William Shakespeare's plays have greatly influenced modern literature in several different ways, one of which includes the themes portrayed within his stories that not only are easy to relate to, but very dynamic and deep as well. Many books that are taught in schools and sold in book stores are obviously influenced by Shakespeare's work- and Hamlet is a play that has laid the groundwork for several on it's own. Some of these books include J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, William Golding's The Lord of the Flies, and David Clement-Davies' Fire Bringer. The themes in Hamlet that are illustrated in these books are: the alienation of one's self to achieve a purpose in life; the deterioration of sanity; and theconquering a society which brings dramatic change.
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In stories, the main character usually has to find a purpose for themselves then try to reach a goal. In some stories, like the controversial Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist must alienate themselves from society in order to find/achieve their purpose in life. The young Holden from Catcher in the Rye has been expelled from Pencey prep school in Agerstown, Pennsylvania and leaves for his hometown to spend a few days on his own before returning home to face his failure. During these few days, Holden witnesses the disgusting, disturbing, and even infuriating realities of the adult world. He alienates himself from the "phony" society in which he lives, much like prince Hamlet (Salinger). In Shakespeare's Hamlet, prince Hamlet alienates himself after the murder of his father in order to achieve his given purpose of avenging his father's death. Holden's purpose is self-given: to be "the catcher in the rye"- to be a savior of children who are on the path of losing their innocence in any way, because to Holden the innocence of children is the only pure thing in the world. This makes sense because Holden seems to be deeply disturbed by the adult world- even though he tries to fit in for a while. Hamlet is given his purpose by the ghost of his father rather than coming from within, but he too witnesses the horrifying realities of the society he lives in and it furthers his will to complete his goal. Hamlet plays as a mad man (a very outright form of alienation), and can finally take revenge as the tragedy comes to a close. Holden may not have become exactly what he was attempting to be, but there is room to guess that in the end he is at least able to protect his little sister and come to terms with his shortcomings in reality. The theme of self-alienation to find or further a purpose is predominant in Catcher in the Rye as well as Hamlet, but still other themes remain that strengthen the story.
Another theme in Hamlet that is present in a modern work is breaking down of sanity. In Hamlet, we notice that one point when this happens is when Hamlet is in Gertrude's chambers reprimanding her for marrying her brother-in-law and being a terrible sinner. He then sees the ghost of his father, but this time he is the only one who sees it. At this time, Hamlet is being reminded to stay on track and seek revenge, but we as the readers realize that this is when Hamlet must actually be losing the grip on his sanity. In Lord of the flies, one of the boys named Simon slips away
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from the rest to revel at nature. He was a quiet boy who enjoyed being in the natural surroundings of the island. He runs into the sow head that the leader boy Jack had killed and shocked, he stares at it. It speaks to him, although we know it is only in his head, and "the lord of the flies" tells him that the monster that the boys are afraid of is within each of them so they can never escape it. This is a huge turning point in the story and for Simon, because it explains the whole message behind the story. Hamlet and Lord of the Flies both contain this idea of people having a mental break which changes things drastically.
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Perhaps the most drastic change theme-wise is conquering. In David Clement-Davie's Fire Bringer, a society of red deer is being run by an abusive leader, Drail, who is making deer fight without abiding by the rules. Unfortunately, an even more cruel, unorthodox deer named Sgorr takes charge in a violent coup where many deer are killed. In Hamlet, Claudius takes over in a more subtle way, but by just as evil means. He kills Hamlet's father, the king, and becomes the new ruler. In both stories, the new ruler reigns for a while changing things dramatically, and is eventually replaced yet again by new leadership. In Fire Bringer, this change of leadership happens again but in an attempt to restore the balance of the society. The protagonist, Rannoch, destroys the deer who follow Sgorr and Sgorr is killed as well, bringing peace under the leadership of Rannoch. In Hamlet, the conquering happens yet again although the society as ruled by Claudius has itsself collapsed. The new rule takes over with no resistance, for only a few people are left. The way conquering as a theme is used in Fire Bringer is more dramatic than in Hamlet, but the same general idea.
The three themes in Hamlet that are very important to the story, self-alienation, mental breakdown, and dramatic change of leadership, are a great influence to modern literature. Although the ways each theme is represented in each story are unique, they all somehow tie back to Shakespeare's great works that laid the foundation of literature.
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