Characters in Hamlet

1. Laertes: In Hamlet, youre supposed to root for Hamlet but I did not feel that he really lived up to his expectations. Laertes is willing to do whatever for his father. I see him as an honorable character that is dedicated to his family until the death.
2. Hamlet: Although I found myself favoring Laertes over Hamlet, it is clear that from the start young Hamlet has much more on his plate than Laertes. In the end, not only is his father dead but he still has to deal with the fact that a ghost is talking to him and that his mother is married to his uncle. Throughout all of Hamlets indecision I was able to see why he might take so long to decide and act upon things- there are so many different factors to be taken into consideration.
3. Horatio: Horatio is a loyal friend to Hamlet throughout the play no matter the level of his insanity. He always able to put himself above a lot going on within in the corrupt walls of the castle and this is an admirable trait because wealth and power can be very tempting.
4. Ophelia: I truly feel pity for Ophelia. I wish she was able to disobey her fathers commands and be with Hamlet but during the time that would have been an awful thing to do. The reason Ophelia is not higher up is because although I feel pity, I do not seeing her as doing anything admirable within the play.
5. Gertrude: Gertrude is a character that is always changing and is easily swayed by the men in her life. One second she is backing up her son and then the next she is backing up her brother-in-law/husband. I still believe she may not have gone into her relationship with Claudius 100% willingly so this allows me to somewhat excuse her decision to marry him. Had Gertrude been able to remain a more consistent character, she may have been ranked higher.
6. Polonious: I feel bad that he got killed for no reason but in the end he seemed to be a power hungry rat.
7. Claudius: Claudius is a dishonest and sinning man. He knows everything he has done is wrong and although I appreciate his acceptance of these things, his inability to act upon them concerns me.