Is Hamlet Morally Wrong

Hamlet’s life is truly tragic. I cannot imagine finding out that my uncle killed my father. Personally, I have absolutely no idea how I would handle it. I am sure I would go insane, just like Hamlet did. In that sense, his behavior is justified because how could he act normal after knowing that sort of information? However, just because I empathize with his behavioral tendencies, does not mean I agree with his actions. The deaths and disasters that occur are not completely his fault. The original fault, or original sin per say, falls on Claudius. He initiated the entire domino effect of tragedies when he intentionally killed his brother. Nonetheless, Hamlet is largely responsible for what happens next. He should not have killed Polonius in
the first place. That was entirely his fault, even if Polonius was not that great of a man, or if he truly thought it was a rat. This death led straight to Ophelia’s death, which can be blamed on Hamlet. I feel as if he does not deal with this responsibility fairly at all. He was not sympathetic for her when she was going insane. I doubt she would have wanted to speak with him, but he still made no efforts to make amends. He could have at least called her brother for help. Taking all of this into consideration, plus the rest of Hamlet’s background, I do not think he is a tragic hero. I would not say he is a screw up either, though. I do not find any sort of revenge admirable at all because I think it is the easy way out. Finding methods of coping in order to discover acceptance would have been the proper thing to do, considering a ghost was the one to tell him to seek revenge. Finding other ways to overcome the power of his uncle and mother would have been admirable. One such way could have been winning over the people so they would see how fit Hamlet was to be king. He could have even found a way to reveal Claudius’s sinful act, that way Hamlet does not have to kill anyone or sacrifice his own image to overcome the situation.
I can sympathize enough to say Hamlet is not a total screw up. However, he makes terrible decisions, such as killing Polonius. Thinking realistically, was “Thrusting his rapier through the arras” at the “rat” truly necessary? (p. 93). First of all, how would the rat speak and be that tall? Second of all, why take a knife to a rat anyways? I would say these actions were irrational and dramatic. As he proceeded to make a riddle out of where he hid the body, I felt less sympathetic for his situation. By saying, “Not where he eats, but where ‘a is eaten…But if indeed you find him not within this month, you shall nose him as you go up the stairs into the lobby,” he was being completely disrespectful of Polonius, which is not admirable (p. 105). A tragic hero would have at least respected the proper burial, especially when he made that large of a mistake. Although Hamlet’s life is incredibly unfortunate, I find it difficult to consider him a “tragic hero” after everything he proceeds to do in order to seek revenge.