A person’s anger can be sparked by many things such as the loss of a loved one, the murder of a friend, the rape of a child, etc. However, as humans, should we put aside our moral values because of our anger?
In "Hamlet,” by Shakespeare, Hamlet comes face to face with this type of situation and he makes a choice that would eventually end in numerous tragedies. Even in movies such as "A Time to Kill" or "Taken,” the protagonist is forced to make a choice in putting aside his moral values and going on a revenge spree that results in the loss of the lives of numerous people.
Revenge starts with a change of heart and an opening of the mind. Hamlet was approached by the ghost of his father, King Hamlet. King Hamlet’s ghost tells Hamlet that King Claudius, King Hamlet’s brother, killed him and he wants Hamlet to seek vengeance for him. Hamlet doesn’t know whether or not he should trust the ghost, but he eventually decides to trust the ghost. Hamlet says, “O cursed spite that I was ever born to set it right!” (Act 1, Scene 5, 210-211). Hamlet means that he was born to avenge his father's death. This is similar to the Egyptian God, Horus, who was born to avenge the death of his father, Osiris, by killing Osiris’s brother Set. Therefore, the ghost of King Hamlet sparked a change of heart and an opening of the mind for his son because Hamlet was unaware of the situation, but now he believes that it is his duty to seek revenge upon the man who killed his father.
Sometimes as humans, we believe that we should take revenge for ourselves. For example, in the movie, “A Time to Kill,” Carl Lee Haley, shot and killed the white men who raped his 10-year old daughter. He was put on trial for murder and people tried to push aside the fact that his daughter was raped and beaten, which sparked his killing spree. God says that we must forgive others who wrong us. Even though we want to take revenge for ourselves, we must learn to abide by our morals and let justice be served. Brian Orchard wrote an article called, “Who’s Sorry Now?” He talks about how the world is tired of people in the spotlight apologizing for their wrongdoing when they were wrong to begin with. He goes a step further in asking the question, “Should we always forgive those who have done wrong?” He also says that “an apology is not the same as seeking forgiveness.” Carl Lee Haley wasn’t trying to seek forgiveness, but he wanted others to see that people would do the same thing if it were their child, no matter if they were black or white. Therefore, sometimes it’s not just the anger that drives humans to seek revenge. Sometimes, humans want to be able to open the eyes of others to show the world that no matter who you are or what you look like, you know deep in your heart that you would do the same thing.
Revenge comes with a plan of action. Hamlet decided that he would tell the actors to act out a play that resembled his father’s murder to see if it would jar King Claudius’ memory. Hamlet titled the play, “The Mousetrap” (Act 3, Scene 2, 261). The play was titled so that King Claudius’ reaction would let Hamlet know that he is truly responsible for the death of his father. Hamlet is strategic in his revenge planning. He reveals to the reader that he has completely committed to avenging his father. He wants to expose Claudius to everyone in the courtyard, but it backfires because King Claudius plays off his reaction as if he were having a headache. Despite Claudius’ “superb” acting skills, Hamlet was able to reveal the truth to himself even though the citizens of the kingdom did not see it. Hamlet knows that Claudius is guilty, but he has yet to show the people the crime that Claudius committed. Therefore, Hamlet shows that his morals have been thrown out of the window and he is determined to kill King Claudius.
"Taken" is one of the greatest revenge films to date. It shows how far a father would go to save his daughter. Brian, the protagonist, heard his daughter’s kidnapping over the phone and he strategically plans how he will get her back. His training and skills from being a former CIA officer allow him to track down the men who kidnapped his daughter. He put aside his morals in allowing the police to find his daughter and he took matters into his own hands. Brian didn’t care how many men he had to kill to save his daughter. All he knew was that his daughter was in danger and he had to save her. David Humle wrote an article titled, “Right and Wrong.” Throughout his article, he shows a plethora of examples of what should be debated as right or wrong. He uses an example of whether or not World War II can be considered right or wrong. He asks the question, “Is there any way to know the difference between right and wrong?” Today’s society has no clue of what the difference between right and wrong is now because what was once considered right is now considered wrong and what was once seen as wrong is now seen as right. Many people would say Brian is a hero, but there are some who believe he should be imprisoned because he was a vigilante and killed everyone connected to his daughter’s kidnapping. Therefore, sometimes as humans, we see revenge as right (depending on the situation), but in the end, God is the one who serves justice.
Tragedy is always prone to happen when revenge is present. At the end of the play, four of the main characters died: Hamlet, King Claudius, Queen Gertrude (Hamlet’s mother), and Laertes. Claudius instructed Laertes to challenge Hamlet to a duel and that his blade would be laced with venom that would kill Hamlet. Laertes scratched Hamlet with the blade and the poison coursed through Hamlet’s veins, taking its time to kill him. Gertrude drank from the cup that Claudius had put poison in which was intended for Hamlet. Hamlet used Laertes’ blade on Laertes and Claudius, killing them both. Hamlet completed his mission. Avenging his father’s death, the reason why he was born. Hamlet never got to live a truly normal life. He never got the chance to be king. His last words were “O, I die, Horatio. The potent poison quite o'ercrows my spirit. I cannot live to hear the news from England. But I do prophesy the election lights, on Fortinbras. He has my dying voice. So tell him, with th' occurrents, more and less, which have solicited. The rest is silence.” (Act 5, Scene 2, 351-356). Hamlet had to bestow kingship on someone else because of the sacrifice he made to honor his father’s ghastly wish. Revenge requires sacrifice and sacrifice can end in glory or tragedy, but the tragedy would be for the greater good when it comes to heroes.
Morals are lost when we are driven by emotion. Anger fuels us to do things that we wouldn’t normally do if we were in control. Revenge is the result of uncontrollable anger. Hamlet could have found other ways to expose Claudius, but he wanted to honor his father. His rage drove him to the point where killing Claudius was his only focus. He became obsessed with it just as Brian was driven to save his daughter or how Carl Lee Haley was driven to kill the men who raped his daughter. They were driven by emotion and not by morals. Their morals were put to the side so that they could do what the needed to do to save or avenge the ones they love. When we talk about revenge, we usually think about hatred and wrath, but revenge isn’t always driven by hatred and wrath, sometimes it is driven by love. Love, the strongest force of all, causes people to do crazy things. Therefore, the question is: What would you do for love?
