As we currently read
Hamlet by Shakespeare, the theme of perception came to mind. In Act one, Scene two, Hamlet and his mother are speaking to each other about his emotional state. She says, "If it be, why seems it so particular with thee?" (I
.ii.25)![]()
. Hamlet's response to her is, "'Seems,' madam? Nay, it is. I know not 'seems'" (I.ii.25). Hamlet's mother downplays his appearance of grief and pain, which caused Hamlet to go on a little rant about how seems isn't enough, but he truly feels like he's hurting. This is where my idea of perception came to mind. The Queen clearly does not understand Hamlet's emotions fully which is why she uses the word "seems".
An artist's work that I'm currently looking at is Kenyatta A C Hinkle. I don't know much about her background but I do know that she is very educated in African/African-American culture, which brings me to my main topic.
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| http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kenyatta-ac-hinkle/kenyatta-ac-hinkle-on-the_1_b_3462131.html |
Hinkle's artwork is based off of the perception of African women during the colonization of Africa by the French. These women were most often looked at as sexual objects and not as humans. They were used for hard labor and other means of cruelty. The photo above was originally a postcard of the woman without any ink on top of it. Hinkle took the original image and drew on top of it to symbolize the effects of colonization. She is saying that colonization is a disease that spreads like a virus. My connection to Hamlet is that these women were perceived as sexual objects because of their lack of clothing, but in reality they were without clothes because that is their culture. These women were not mean to be sexually appealing to these colonist, but they were. The colonist perception of African women was that they were exotic creatures, hence the ink coming out of the breast of the women. So I leave you with this question, how does perception effect you?
I really like this connection Jamie. It's weird how we as individuals perceive things as though they are not. We perceive or in better words "judge" things and people everyday. We wake up and perceive the weather to be what it is not. We perceive people that we don't know and push labels and stereotypes on them. Is this human nature? I don't know what it is but it can sometimes be wrong and harsh.
ReplyDeleteIn relation to Jamie's blog post I do think that it is even worse when it comes to cultural differences .For example in Asian cultures it is not appropriate to look an elder in the eye while in American Culture it is considered respectful to look someone in the eye while speaking. To an American who is unaware of the Asian culture, they would perceive someone of the Asian culture as being disrespectful when really they are being respectful in the way that is appropriate to them and their culture. I think that reading Hamlet will cause us to be a little bit more aware of how we perceive things.
Great Job Jamie
To create a stronger link between Hamlet and the image that Jamie has presented us with, maybe we need to consider the social appropriateness of Hamlet's behavior. How is he perceived by others? How is this perception connected to what is socially/culturally acceptable in the context of the play?
ReplyDeleteFrom what we've read of the play, I do not believe that Hamlet's behavior is considered appropriate for socially acceptable. Especially because he is the crowned prince of Denmark. No one wants a mad leader! There's already enough corruption! As Marcellus said in the beginning "There's something rotten in Denmark" whether that be the "unnatural" death of the king, King Claudius incestuous marriage to Queen Gertrude or a mad prince who plans to murder someone. Hamlet is just struting around court being fake crazy, but everyone in court perceives it to be true madness. How does he expect them to take that? Surely they will not just accept that he's crazy and in a position of power? Whether or not getting rid of Hamlet is because he is crazy or its convenient, I do not know.
DeleteWatch out there - I think you meant *or socially acceptable! That being said, I agree that Hamlet is existing outside of what his society would perceive as acceptable and thus contributes to the the disturbance in the natural order and the rottenness in Denmark.
DeleteHamlet, being perceived as a mad man, has caused many of his relationships with others to falter. (Although that was his goal; to push people away and distract them with his madness) His friends are forced to spy on him to get information for the King and Queen (which they didn't want to do being that they confessed to him why they really came to see him). And Ophelia is forced into this uncomfortable situation where she is deeply worried about Hamlet and still cares for him, and at the same time obeying her father. It's like trying to prove to your father that this "bad boy" that you like is not really bad person. This all shows his behavior is socially unacceptable; that it is selfish to have to put others through uncomfortable situations because he wants to pretend crazy.
ReplyDelete