Activity 1.3

Hamlet transforms the actual reality into his own by basically ignoring everything that is going on around him and focussing on his single goal: avenge his father by killing Claudius. He lost sight of his education. He ignored the possibility of the threat posed by Fortinbras. He became single-minded in his determinations.

Gertrude creates her own reality by essentiall living in a dream world. She ignores her late husbands death and instead focusses on her new husband and her supposedly depressed and suicidal son. She stays under the self induced illusion that everything is going well and that there are no problems in her life.

Claudius lives in a scared reality he created himself by murdering Old Hamlet. He lives in constant suspicion of everyone. He relies on only those whose emotions he can manipulate. He fears Hamlet most because he knows that Hamlet is the rightful heir to the throne. He plots to have Hamlet killed so that he can finally live in peace without fear of being dethroned.

The family unit was once critical to society. As time progresses the family becomes less and less important. One of the reasons for this is that divorce and separation are becoming more prevalent. It was the basis with which society founded its rules. It made those rules to reflect the values of the family. To quote "Together we stand, divided we fall," is applicable here. The fmaily is the backbone of society. This is because every working member of society is either working for themselves or for their family. If the family starts to crumble then the people within the society will begin caring and thinking for only themselves. If that happens, and compassion between people is lost, society and it's rules will cease to exist. This is why the family unit is important