet and Daisy and Jay in The Great Gatsby, reap costly consequences, and sometimes these consequences can result in death. For Hamlet, he intends to get revenge immediately, but his mistake of delaying his revenge when given the perfect chance to kill Claudius ultimately causes Hamlet’s downfall. Hamlet eventually does get his revenge, but his mistake of not getting sooner costs Hamlet his life. Claudius’ mistake of killing King Hamlet “in cold blood” and deciding to marry Gertrude just weeks after King Hamlet’s death not only causes misfortune and death to Claudius, but also causes the misfortune and deaths of others. Claudius’ intentional action quickly became his largest mistake, a mistake that was largely avoidable. Even when Claudius acknowledges his fault, “O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven;/It hath the primal eldest curse upon 't,/ A brother's murder”, he does not choose to fix his mistake and admit to the murder (3. 3. 40-42). Instead, he continues to act as if nothing is wrong and he has done nothing wrong. Because of Claudius’ failure to think about the consequences of his actions and his decision to not confess to the murder, he makes a fatal mistake. The consequences of admitting to the murder may have been unfortunate, but few consequences can compare to