Polonius is one shady character, but I have to say his true shadiness was seen in the opening of act II scene I. I mean he doesn’t even have faith in his own son; he needs to learn how to trust his children. Why does he have to tell Reynaldo to do all of his dirty work, why make the poor man go through all this trouble just so he can know how his son is doing? I’ll tell you why he is a conniving old man. Who tricks others into thinking that he cares for his children but in reality he is, a strict old man that needs to know what his kids are up all the time. This brings us to the theme of appearance versus reality. Polonius may seem like he is a caring father to Reynaldo, and Reynaldo may believe it but I certainly don’t. I mean all he has to do is just write to him and ask how he is doing, any father would. However instead he gets Reynaldo to go all the way to France to check up on his son. Also he tells him to tell others horrible lies about him just so he can figure out if his son is actually acting badly. Not only does he want Reynaldo to check up on his son but he wants him to check out the people in the neighborhood and find out their ways as wel. He literally says “”.. and how and who , what means, and where they keep.” (Act II, scene I, line 10). This to me seems a bit creepy. He not only wants to control his son , but he wants to control the people around him. Polonius is a very overbearing and need to let his children breath; his kids are now adults and are capable of caring for themselves. This is something he fails to realize. Considering this his intentions can be very questionable. Many questions can arise such as does he really love his kids or is it all just an act? I know if your reading this right now you might be a little confused. So let me explain. Polonius does want to know how his son is doing, which can mean he is caring, but the way in which he tries to find out how his son is doing seems a little peculiar. A true father would trust their children and write to them to ask. So my readers I leave you with this question is Polonius a caring father?
RSS Feed