A Comparison between Hamlet and The Wars
The writers of Hamlet and The Wars, William Shakespeare and Timothy Findley respectively, transform their main characters from the expected war hero or powerful prince into that of an antihero. William Shakespeare presents Hamlet as a prince bent on revenge but unwilling to do it. Timothy Findley, on the other hand, sends Robert Ross off to war in hopes that he will finally make something of himself. Hamlet is the prince of Denmark, a state around 700AD filled with death, destruction, and corruption. Robert Ross, the more modern character of the two entered World War I, "the war to end all wars", in 1915AD. Shakespeare writes of Hamlet in the form of a play while Timothy Findley writes about Robert Ross in the form of a novel. Shakespeare and Findley portray Robert Ross and Hamlet as antiheroes by showing that Robert and Hamlet make the reader feel sympathetic while they do not conforming to male traits such as courage and strength. The first characteristic of an antihero is that the main character makes the reader feel sympathetic to him or her. Shakespeare effectively pushes forth the idea that Hamlet is a victim of circumstance and by it the reader feels sympathetic for him. Before the play even begins, Hamlet's father dies
His alcoholic mother tries to force him to kill one of the few pleasures of his deceased sister, the bunnies. Hamlet becomes an antihero when he does not have the strength or courage to avenge the death of his father. Even if Robert Ross wasn't going out with Heather, if a woman is to tell a man that another man is upsetting her, the hero-type would go to her rescue and get rid of whatever problem there is. With this comment, he obviously is not trying to imply that his uncle is the same as his father. Instead, Robert did the opposite when he, "thought it was idiotic and said so". Findley writes of Robert Ross, "He was shy of girls, just now - distrusting them. Similarly, when Robert Ross' closest companion, his sister, dies he is grief-stricken. " If one was to read the epic novels of old, many would refer to a sexy guy rescuing a damsel in distress. As one can tell from Hamlet's description, he is not a man of physical features. Not only does Hamlet lack strength in body, but also in mind. Whenever the pressure rises for the hero to take charge and lead the way to peace and unity, Hamlet and Robert help pave the way to chaos and disruption. This does not sound the same as being afraid of them and distrusting them. Since he would not be able to defeat his enemy in one-on-one combat and by linking back to Robert's lack of courage, Findley links the letter back home to that of his weakness. In particular, Hamlet comments on his own physical appearance when he says, "My father's brother, but no more like my father/ Than I to Hercules".
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