AP Practice Exam: The Open Question

   "By their deeds shall ye know them." a character is nothing in any novel, epic, or short story with out their actions. It is seen by readers everywhere, characters can be hated or loved based upon their sometimes ridiculous actions,  Many characters are misunderstood, a character such as Hamlet. Hamlet is a character who is really hard to understand, let alone like within the play. It is seen over and over again though, a characters growth and development leading them to be intriguing and loved by readers. Thousands of author's face this hardship in creating a complex character who develops like that of Hamlet, Shakespeare depicts the classic case of a great character. Shakespeare is able to create the complexity of Hamlet through performative utterance, foreshadowing and through unique use of imagery.
   Hamlet is misunderstood, and quite frankly, an annoying character in the beginning of the play. He threatens his own life on many ocassions through use of soliloquies and this just makes him a hard to like character due to his lack of strength.  His development through his performative utterance, I think, is what makes him the respected character he is seen as today. Shakespeare derived Hamlet from an insure, weird guy to a complex, respected character.  His behavior and recklessness defined him because he let the reader in on his thoughts throughout each action or problem.  The way he talked himself through dilemas allowing the reader to relate with him.  Performative utterance was Shakespeare's way of creating a great character, a character who releases his feelings to the audience making him relatable an ultimately respected.
   Shakespeare used a lot of imagery and foreshadowing which I found extremely useful in my reading of the play. The eerie 12 o'clock, midnight, time frame at which the play began set the tone straight from the beginning. The dark night described by Shakespeare made Hamlet seem mysterious and made me want to know more about this specific character. Through out the play he continued to incorporate his use of imagery to make Hamlet more and more interesting to readers and allowed them to derive a new outlook on him as the play progressed. The technique of foreshadowing in the play also made Hamlet progress more and more in my mind until I came to a verdict that I respected him as a crazy, unique character.  Shakespeare foreshadowed death a lot in the play allowing a big build up with in readers, I feel this is why Hamlet as a character was able to change into a more developed character throughout the play; because the reader kept wanting to know more and Hamlet was slowly revealing it.  The techniques that Shakespeare incorporated in his writing allowed me as reader to depict Hamlet slowly, but surely throughout the play until I finally grew to like him as fictional character.
   Shakespeare's unique use of performative utterance, imagery, and foreshadowing made Hamlet the respected, known character he is today. In the beginning of the play I disagreed with everyones opinion on Hamlet. I felt he was a boring, self absorbed character, but as the play progressed Shakespeare began to persuade me.  Shakespeare developed him through outraguos action and thoughts which in the end; once we "got to know him" as we read, made him admirable because I was able to finally understand him and ultimately like him as a character.  The accurate and precise use of literary techniques allowed a once disliked character, become the known and respected character Hamlet is know as today, everywhere.