Sweeney Todd vs Hamlet - Compare and Contrast

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A Crazy and the Barber Sometimes when we are encountered with a horrifying past or present we perform an act. This act is a new persona we conform with. It may help us cope with what may be happening in our lives, or have already happened. The reason we choose to become someone else may be a small escape from reality. But the motive is usually to seek vengeance of some sort. The vengeance may be toward someone who has done us wrong or who we have had a long burning hatred towards. In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, and the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street; both main characters pretend to be someone else. In Hamlet, Hamlet is wanting revenge for his fathers death. He pretends to be crazy and fools everyone. He does this to anger is step dad-uncle. In Sweeney Todd, Sweeney renames himself to be Sweeney Todd, from Benjamin Barker. Benjamin is sent away, and is forced to leave his daughter and wife. But he comes back as Sweeney Todd wanting to seek vengeance on the man who sent him away from his family. In Hamlet, Hamlet struggles with his fathers death. He is the only one able to talk to the ghost of his father. Everyone around notices his absent mind, and believes he is crazy, even his own mother, “Alas, he is mad.” (III.iv.106). But later on, we discover Hamlet is not mad, and that it was all just an act. He puts back on his shoes, and the killing begins. Hamlet is only crazy in the purpose of fooling his step-uncle, to confess to killing the king. Hamlet craves the vengeance, and is successful in a way Claudius ends up paying for his deed. But at the end, everyone loses and dies except Horatio. In Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Benjamin Barker is sent away, and comes back pretending to be Sweeney Todd. When Sweeney was Benjamin, Judge Turpin wanted to marry his wife Lucy. This makes Mr. Todd crave vengeance for

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