Horatio---------A True Friend

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic play. Most of the characters in

the play have selfish motives at heart. Lust, greed, pride, and revenge
are just a few sins that are committed in the play. There are few
instances within the play that show goodness and kindness. Hamlet has
so many people around him trying to bring him down, but he had one
friend that was loyal to him, and that was Horatio. The other key
characters in the play were only out for their own good. However Horatio
was looking out for Hamlet. Unfortunately, Horatio was the only one.
Gertrude was Hamlet’s mother. She was a selfish and evil
woman. She cheated on Hamlet’s father with Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle.
She married Claudius a month after her husband’s death. Gertrude
wanted Hamlet to stop his grieving. She told Hamlet, “thou know’st ‘tis
common, all that lives must die, passing through nature to
eternity”.When Hamlet was depressed and grieving, it reminded
Gertrude of the terrible sin she had committed. She wanted Hamlet to be
happy just so she could feel better about herself. Throughout the play
Gertrude’s motives do not waiver; she looks out for her own well being.
Claudius is Hamlet’s uncle and stepfather. He had an affair
with Hamlet’s mother and murdered Hamlet’s father. Claudius cared for
no one in the play but himself. There were very few happy moment for
Hamlet in the play, but one came when he made a play within the play.
Hamlet wanted to see the reaction the Claudius had to the scene on the
play where they show how the king was murdered. Claudius’ reaction to
the scene was astounding. “Give me some light. Away!”Hamlet saw his
reaction and knew for sure that Claudius killed his father. Claudius was
a horrible uncle and stepfather.
The ghost of Hamlet’s father was yet another character that had his own
interests at heart. The ghost was not looking to do Hamlet any good. The
ghost had his own agenda. The ghost revealed to Hamlet the truth about
the murder of Hamlet’s father. The ghost also told him who was to
blame: “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown”
.The ghost ignited a rage inside of Hamlet. Revenge replaced the grief in
Hamlet’s heart. The play does not reveal if the ghost is the devil or the
ghost of Hamlet’s father. However I do not think that Hamlet’s father
would have wanted to end another life to make up for his. The deaths
that occur in the play could have been avoided if the ghost had never
appeared. The truth would have come out eventually and maybe Hamlet
would have a clear head by that time. If the ghost was the devil I am
sure that he was pleased with what transpired in the play.
All of these main characters cared very little for Hamlet
except for Horatio. Horatio was the kind of friend to Hamlet that all
people wish their friends could be. He was loyal, honest, and loving.
Horatio was honest with Hamlet when he told him about seeing his
father’s ghost. “My lord, I think I saw him yesternight”.Hamlet did not
question Horatio because he trusted him with all of his heart. Seeing a
ghost every day is not a common thing, but Hamlet never doubted him.
Throughout the play Horatio is looking out for Hamlet. When he was
about to fight Laertes Horatio told Hamlet, “If your mind dislike
anything, obey it. I will forestall their repair hither, and say you are not
fit.”

This shows that Horatio does not want Hamlet to put himself in physical
danger. At Hamlet’s, Horatio is there by his side and says one of the best
lines in the play: “now cracks a noble heart: good night sweet prince and
flights of angels sing thee to thy rest”.Horatio was a true friend to the
end.
This play is not a typical happy ending type of play. In fact
there are very few happy moments in the play. I do not think that
Shakespeare intended for someone to walk away with a warm feeling in
his or her heart. I am not sure of the real reason he wrote the play and
what it was he wanted the audience to learn from it. I learned that
revenge is something that can take over your mind and cause someone to
do things that they would not normally do. It seems that Shakespeare
was trying to teach us to search inside of ourselves and not let the
outside world influence us in any way. Maybe he was trying to show us
that we all need good friends like Horatio.