A foil is a minor charater in a literary work that compliments the main character through similarities and differences in personality and plot. Among all the foils in Shakespear[e]’s “Hamlet,” [Titles] Laertes has the biggest impact on Hamlet’s character. While Hamlet maintained his status as prince, it was Laertes that represented the well bred son of the royal family and the traditional revenge hero. [The thesis does not cover the essay.]
Some similarities in Laertes and Hamlet were that they were both students. Laertes and Hamlet were dutiful sons that [who] were outraged and felt personally wronged by their fathers’ deaths. They swore to get revenge against the assailant. Laertes and Hamlet both blamed Claudius for the deaths of their fathers’. [no ‘] Also, Hamlet and Laertes posed a threat to Claudius because of their potential for becoming king. They go above the law in order to seek justice, which discredits the honorable basis of their actions. There was a shared love for Laertes’s sister, Ophelia. Hamlet and Laertes have seen the ghost of Hamlet’s father. [?]
One of the differences in Laertes and Hamlet was that Laertes allowed his anger and grievance of his father’s death to be known. Whereas when Hamlet’s father died, he secretatively [sic] ran [?] and was deemed crazy. Laertes goes to school and indulged in a Parisian lifestyle, as Hamlet chose to study at Wittenburg in a more subdued environment. [Interesting point] Laertes has a lot of passion whereas Hamlet has none. Laertes was only raised by his father as Hamlet had a mother and father to raise him. Also, Laertes was portrayed as the well bred son of the counselor of a royal family and Hamlet portrayed [?] the role of a commoner. The ghost of Hamlet’s father would talk to Laertes as he would to Hamlet. [Not true]
Being an ambitious young prince was a similarity in Fortinbras and Hamlet. They are both on a mission of revenge. Also, both Fortinbras and Hamlet lost their fathers’. [no ‘] Ironically Denmark is a similarity because it was initially controlled by Fortinbras’ father, then Hamlet[‘ H-50]s’ father, then Hamlet, and finally returning to Fortinbras. [Nice point] Fortinbras had a family tie with Hamlet’s love Ophelia. [This needs a citation from the play — I don’t remember it.
Anthem: The Process of Liberation
Anthem: The Process of Liberation
Many years ago, I read my first book by Ayn Rand, Anthem. I completed the book in about four hours. At the time, I was not mature enough to fully appreciate Anthem’s powerful symbolism. My attitude as I read the beginning of the book was one of indifference and confusion, maturing only later into concern and vigorous interest. This experience began a new phase in my intellectual development that soon led me to read Atlas Shrugged. I then started on Ayn Rand’s non-fictional works.
My understanding of Rand’s philosophical system, however, came piece by piece. There was no one instant of recognition, no single “aha.” Until recently, I was not fully aware that I had been affected so deeply. My progress was step-by-step and I had never looked all the way back.
As I began to read Anthem for a second time, I found myself in acute pain, even at the first paragraph. I continued to read it feeling much as a person would when touring a concentration camp, for, in effect, that was exactly what I was doing. There was not one hint of levity in my mood; I do not even recall breathing. I was truly looking all the way back.
At the end of chapter nine, when Equality 7-2521 is alone, in the most profound sense of the word, with his Golden One, she says slowly, “We are one … alone … and only … and we love you who are one … alone … and only,” I feared I could tolerate the book no longer. I had finally understood that profound sense of loneliness and despair a person can feel when they want to say “I love you,” but cannot say “I”. I could not understand how my previous reading could have seemed so easy.
I proceeded, at a forced march, all the way to chapter eleven. I had never experienced the concept of labored reading before. When I read the words, “I am,” I realized that I had become Equality 7-2521 and that his