Spider-Man and Hamlet, say whaaaat?!

Revenge. Oh sweet, sweet revenge. You've heard of it and whether you would like to admit it or not you have probably taken part in some sort of revengeful act. But what exactly is revenge? Well, according to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary revenge can best be defined as to avenge, as oneself, usually by retaliating in kind or degree. What this means is to get "payback" for something, most of the time by extreme means or measures.

Many authors and writers alike use revenge as a basis for plot in a movie or novel. The first thing that pops into my head when I hear the word revenge is  Spider-Man. Although I've never read any of the comics I have seen all of the Spider-Man movies (Tobey Maguire I'm a HUGE fan). So for those of you who have seen the movie and want to hear my elaboration on revenge in the movie, continue reading. And for those of you who have never seen the movie you can watch the video clip located below and I think you'll have a pretty good idea. 

You know how the movie goes; nerdy boy is at a science laboratory, gets bit by a mutated spider and wakes up with super powers. But what caused Peter Parker to become a super hero and use his powers? Revenge. One night after many nights of perfecting his new powers of strength, Peter decided to go out to a fighting match to try and win himself the cash prize in order to buy himself a car. Before leaving to go out his father figure with whom he lives with, Uncle Ben, and himself got into a bad argument. Peter left the house on bad terms with his uncle. After winning the cash prize and first place at the fight, a thief stole the promoter's money. Peter thinks nothing of this and let's the thief go. As he's on his way home there is a big scene involving police and an ambulance. Peter rushes through the crowd to see what is going on to find his uncle carjacked and murdered. He then discovers that the same thief he let get away earlier is the carjacker and murderer of his Uncle Ben. With rage, Peter goes after the thief and "assists" with his death. After this, Peter Parker takes on the persona of Spider-Man and fights crime in New York City so no one will have to deal with the unfair pain of losing someone you care about.

So, what does this have to do with revenge? Personally, I think it's pretty obvious. Just like Hamlet in the play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare, both men lost someone close to them. Hamlet lost his father by his uncles hand. After finding out the truth about his fathers death, Hamlet sought out revenge on his uncle. Peter Parker and Hamlet are both alike in the way that they will go to extreme measures to "make things right" for the one they loved and lost. Peter and Hamlet choose to go about this with violence by going after the murderer although Peter also decides to continue using his powers for good by protecting others from untimely loss. 

Revenge. It's a very powerful thing. There are different levels of extremity for many things, especially revenge. Not only will people act on instinct to protect the ones they love and care about but also seek out a vengeance for someone who can't act for themselves due to something like death. So, what about yourself? Would you go as far as killing someone in order to get "payback" on a death of a loved one? Or would you stand by and not seek revenge at all? It's all up for you to decide.