The Evolution of Drama and Impactful Choices

Today I will talk about how I believe throughout our unit on the evolution of drama, the choices Hamlet and Walter made were a main theme of their respective plays. Showcased through these characters we can see how choices made impact the future of not only ourselves, but people around us as well.

Starting with Hamlet we see as he decides to "act mad" the people around him drift farther and farther away. It may be said that Hamlets decisions leading to his and Ophelia's relationship being completely destroyed could be the reason Ophelia took her own life. In a moment of rage he sent his friends to be sentenced to death in England, sure they had been spying on him but any sane person would not have their friends executed for such an act. His inability to act, multiple times where he decided not to take his chance to kill Claudius could also be linked to his mothers death, as if he would've killed Claudius the cup of poison never would have been brought out. Throughout The Tragedy of Hamlet we see many instances when Hamlets choices to act or not to act cost him and others their lives.

Now in A Raisin in the Sun we see how Walters actions effect him and his family. Not costing them their lives as in Hamlet, but changing their future for sure. The family who had received 10 000 dollars of insurance money had planned to spend it on a home, medical school fees and save some, however Walter had other plans. Walter wanted to invest into a Liquor store and believed it was the best way to earn the family money. Persuading Mama to allow him to use the money he put his urges before the family's wellbeing, and it ended in disaster. Walter's choices had led to his investment being stolen and the family back into shambles. If Walter would have thought about this before acting, he could have seen both sides of the story and would have not risked his family's wellbeing. If Walter did not make such rash choices the Younger's family would be in a much better place.

Throughout this unit I believe showing two horrible outcomes in these plays we can learn to not make rash decisions. This unit can hopefully help us to think before making decisions like this in our own lives, because they do not effect just us. These decisions will possibly hurt ourselves, but they may devastate the people around us who are the people we love. We must learn to think about all possible outcomes and not make selfish decisions, remember everyone around us also has feelings.