Comparison of Madness and Sanity in Hamlet and Death of a...

Comparison of Madness and Sanity in Hamlet and Death of a Salesman Could anyone really determine whether or not a person is mad or sane? In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman each of their two main characters, Hamlet and Wily Loman, are put up to this question, but in each situation their so-called madness differs in the cause of them. The ways in which their madness affects their lives is proven by three actions. These actions are neglecting their responsibilities, negatively influencing others, and finally distracting themselves. It is really never determined whether or not Hamlet and Willy are really mad, but there is some good details that reflect it. Both characters were once†¦show more content†¦He doesn’t even realize that he is jeopardizing his life by not paying attention. Also Willy wants so much more, but he doesn’t even try to make it better. He escapes like a coward from the present which is the easy way out. With once being in control and now losing it along with their priorities, it is safe to determine that there is a bit of madness in them both. As a result of neglecting their responsibilities, they negatively influence others around them in an indirect way. Hamlet was a nice young man who was in love at one point. Now by letting everything such as mother’s incestuous relationship with Uncle Claudius and his father’s death get to him, he turns against everyone and becomes a loner. In the first scene he is shown, he is apart from the crowd. Also once he wors hipped his love Ophelia and now he treats her as if she does not exist. As a result of this bad treatment, Ophelia goes mad. Here’s where all the trouble begins. Because of her madness, she dies by drowning, but whether or not it is suicide is left up to the reader. After her suicide, everything comes tumbling down. This begins the downfall of Hamlet. If he didn’t treat her so badly she would not have died and therefore other deaths would have been avoided. Willy also neglects the ones he loves. He neglects their feelings, thoughts and also physically neglects them. Happy, his son, lacks a relationship with his