Summary/Analysis of Ceremony

Characters:

• Tayo - Half white/Laguna, the main protagonist.  Mother abandoned him at age 4, never knew his father.  Feels separation from the rest of his family that was deliberately created by Auntie and struggles to find peace with his mixed ancestry.
• Rocky - Cousin of Tayo, full native blood.  Is the poster-child of assimilation and white culture; throughout the book he is characterized as rejecting Native beliefs.  Had a football scholarship to go to college and everything going for him before he died.  Son of Auntie.
• Auntie - Mother of Rocky, sister of Tayo's mother and Josiah.  Bitterly takes in Tayo once his mother abandons him and is constantly obsessing over her self-image/what the community thinks of her.  
• Josiah - Brother of Auntie, represents Native ways and acts as a father figure to Tayo.  Is very influential on Tayo's life but died when he went to the war.  
• Grandma - Auntie and Josiah's mother, seems to care less about what the community thinks because she is so old.  Events suggest she knows more than she appears to.
• Emo - Mutual friend of Tayo that is very hateful and blaming of white people.  Regularly drinks and tries to relive his days in the army; spiteful in general of Tayo.
• Betonie - A Navajo medicine man that Tayo seeks the help of.  He performs ceremonies unlike other medicine men because he believes they are always changing and are in transition.
• T'seh - A mysterious native woman that Tayo meets and falls in love with.  She is in tune with the Earth and appears/disappears which suggests she is a deity.  

Setting:

• The Laguna Pueblo Native American reservation and surrounding area, right after World War II.  Certain flashbacks take place in the jungle on an unnamed island in the Pacific and in California.

Plot Summary:

        The book is set up in a unique way, with connected traditional Native poems, flashbacks, and current events taking the place of a conventional linear story.  The story begins with Tayo at home on the reservation, struggling to sleep.  He flashes back to a time during war where he sees the face of Josiah on a dead enemy soldier, leaving him in shock and Rocky unable to console him.  The action returns to describe the land of the reservation as barren and dry.  He flashes back again to his time in a veteran's hospital in Los Angeles, with an extended metaphor comparing him to smoke.  During his stay he was disconnected from reality, drifting in and out of communication.  The story returns to the present where Tayo's friend Harley shows up on a burro and the two set off on burro and mule to the bar.  While they ride, Tayo flashes back to a time when a Laguna medicine man, Ku'oosh, tries to help Tayo to no avail.  He then remembers a time when him and Rocky hunt a deer and Rocky avoids the traditions involved.  In the present, Tayo and Harley arrive at the bar. Next, he flashes back to a time where Harley, Emo, Pinkie, Leroy, and him were at the bar.  Tayo and Emo begin to fight verbally which quickly escalates to Tayo stabbing Emo with a broken beer bottle.  After this story, the action switches to the time when Tayo and Rocky both signed up to join the army together.  Without transition, the story describes Tayo's relationship with Auntie and how he was treated growing up.  She made sure to keep a distance between him and Rocky as she saw him as a disgrace.  He then recalls Josiah's cattle breeding venture in which he consults Rocky who swears by modern science. Tayo recalls getting the cattle and branding them which becomes significant later. This segues into an introduction of Night Swan, a Mexican woman who Josiah had an affair with.  She is characterized directly and indirectly as mysterious and promiscuous who is generally looked down upon.  Her brother has the cattle involved in Josiah's venture and she gives him the idea.  Auntie and Grandma specifically disapprove because she is Mexican.  Tayo then recalls a time where he goes to Night Swan to deliver a message for Josiah and then he and her have sex.  In the present, Rocky leaves a drunk Harley at the bar.  Walking through the town, he sees a store he remembers visiting as a child and recalls various fond memories.  The store is now empty so he leaves and sleeps in a barn behind Harley's grandpa's house.
     Tayo returns home, now feeling well enough to help around the house.  As Robert takes him through Gallup he sees some homeless Indians.  An interwoven story begins about an unknown child of a Indian vagrant, who lives in destitution and has to fend for himself.  Tayo is left with Betonie, a Navajo medicine man.  At first he is frightened and unsure if he is the real deal, but he talks to him about the war and his problems and feels more comfortable.  Betonie takes Tayo to begin the ceremony with the help of a strange, young assistant named Shush.  He explains to him how white people are only an instrument of greater witchery, and the witches want Indians to blame white people.  The next day, they relocate to the foothills of the Chuska Mountains for the second part of the ceremony which involves hoops and sticks relating to a traditional Laguna story.  Throughout the whole ceremony, Betonie explains many Laguna stories and traditions.  Betonie however says the ceremony is not complete.  When Tayo leaves, he runs into Leroy and Harley who have a prostitute named Helen Jean in the car.  The four go into the bar which leads to Harley and Leroy getting drunk, and Helen Jean ditching them.  A narrative told by Helen Jean begins explaining how she got into prostitution.  Tayo returns home and he decides to look for Josiah's runaway cattle.  On his search he is invited into the house of an unknown woman whom Tayo recognizes as part of the ceremony.  The two have sex and Tayo leaves the next day with a refreshed spirit.  He sees the cows in a fenced area belonging to a white rancher and he struggles to think they could be stolen.  He cuts a hole in the fence but is overcome with fatigue, collapses, and almost gives up all hope.  He then encounters a mountain lion who leads him to the cattle.  While he is trying to chase the cattle towards the hole he is caught by patrolmen of the rancher while the cattle escape.  They eventually decide to leave him to pursue the mountain lion. When Tayo leaves he meets an Indian hunter who takes him to the woman from before's home, where they have been caring for the cattle.  Tayo leaves without the cattle and comes back with Robert to retrieve them, and both the people are gone.  Months go by and Tayo is declared "cured" by Grandma but he keeps having dreams about the woman.  By chance he finds her camped out and it is revealed her name is T'seh.  He spends the summer with her and then she tells him Emo and white police are looking for him, trying to send him back to the hospital.  T'seh has to leave and Tayo hides from place to place, evading the police.  Eventually they give up and Tayo gets picked up by Harley and Leroy.  He falls asleep in their car but soon finds out they were picking him up to deliver to him to Emo.  He runs off to an abandoned uranium mine which he recognizes as the final part of the ceremony.  Emo, Pinkie, and Leroy arrive and torture Harley, trying to bait Tayo to come out.  He resists the urge to hurt Emo and therefore resists witchery.  Emo and the gang eventually leave and Tayo goes home.  It is later revealed Harley and Leroy die in a car crash and Emo kills Pinkie and disappear.  The story ends with Grandma saying the whole story sounds familiar.

Narrative Tone/Voice/Style:

• Much of the book is very disconnected and is told through a series of flashbacks and poems.  This is to reflect the mindstate of Tayo which was also fragmented during his period of sickness.  A lot of sentences are fragmented and choppy like someone telling an oral story.

 Imagery:

• There is extensive imagery used throughout the book, describing the color, smell, taste, and feel of things.  Things are hardly ever directly described.  To contribute to imagery, Silko also makes extensive use of metaphors and similes, often relating things to the Earth.    

Symbolism/Motif:

• Direction/Wind - the wind is frequently mentioned with its direction.  Silko's exact purpose was a bit unclear to me but each direction represents something in particular that has to do with the scene.
• Storytelling - the entire book is told like a story and people are often found telling stories.
• Color - the color of Tayo's eyes can be seen again and again, emphasizing his mixed heritage.  Skin color is also often talked about to emphasize their race.  Finally, the color of all things in the book is often mentioned.  

Quotes:

• “Old Grandma shook her head slowly, and closed her cloudy eyes again. "I guess I must be getting old, " she said, "because these goings-on around Laguna don't get me excited any more." She sighed, and laid her head back on the chair. "It seems like I already heard these stories before—only thing is, the names sound different." - this is significant as it emphasizes a key message within Ceremony that stories repeat themselves.  It also contributes to the storytelling motif.
• "How did you know I'd be here?" He said, still watching the cattle. She laughed and shook her head, "the way you talk!" she said. "I was here almost a week before you came. How did you know I'd be here? Tell me that first." - this is significant as it suggests Tayo is supposed to meet T'seh by fate as predicted by the traditional stories.  It further communicates the idea that T'seh is a deity. 

Theme:

• A theme of Ceremony is that history repeats itself can be seen through the same stories again and again.  The whole book parallels a traditional story being told along the way.

(Revised) Prompt #2

2008, Form B. In some works of literature, childhood and adolescence are portrayed as times graced by innocence and a sense of wonder; in other works, they are depicted as times of tribulation and terror. Focusing on a single novel or play, explain how its representation of childhood or adolescence shapes the meaning of the work as a whole.

       J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye centers around adolescent Holden Caulfield struggling with growing up.  Holden copes with understanding feelings of alienation and his sexuality.  Overall, this contributes to the novel's themes of the pain of growing up and artificiality of the adult world.

      At school, Holden feels as if he has no real friends.  He often uses the term, "phony" to describe his peers as he thinks they are disingenuous.  The only real friend he can communicate with is his little sister, Phoebe.  Sincerity is something he thinks is lacking among almost everyone but remains within younger people.  An example of his alienation is during a school-wide football game, when he chooses not to attend it to read a book instead.  The alienation he feels is something many kids feel as they get older, a lack of understanding form others.  Holden is chosen by Salinger to represent a stereotypical misunderstood adolescent.  
      As Holden gets older he also feels pressure to lose his virginity.  However, he has never felt comfortable to do so even if conditions were right.  At one point during the novel, he sees a couple performing sexual acts and thinks of them as "perverts" and doesn't understand why they would do such things.  At another point, he hires a prostitute but only wants to talk to her in the end.  Holden struggles to understand sexuality even though those around him have already done so, which additionally adds to his alienation.   

     Holden's experiences through the novel highlight the trials of getting older.  Salinger communicates that the "phoniness" he perceives among his peers and adults is a lack of sincerity among adults.  His bigger message is that kids can struggle to make the transition from childhood to adulthood as they realize the completely different social dynamics.  Kids are honest and innocent, adults have the capability to be insincere an manipulative.  As kids enter the stage in between childhood and adulthood, they can in turn be alienated like Holden.  So, the alienation is supposed to highlight this struggle.  Holden's other issue of understanding sexuality also comes at the same transition to adulthood.  Through his experiences in the novel, he represents that struggle with sexuality that comes with growing up.  Together, both Holden's feelings of alienation and sexuality contribute to Salinger's greater purpose of communicating how difficult it can be growing up and the insincerity of the adult world.

         

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Summary/Analysis

Characters:

• Rosencrantz - Friend of Guildenstern, and childhood friend of Hamlet.  The less dominant of the two,  takes pleasure in the moment and does not need a greater purpose to enjoy himself.  
• Guildenstern - Friend of Rosencrantz, also childhood friend of Hamlet.  Tends to call the shots in the partnership, has a short temper, and thinks he can reason out the unreasonable.  This leads him to think he is more intelligent even though he tends to know nothing.
• The Player - The leader of a traveling troupe of actors.  Seems to do anything for money, including prostitution.  Understands that his fate is already set in stone and seems to understand the most out of all the characters in the play.  Compares acting to living in an extended metaphor.

Setting:

• Elsinore
• The boat heading to England

Plot Summary:

        The play opens with Rosencrantz flipping coins, all of which land on heads.  He bets heads each time and thus wins the coin each time.  Guildenstern tries to find a logical explanation for this to no avail.  The flipping is interrupted by a traveling group of actors.  Their leader makes several allusions to the idea they will perform sexual acts for money and also offers their child actor, Alfred, to be a prostitute.  This makes Guildenstern very angry and he punches the player leader, or the player "King."  Just as the troupe is about to leave, Guil stops the player and bets him on a coin toss, seeing as how they will do anything for money.  He knows that it will always be heads so he wins every time.  The player demands a different bet seeing how it is rigged, and Guil bets him that double his birth year is even.  The player (obviously) loses and offers Alfred as payment because he has no more money.  Guil asks for a performance instead, and then it is revealed the last coin flip was actually tails.  The lights change and suddenly the setting is in Elsinore, right in the middle of the events of Hamlet.  They meet Claudius, who tells them to find out what is wrong with Hamlet.  They struggle to understand his words or how to do this.  For practice of questioning Hamlet, they play the "questions game."  Then they pretend to be each other as more practice when Hamlet enters and greets them as old friends.

Act II begins with the tragedians reappearing; scolding Ros and Guil for leaving them without an audience.  The player talks with Ros and Guil about the play they will be putting on for the court, then talk about life and its endless march towards death.  The king, queen, Polonius, and Ophelia enter continuing the action in Hamlet.  The players then begin a rehearsal of the play they will perform while Ros and Guil don't see the obvious foreshadowing of the events to come.  There is a death of two spies wearing the exact same clothes they were.  There also is a criticism of representing death on stage by Guildenstern, while the player says characters written to die will die.  The lights go off and when they come back on, Ros and Guil are on the floor in the same clothes and positions as the dead spies in the play.  Claudius tells Ros and Guil that Polonius has been killed and to find his body and Hamlet.  They encounter Hamlet, but are incapable of stopping him.  The two philosophize more about life when the stage goes black.

Act II opens in darkness, with the two on a boat to England.  They discuss the mission the king assigned to them once they read a letter explaining Hamlet's execution.  They settle on relaxing and doing nothing because it will all work out.  Hamlet blows out a lantern, the only light, and changes his execution letter as Ros and Guil sleep.  In the morning, they hear the noises of the tragedians, who have stowed away in a barrel. They discuss their fate and soon after, pirates charge the ship and everyone on the ship hides in a barrel.  The lights go out, but when they come back on Hamlet is nowhere to be found.  They read the letter to find their names written to be killed, and then get in an argument.  The player and the two talk about death for a last time until the lights start to go out and the characters vanish.  The play ends with an embassador from England announcing the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

 
Narrative Tone/Voice/Style:

• Stoppard's tone is a satirical one as he criticizes many different things like Hamlet, contemporary theatre, and Western values.  He creates comedy through the confusion of the two characters, changing any kind of perspective one of Hamlet one has before reading.  

 Imagery:

• The imagery of the play is primarily dominated by Hamlet but it tends to be minimal.  The dialog written by Shakespeare is full of imagery but the lines that Ros and Guil say that are new tend to be intentionally sparse and vacuous.  However, the minimalist settings allows the dialog during the certain  philosophical speeches to be full of imagery and figurative language.  

Symbolism/Motif:

• Wind - the characters frequently try to establish a sense of direction, which they cannot, trying to emphasize the absurd aspects of the play and their confusion.
• Death - there are many conversations held, focusing on the nature of death, and its inevitability.
• Life is a stage - it is established that theatre is like life and with nobody watching, it is meaningless.  Many more comparisons between theatre and existence are made.

Quotes:

• “Life in a box is better than no life at all, I expect. You'd have a chance at least. You could lie there thinking: Well, at least I'm not dead.” - Saying that although everyone dies, inevitably, life is still worth it for the living.  
• "Words, words. They’re all we have to go on." - Showing the big picture of the play, Ros and Guil have no idea what they're doing besides what they are told.  This reflects its absurdist qualities as they struggle to comprehend and communicate, despite language is the only thing they know.

Theme:

• A theme of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern is that the stage is not a realistic interpretation of real life.  Foremost, Stoppard directly communicates this through Guildenstern.  The Player King tsays that theatre is exactly like life to contrast this point, so the readers can see for themselves this is not true.  The setting is minimalistic to emphasize plays are not a good representation of real life and the dialog is intentionally confusing to undermine the significance of Hamlet. The entire plot of the play is set up to distort Hamlet as a play, therefore showing despite its significance it is still not a good reprentation.  His style and tone is mocking and satirical, which contributes to the criticism.  

Response to Course Material #7

I am really really excited to be reading Ceremony.  The way the book is set up (incredibly fragment) challenges me to interpret its meanings and understand it.  This in turn I know will help me decipher a more complicated piece on the AP exam.  Native American culture and history is very interesting to me as well as I am a quarter Lipan Apache.

Practicing essay writing has also begun lately, which I am glad.  The exam is going to sneak up on us and we need to be prepared.  I still kind of struggle to organize my thoughts and articulate them, but I guess that is what practice is for.  I think I am better than I was at the beginning of the year as I have become more comfortable analyzing pieces.  This practice will be invaluably helpful as we prepare to do real responses in the coming weeks.

Prompt #3 (Revised)

2008. In a literary work, a minor character, often known as a foil, possesses traits that emphasize, by contrast or comparison, the distinctive characteristics and qualities of the main character. For example, the ideas or behavior of a minor character might be used to highlight the weaknesses or strengths of the main character. 

Choose a novel or play in which a minor character serves as a foil for the main character. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the relation between the minor character and the major character illuminates the meaning of the work.

In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Bernard serves as a foil to Biff which highlights the themes of denial and the failure of the American Dream.  Bernard works hard as a teenager and grows up to be a success while Biff coasts off of his personality and popularity and grows up to be a lost, wandering soul without real employment. 

Denial is a major theme within the work, as all the characters struggle to cope with reality.  Willy, Biff's father, raises Biff to believe that personality is everything in the world and that all things will fall into place if one has the right personality/relationships.  As a result, when Biff is a teenager, he does poorly in school and fails to graduate.  Willy denies Biff's faults instead of teaching him to do the right thing.  For example, when Willy encourages Biff to steal or when he tells Biff to cheat on his exams.  Bernard, the foil, does not receive the same kind of unconditional encouragement and is forced to work hard in order to succeed.  However, this good work ethic makes him successful as an adult.  The stark contrast between Biff and Bernard leads the reader into questioning why they are so different. This highlights the theme of denial as the reader realizes Willy's problem with denial led him to raise Biff as the foil to Bernard.  Biff and Bernard's differences continue to highlight denial as Willy also questions them, never acknowledging it was his own fault.   

The American Dream is a major theme in the work, highlighted by Biff and Bernard as Bernard is the poster child of the American Dream while Biff is the complete opposite.  Bernard is a very successful lawyer who earned his worth in the world through his trade.  Biff cannot find happiness in white-collar, professional work, so he has trouble holding a job.  The American Dream as represented in the play is that anyone can go into the world of professionals and climb their way to the top.  The American Dream fails Biff because he has no desire to take a professional job, instead wanting to work on a farm, so he can't hold a job or find "success" as defined by the American Dream.  The failure of the American Dream and Arthur Miller's message that it is not for everyone is highlighted by the differences between Biff and Bernard.  As the reader looks for an explanation for their differences they can see that Bernard finds extreme success through the American Dream while Biff suffers.  

Overall, Death of a Salesman is able to emphasize it's themes and meaning through it's use of foils Biff and Bernard.  The reader unconsciously answers questions and as a result understands the meaning of the play.

Response to Course Material #6

The first thing I want to talk about is the multiple choice questions we've done in class.  I personally think they are very difficult and am grateful we get to practice them before the actual AP exam.  I will need all the practice I can get because I took a lot longer doing the problems than I'm sure I will get on the AP exam.  The practice problems are also helpful because we're identifying symbols, theme, tone, and etc in the questions which is a skill we use every day in class.  The same skill is used in writing the open prompt responses so doing the problems will also help us on the other part of the AP exam.

We also just finished Hamlet which is a relief.  Although I really enjoyed the play, I was getting a little sick of it.  However, I think spending so much time on it will prove to be beneficial in the future, especially on the AP exam.  I will have text I'm very comfortable with to use in my response.  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is an absurdist play, which I am not really looking forward to.  It was hard for me to understand the first absurdist play we read, but hopefully this time will be better because I have experience.  Nevertheless, knowing all types of plays is important in our study of different texts.

Hamlet Summary/Analysis

HAMLET

Author: William Shakespeare, one of the most highly regarded English playwrights in history.  Lived from 1564 to 1616.

Characters:

• Hamlet - The main character of the play, son of the last king of Denmark.  A jack of all trades, Hamlet is good at everything he does and uses his intelligence to his advantage in the play.  Is depressed and cynical because of his father's death, and often uses his words to hurt people.  His biggest flaw is his indecisiveness, spending more time thinking about doing things than actually doing them.  Throughout the play, spends a lot of time thinking about death and existence.  
• Horatio - Hamlet's best friend that he trusts most in the play.  He is of the lower class but is widely regarded as very intelligent.
• Claudius (the King) - King of Denmark, brother to Hamlet's father, married to Hamlet's mother.  Shrewd and conniving, only interested in keeping his power.  
• Gertrude (the Queen) - Mother of Hamlet.  Seems to genuinely care about Hamlet, but it is unknown if she was involved with Claudius before the death of Hamlet's father.
• Fortinbras - Prince of Norway, foil to Hamlet.  His uncle is also the King after his father is killed.  Unlike Hamlet, is decisive, but ultimately decides to not try and avenge his father's death.  Is rewarded with the kingdom when he walks in on a completely murdered Danish court.
• Polonius - Claudius' right hand man, that only is there to agree with the King.  Father to Laertes and Ophelia.  He tries to use his words to get what he wants and is very conniving.  
• Laertes - Brother to Ophelia, son of Polonius.  Deeply passionate and loving of his sister, is struck with feelings of revenge when his father and sister die.  Foil to Hamlet, as he is quick to act upon his thoughts as shown by the army he raises to kill Claudius, and his plan to kill Hamlet later on.
• Ophelia - Hamlet's girlfriend, sister Laertes, daughter to Polonius.  Supposedly innocent, she actually is pregnant by Hamlet.  Later kills herself by drowning which was customary of unwed pregnant women.    
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - Childhood friends of Hamlet, end up betraying him by working for the King to extract information from him.  

Setting:

• Medieval Denmark, in the castle of Elsinore.  

Plot Summary:

• The play begins with some guards and Horatio encountering a ghost on the night patrol.  They decide this is Hamlet's father and go to tell Hamlet.  Meanwhile, Hamlet is bitter about the hasty marriage of his uncle to his mother so quickly after his father's death and Laertes goes back to France for school.  It is also discussed of a planned attack by Fortinbras on Denmark to reclaim lands lost by his father, killed by the elder Hamlet.  This plan is ultimately abandoned because Fortinbras' uncle tells him not to. When Hamlet goes to see the ghost, it speaks to him and says that Claudius poisoned him.  He orders Hamlet to avenge his death by killing Claudius.  Hamlet decides to act crazy in order to manipulate the court and orders Horatio and the guards not to tell anyone.  The King and Queen begin to worry about him and so they employ the help of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to try and make Hamlet tell them what is bothering him.  Hamlet realizes they have been sent by the King so he tells them nothing.  Polonius believes he is mad because he loved Ophelia and she was ordered to no longer talk to him.  He goes to spy on them while they are talking but Hamlet says he never loved her.  In order to be sure about his father's murder, Hamlet employs the help of travelling actors to act out a play that has a plot almost identical to his father's murder, a king is poisoned through the ear by his brother and his brother marries his wife.  If Claudius is guilty, he would surely show a sign of guilt while watching the play.  Sure enough, he gets up and leaves during the play.  Hamlet goes to go kill him but finds him praying, then deciding to hold off on killing him because if he killed him while he was praying he would go to heaven.  Claudius, fearing Hamlet's madness or intentions, orders him to go to England where he could clear his head.  Polonius decides to set up an interaction between Hamlet and the Queen because he thinks he will tell her what's on his mind because she is his mother.  He hides behind a tapestry to listen.  During their conversation, Hamlet hears something behind a curtain, and thinking it was the King, stabs it.  Polonius  falls out and dies.  Seeing that Hamlet has become violent, the King immediately sends him to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with orders to the English King to kill Hamlet.  Ophelia goes crazy with grief because of the loss of her father and Hamlet, singing to the King and Queen, subtly revealing her pregnancy.  Laertes busts into the palace, back from France, ready to kill the King.  The King instead convinces him it wasn't his fault and Laertes doesn't kill him.  In the next scene, Horatio gets a letter from Hamlet saying that he was kidnapped by pirates and is coming back to Denmark.  The King learns of this too by letter, and so Laertes and the King hatch a plan to kill Hamlet.  Laertes and Hamlet would get in a fencing match but Laertes' foil would be sharp with poison.  The backup plan would to have a cup of poisoned wine ready for Hamlet in case the sword didn't work.  Gertrude then comes with news of Ophelia's death by drowning.  The next act opens with Hamlet and Horatio coming upon a gravedigger and then the funeral of Ophelia.  Hamlet reveals himself and him and Laertes begin to fight.  Claudius and Gertrude declare Hamlet mad as he storms off. In the next scene, Hamlet reveals to Horatio that he found out of the plan to kill him in England so he changes the death forms to be for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.  Horatio doesn't think this is right even if they betrayed Hamlet.  Osric, a courtier, enters and tells Hamlet that the king bet on him in a fencing match between him and Laertes.  Hamlet agrees to the match but is struck by Laertes with the poisoned sword that was planned.  Gertrude accidentally drinks the poisoned cup meant for him and dies.  Hamlet ends up trading swords with Laertes and strikes him too and he dies.  Laertes reveals everything was the work of the king, so Hamlet stabs the King and forces him to drink the poison.  Hamlet, about to die as well, tells Horatio to stay alive and tell the story.  Fortinbras then walks in and sees the bloodbath, reclaiming the lands his father lost to Hamlet's father.  A king's funeral is held for Hamlet.

Narrative Tone/Voice/Style:

• Tone: It's difficult to identify a specific tone for the entire play, but Shakespeare wrote a lot of the scenes ambiguously so that certain interpretations would have certain tones.  For instance, in certain scenes the King could seem genuinely afraid or he could seem like he is scheming depending on the way you interpret it.
• Voice: Like the tone, it is also difficult to identify with limited stage direction and specificity.  Part of the timelessness of the play comes from the many different interpretations that can be made.  Shakespeare's voice will never truly be known.
• Style: Shakespeare writes in elevated speech, sometimes creating complex structures in contrast to how one would actually speak.  He also makes extensive use of metaphors, similes, and allusions to classical works.  In some scenes, to create comic relief, he uses paronomasia or word play.  Finally, he occasionally uses end rhyme in the characters' dialog.

 Imagery:

• The piece is a play, so the actual imagery is through the set.  However, the stage directions are not that precise or not present at all.  In certain productions, the set would be dark and stormy to create a foreboding feel.  The characters' dialog is very rich with imagery in contrast.  Hamlet's soliloquies specifically contain a lot of imagery to convey his emotions.  

Symbolism/Motifs:

• Incest - A major motif within Hamlet is the "incest" between Claudius and Gertrude.  When the old King married Gertrude, the belief was that the bodies became one.  So, when Cladius married Gertrude and had sex with her, he was technically having sex with his brother.
• Corruption - The corruption within the state of Denmark is represented by the assassination of the King, and the plot to assassinate Hamlet.  Nobody trusts anyone and everyone is constantly lying to each other.
• Indecision - A major theme within Hamlet, much of the play is a result of Hamlet's contemplating and thinking on things instead of just doing them.  Fortinbras is rewarded with the kingdom of Denmark by actually making decisions.
• Flowers - Opehila is often represented as a flower, and in her madness scene she distributes symbolic flowers that represent faithfulness and adultery.
• Fate - One of the most prevalent motifs within the play, is the fact fate is predetermined by God.  When people try to go against the path, like Claudius stealing the throne from the true heir Hamlet, they are punished.
• Death - Hamlet constantly is thinking about what it means to be alive, and the purpose of living.  Yorick's Skull goes hand in hand with this motif as it represents the inevitability of death.  Hamlet concludes that all men die, even the great, and are equal as they return to the ground.  

Quotes:

• "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." - Marcellus ~~ At the beginning of the play, this quote foreshadows the corruption that is revealed within the royal court.  A major motif in the play is corruption and from the very beginning the characters can sense it, thus making the quote very significant.
• "To be, or not to be: that is the question." - Hamlet ~~ This quote is significant because it effectively represents two major motifs in the play, existentialism/death and indecision. During the play, Hamlet is constantly thinking about death and his existence.  In the quote, he questions whether it's worth it to be alive because in death there is no suffering.  The fact that he has to think so much on the decision represents his constant indecision and obsessive thinking, not acting.  

Theme:

• A theme in Hamlet is the mystery of death.  ~~ From the beginning Hamlet wonders about his father's ghost, why he is neither in heaven nor hell.  During the most famous soliloquy, he contemplates suicide but is afraid of the unknown frontier after death. The entire plot supports this theme because it revolves around his indecision to kill Claudius, and his uncertainty of what shall happen. Yorick's skull clearly supports this theme as one of the only physical symbols.  Hamlet writes many soliloquies about this theme, and the metaphors add weight to their emotions in these.