NAME: JIBRIL C.

BURAGA SUBJECT: ETHICS

YEAR & SECTION: BSCE-2A PROFESSOR: MR. VAL ANTHONY CARL MABBORANG

To be, or not to be, that is the question:

The "To be or not to be" soliloquy appears in Act 3, Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In this
scene, often called the "nunnery scene," Prince Hamlet thinks about life, death, and suicide.  Specifically,
he wonders whether it might be preferable to commit suicide to end one's suffering and to leave behind
the pain and agony associated with living.

This most famous soliloquy in the works of William Shakespeare have connection in “To do is to
be” of Jean Paul Sartre’s quotes. In our life, there are things to do and not to do. In any situation, you
need to think rationally and judiciously, don’t decide while emotionally unstable because it may ruin your
life.

To do or not to do is simply to do for something better and not to do for something better. Our
decision should improve our lives and it dictates our fate. To be or not to be, that is the question. Actually
that is the answer in different situations we are in. There are situations in which “To be” is the answer and
at the same time in other situations “Not to be is the proper answer. It’s either to do or not to do
something. Either of the two can be the correct answer in particular questions, therefore think wisely.

Focusing in hamlet play “To be, or not to be, that is the question:” is choosing between life or
death, pursuing being alive or wanting to be dead. To be is to endure the pain rather than to give up and
face life after death while not to be is to take self-destructive action against life’s injustices and rest from
such suffering. Life is given to us to protect and to experience all the things that we need to experience.
Being alive may experience a lot of emotions and the worst is experiencing struggles but if life has
meaning then suffering has hidden meaning too, you suffer not because you need to suffer rather you
suffer to see the hidden meaning of it. While death is the end of life, end of joy, sadness, and suffering we
experienced. Death is the solution for someone who suffered in certain situations because death is a
perfect closure to end the suffering but suicide is not the solution in any situation because life after death
is unknown and it could be worse than life. Before we reach the condition of death, we need to live to the
fullest, no matter what happens.
 One of today’s problems is depression. Many people are suffering from depression and it leads
them to the idea of killing themselves because of frustration, loneliness, etc. Suicide is the only solution
they saw to end the suffering they experienced but it’s a big mistake because suicidal is not to end the
suffering rather passing it to someone else, specifically, your family. Life is full of excitement and
hindrance, we should experience both to say we are alive.

In this world full of pessimistic people, let be yourself optimistic. Don’t let pessimistic influence
you rather you will influence them. Life is seeming unfair. It just depends on how people handle it.
Always focus on the bright side of anything and you will be happy forever.

References:

https://blog.prepscholar.com/to-be-or-not-to-be-soliloquy#:~:text=%22To%20Be%20or%20Not%20to
%20Be%22%3A%20Meaning%20and%20Analysis&text=In%20this%20scene%2C%20often
%20called,and%20agony%20associated%20with%20living.

https://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/quotes/soliloquies/hamlet-to-be-or-not-to-be/