The Theme of Guilt in Fifth Business and Hamlet destroy his life. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare and in the novel Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, guilt dominates the lives of several characters by having a negative impact on their destiny. This unfortunate fact can be seen through how guilt arises from a flaw in the character's personality, induces a burden on the life of a loved one, and leads to inevitable death. In Hamlet and Fifth Business, guilt emerges from a flaw in the character's personality, leading to his tragic end. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get Original Essay Examples of Guilt in Hamlet and Fifth Business In Hamlet, the two main characters who display guilty emotions are Claudius and Hamlet. The incident that sparked the conflicts between several characters was the murder of King Hamlet, committed by his own brother Claudius. Claudius' fatal flaw is his selfish nature which distorts his mindset and forces him to put power above all else. This provokes guilt in Claudius, who quickly begins to possess him because "his strongest guilt beats [his strong intentions" (3.3.40, Shakespeare) to maintain his position. Additionally, Hamlet suspects Claudius of being the murderer, drawing further attention to Claudius' sins. Therefore, Claudius's ambition to maintain his position as king develops from his altruistic values which determine his disastrous fate. Furthermore, Hamlet's guilt is caused by his hamartia; his inability to avenge his father. Instead of taking action, Hamlet blames himself for delaying his father's instructions to punish Claudius. Thus, Hamlet's tendency to think too much prevents him from acting and pushes him to self-condemnation, to put his life in danger. Hamlet's thoughts are extremely distorted by his guilt, changing his perspective on life and leading to his downfall. In Fifth Business, Boy Staunton, like King Claudius, is a man of authority. He is successful, rich, intelligent and extremely arrogant; However, his imperfections are his blinding ambition and selfishness. Boy's strong desire to succeed ultimately leads to his unconscious guilt and demise. Guilt is an illusion for Boy. Consciously, guilt has no meaning for him because he has ambition for Leola's well-being. Unconsciously, Boy is lost in the shadow of his guilt: he “had no clarity of mind that would allow him to rid himself of his guilt when he cheated on Leola – as he did, with variety and regularity among the free-spirited girls he met” (107, Davies). Unlike that of Hamlet and Claudius, Boy's guilt is indeed unconscious. By lying to Leola, he hides his guilt and focuses on advancing his power. This approach presents Boy's self-centeredness as the fatal flaw that leads him to ruin. In both literary works, the guilt is caused by the indissoluble flaws in the minds of these characters, flaws that lead down a path of despair and torment. Overall, the characters' hamartia contributes to their guilt which affects not only them but also those close to them. Additionally, the negative impacts of guilt in Hamlet and Fifth Business are evident through actions motivated by remorse. In different ways, the main characters put the lives of their loved ones in danger, and ultimately both of their lives end. In Hamlet, Hamletis greatly affected by his guilt. His happiness is exhausted and his troubled thoughts give rise to ruthless intentions. Due to his overwhelming shame, Hamlet addresses Ophelia with words like daggers when he tells her, “Go to a convent, farewell. Or, if you want to marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them” (3.1.138-40, Shakespeare). In turn, this attitude has an immediate effect on Ophelia, as her mind descends into a whirlwind of madness. As a result, Hamlet, unable to deal with his guilt, indirectly kills the woman he truly loved, Ophelia. On the contrary, King Claudius uses a different approach to deal with his guilty conscience. He hopes that his power of manipulation will secure his position and alleviate his guilt. The moment Hamlet discovers that Claudius is the murderer during the play "The Murder of Gonzago", it becomes obvious to Claudius that Hamlet is condemning him for murder. Since Hamlet is the living character of Claudius' impending guilt, Claudius acts with urgency to send Hamlet to England. Claudius hatches a plan to eliminate Hamlet and in doing so exploits other characters such as Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Laertes and his queen in order to maintain his throne. However, this plan backfires against King Claudius who poisons his wife, Gertrude. Although he cares for Gertrude, his guilt-ridden ambition to kill Hamlet and her dignity are more important to him. Like Hamlet, Claudius allows his guilt to control him in unwanted ways. In both situations, Hamlet and Claudius lose their loved one due to their overwhelming guilt. Additionally, the burden in Boy's unconscious leads his partner Leola to mental deterioration. Boy strives for perfection and superiority over others, “he wanted to make her the ideal wife for a promising young entrepreneur in the sugar sector” by forcing Leola to meet certain criteria that she cannot achieve (126, Davies). Additionally, Boy's repressed guilt is reflected in his attitude towards women. Although he is married, Boy engages in several affairs with other women. When Leola discovers this, she is immediately drained of her sanity. Like Ophelia's, Leola's health disintegrates and her life diminishes. Remarkably, Boy does not attend Leola's funeral and quickly remarries, revealing that he does not consciously feel guilty. However, his unconscious guilt continues to grow until it tears him apart. Although all the characters suffer the effects of their immoral actions differently, they all lose their lovers and lose themselves until their tragic end. Finally, the characters unable to face their guilt face their final end. Despite Claudius's attempts to abolish his sins by praying for forgiveness, his guilt is still evident through his malicious plans. Guilt turns Claudius into a fierce villain because he engages in murderous actions instead of retaining his guilt and atone for his selfless actions. Above all, King Claudius creates a formula for his own destruction, when he arranges the fencing duel between Hamlet and Laertes. He manipulates Laertes into wounding Hamlet with the tip of his deadly sword and in addition he prepares a deadly drink. However, his fate takes a turn for the worst when Laertes is fatally poisoned by his own sword. Laertes admits: “This unfair practice has turned against me. Behold, I lie here, never to rise again. Your mother is poisoned. I can't take it anymore. The king. It's the king's fault” (5.2.319-22, Shakespeare). This motivates Hamlet to assassinate the king using Claudius' poisonous sword and drink which kills him. At this point, Hamlet also meets his downfall in..

Essay / The Theme of Guilt in Fifth Business and Hamlet destroy his life. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare and in the novel Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, guilt dominates the lives of several characters by having a negative impact on their destiny. This unfortunate fact can be seen through how guilt arises from a flaw in the character's personality, induces a burden on the life of a loved one, and leads to inevitable death. In Hamlet and Fifth Business, guilt emerges from a flaw in the character's personality, leading to his tragic end. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get Original Essay Examples of Guilt in Hamlet and Fifth Business In Hamlet, the two main characters who display guilty emotions are Claudius and Hamlet. The incident that sparked the conflicts between several characters was the murder of King Hamlet, committed by his own brother Claudius. Claudius' fatal flaw is his selfish nature which distorts his mindset and forces him to put power above all else. This provokes guilt in Claudius, who quickly begins to possess him because "his strongest guilt beats [his strong intentions" (3.3.40, Shakespeare) to maintain his position. Additionally, Hamlet suspects Claudius of being the murderer, drawing further attention to Claudius' sins. Therefore, Claudius's ambition to maintain his position as king develops from his altruistic values which determine his disastrous fate. Furthermore, Hamlet's guilt is caused by his hamartia; his inability to avenge his father. Instead of taking action, Hamlet blames himself for delaying his father's instructions to punish Claudius. Thus, Hamlet's tendency to think too much prevents him from acting and pushes him to self-condemnation, to put his life in danger. Hamlet's thoughts are extremely distorted by his guilt, changing his perspective on life and leading to his downfall. In Fifth Business, Boy Staunton, like King Claudius, is a man of authority. He is successful, rich, intelligent and extremely arrogant; However, his imperfections are his blinding ambition and selfishness. Boy's strong desire to succeed ultimately leads to his unconscious guilt and demise. Guilt is an illusion for Boy. Consciously, guilt has no meaning for him because he has ambition for Leola's well-being. Unconsciously, Boy is lost in the shadow of his guilt: he “had no clarity of mind that would allow him to rid himself of his guilt when he cheated on Leola – as he did, with variety and regularity among the free-spirited girls he met” (107, Davies). Unlike that of Hamlet and Claudius, Boy's guilt is indeed unconscious. By lying to Leola, he hides his guilt and focuses on advancing his power. This approach presents Boy's self-centeredness as the fatal flaw that leads him to ruin. In both literary works, the guilt is caused by the indissoluble flaws in the minds of these characters, flaws that lead down a path of despair and torment. Overall, the characters' hamartia contributes to their guilt which affects not only them but also those close to them. Additionally, the negative impacts of guilt in Hamlet and Fifth Business are evident through actions motivated by remorse. In different ways, the main characters put the lives of their loved ones in danger, and ultimately both of their lives end. In Hamlet, Hamletis greatly affected by his guilt. His happiness is exhausted and his troubled thoughts give rise to ruthless intentions. Due to his overwhelming shame, Hamlet addresses Ophelia with words like daggers when he tells her, “Go to a convent, farewell. Or, if you want to marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them” (3.1.138-40, Shakespeare). In turn, this attitude has an immediate effect on Ophelia, as her mind descends into a whirlwind of madness. As a result, Hamlet, unable to deal with his guilt, indirectly kills the woman he truly loved, Ophelia. On the contrary, King Claudius uses a different approach to deal with his guilty conscience. He hopes that his power of manipulation will secure his position and alleviate his guilt. The moment Hamlet discovers that Claudius is the murderer during the play "The Murder of Gonzago", it becomes obvious to Claudius that Hamlet is condemning him for murder. Since Hamlet is the living character of Claudius' impending guilt, Claudius acts with urgency to send Hamlet to England. Claudius hatches a plan to eliminate Hamlet and in doing so exploits other characters such as Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Laertes and his queen in order to maintain his throne. However, this plan backfires against King Claudius who poisons his wife, Gertrude. Although he cares for Gertrude, his guilt-ridden ambition to kill Hamlet and her dignity are more important to him. Like Hamlet, Claudius allows his guilt to control him in unwanted ways. In both situations, Hamlet and Claudius lose their loved one due to their overwhelming guilt. Additionally, the burden in Boy's unconscious leads his partner Leola to mental deterioration. Boy strives for perfection and superiority over others, “he wanted to make her the ideal wife for a promising young entrepreneur in the sugar sector” by forcing Leola to meet certain criteria that she cannot achieve (126, Davies). Additionally, Boy's repressed guilt is reflected in his attitude towards women. Although he is married, Boy engages in several affairs with other women. When Leola discovers this, she is immediately drained of her sanity. Like Ophelia's, Leola's health disintegrates and her life diminishes. Remarkably, Boy does not attend Leola's funeral and quickly remarries, revealing that he does not consciously feel guilty. However, his unconscious guilt continues to grow until it tears him apart. Although all the characters suffer the effects of their immoral actions differently, they all lose their lovers and lose themselves until their tragic end. Finally, the characters unable to face their guilt face their final end. Despite Claudius's attempts to abolish his sins by praying for forgiveness, his guilt is still evident through his malicious plans. Guilt turns Claudius into a fierce villain because he engages in murderous actions instead of retaining his guilt and atone for his selfless actions. Above all, King Claudius creates a formula for his own destruction, when he arranges the fencing duel between Hamlet and Laertes. He manipulates Laertes into wounding Hamlet with the tip of his deadly sword and in addition he prepares a deadly drink. However, his fate takes a turn for the worst when Laertes is fatally poisoned by his own sword. Laertes admits: “This unfair practice has turned against me. Behold, I lie here, never to rise again. Your mother is poisoned. I can't take it anymore. The king. It's the king's fault” (5.2.319-22, Shakespeare). This motivates Hamlet to assassinate the king using Claudius' poisonous sword and drink which kills him. At this point, Hamlet also meets his downfall in..

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