4. ) Act 2: Theme- Appearance Vs. Reality

In Act 2, the characters in the play are faced with the struggle of trying to differentiate between Appearances and Reality. Throughout the act, we see that several characters are planning schemes and trying to trick each other. Polonious employs the help of a servant in order to go to France and figure out if Laertes has been behaving improperly. He tells the servant to deceive the people in France to gain this information. Although, it will appear as if a friend is just asking simple, curious questions about an old friend, it is actually the servant trying to spy on Laertes for his father. A perfect example of Appearance vs. Reality.

Ophelia is also confused when trying to interpret what is causing the distraught behavior of Hamlet. When Hamlet enters her bedroom, refusing to speak, shakes her, and has the appearance of a wild man, Ophelia comes to the conclusion that his erratic behavior is the result of her refusal to accept his advances. She decides that his love for her has caused him to go mad, and informs Polonious. However, Hamlet's behavior isn't the result of puppy love, little does Ophelia know that Hamlet just witnessed the ghost of his father. This lack of communication causes there to be a distinct gap between appearance vs. reality in this part of the play.

Personal Reaction: While reading this act, I thought that Polonious was so eager to find out if his son was misbehaving so that he could order him to come home if he was. I believe that Polonious has severe control issues, and the fact that his son is in a completely different country is causing him to feel like he has less power. When Hamlet enters Ophelia's room, but then refuses to speak, I think it's because he realizes that Ophelia is under the control of her father, and he doesn't want her to share his secret. Overall, I've decided that Polonious is an arrogant and controlling father who desires to have power over his children. My opinion of the king isn't nearly as gracious, I think he is a narcissistic power-junkie who is willing to do whatever it takes to stay king.