Comparing Hamlet and Timberlake

            In "The Tragedy of Hamlet," the author William Shakespeare tells the tale of a man named Hamlet who faces several conflicts and in the end has to face karma for his vengeful acts. Karma is a belief that whatever you do will come back to you, either in this life or the next. In other words, your actions "mental, vocal, and physical display what may happen. An example of karma that Hamlet faces is that when he murdered Polonius for spying on what was supposed to be a private meeting between Hamlet and his mother Gerturde. At the end of the play where Hamlet finally kills Claudius, Hamlet gets revenge on Claudius for killing his father. "A son shall defend his fathers honor"" (4.4.52). This quote is showing that Hamlet is willing to put his life on the line many times to get revenge on Claudius for killing Hamlet's father. Hamlet eventually ends up paying the ultimate price however he is happy because he got revenge and everyone knew what Claudius has done.
             The song "What Goes Around Comes Around," by Justin Timberlake reflects a theme of karma throughout his song that relates to Hamlet and how he receives karma in a negative way. The synopsis of the song starts off with Timberlake flirting with Johansson on the rooftop of a 1950's style club. She rejects with a tease at first but eventually leaves with him to go back to his place. In between cuts, they are shown in bed caressing each other. Johansson jumps into a pool outside the house, and floats below the surface as if she is drowning. Timberlake runs out and pulls her up; she laughs at Timberlake and kisses him. In another scene, Timberlake introduces her to a drunk Shawn Hatosy at the club calling her the "One." Timberlake later leaves the scene and asks Hatosy to "keep an eye on her for me,"" perhaps suspecting she has another man on the side. Timberlake returns and finds them kissing in the stairway. After punching Hatosy, he chases after Johansson, who speeds off in her car.