Act 2 - Hamlet's Revenge and Law Abiding Citizen- Blog Post #14

"Well, justice should be harsh Nick... especially for those who denied it to others."

             Clyde Shelton has a happy life with his wife and young daughter. One evening, two thugs invade Shelton’s house and they kill his wife and kidnap his daughter. They pinned him down and made him watch it all unfold. Clyde is out for revenge. He first wanted to obtain some justice for his dead family through the legal court system, but after being denied by lawyer Nick Rice due to corrupt politics, Clyde has another plan for revenge, a more unforgiving plan. However, this time, he has two targets: the men who killed his family and the “diseased” judicial court system. On his journey to gain justice for his family, he is fueled by revenge and brutally murders the thugs that killed his family, members of the judicial system that don’t do their job properly, as well as a couple innocent people to add to the torment of Nick Rice. He is on a mission to get justice, not only for his family, but also for many other victims of crimes that are cheated in the judicial court system.

          The ghost of my father, the true King of Denmark, has given me clear directions to follow through with the murder of my uncle in power, Claudius. It is quite clear what I must do, but it is so hard for me to do it. “Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words and fall a-cursing like a very drab, a scullion.”(2.2.547-550). However, at least my plan is unfolding nicely: everyone is beginning to think I am going insane. Polonius must be thinking that I have gone insane the most, especially after my encounter with Ophelia. She must have told Polonious that Hamlet had “a look so piteous in purport as if he had been loosèd out of hell to speak of horrors.”(2.1.82-84). It is to my advantage to have people think that I am insane, as it will make me seem like I am more delusional and less threatening. Clyde Shelton, while in jail also wanted to make himself look insane, which was a part of his plan. Shelton told Rice to get him a steak and bring it at exactly 1pm to the jail cell in return for coordinates to a dead body, but Rice was 8 minutes late. This led him to brutally murder his cell mate by slitting his throat. Covered in blood, Shelton says “I need a shower, Warden.”

          My uncle will pay for the murder of my father and I will see to it that I get my revenge. I will have to summon up the courage and kill that "Bloody, bawdy villain! Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!"(2.2.541-543). However, in order to do so, I need more evidence, apart from the words Ghost of my father, which may just be a devil creating a plan for my downfall and destruction.. Therefore, I will organize the players to "play something like the murder of my father before mine uncle", and then as the play goes on, "I’ll observe his looks."(2.2.559-560). If he begins to cringe and feel nervous, I will know that he is guilty of the murder of my father, and I will gain the confidence to follow through with my revenge. The presence of evidence is crucial before going to get revenge. Clyde Shelton clearly represents this when he tells Nick Rice, in regards to his own crimes, "It's not what you know. It's what you can prove in court." Clyde said this line to Nick to show him that all the clues may point to an answer, but without cold-hard evidence, you can't pursue justice in court.

          Simply put, "The play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king."(2.2.566-567). If I can be for sure of the king's guilt, then I can confirm the ghost I have witnessed as actually the ghost of my father, and I can also confirm that my uncle deserves to die.