Hamlet Blog Post #2

"I will look for you. I will find you. And I will kill you."

In the movie Taken, the main character's daughter gets kidnapped by Albanian human traffickers and is sold. This father, Bryan, vows to find and kill everyone involved in the girl's kidnapping, no matter the cost.

Oh, if only the tracking down of my father's killer was my challenge. "What an ass am I!" (2.2.510). I cannot even bring myself to plan my revenge, let alone carry it out. The man in that movie, bold and brave, only had to worry about finding his foe, for he was not "pigeon-liver'd" and could handle killing those he despised (2.2.504). The lengths that one will go to in order to avenge and save a family member are outrageous, and sadly I am not blessed with the same motivation, for it is far too late for me to save my father. In the movie, Bryan would "sacrifice anything for [his daughter]", but I, left only with the words of a "spirit" that "may be the devil", am forced to take revenge without the chance of gaining my family member back (2.2.526-527).

Bryan says that he "will tear down the Eiffel Tower if [he has] to" in order to avenge the kidnapping of his daughter, while I, "like a whore, unpack my heart with words" (2.2.513). What man does not have the guts to take revenge on an immoral beast like my uncle? No man. Actors of Hollywood have more valor than I do. Players of the 1600s have more emotional connection to the loss of loved ones than I do.

And here I sit, for some reason still pondering when I really should be taking action. Instead of doing the deed, I am delaying justice, uselessly crying out "O, vengeance!" instead of claiming revenge that is set aside for only those possessing true masculinity (2.2.509).