A hero is defined as a person admired for his achievements and noble qualities while showing great courage. Though Hamlet does accomplish his purpose in the play, defeating Claudius, he has many flaws that can create skepticism over his hero status. People often argue over whether or not he is indeed a hero in the play. Hamlet is an intriguing character because although he does not fit into the stereotypical role of a hero, he creates his own breed of heroism. .
Throughout the play we learn of many personality characteristics of Hamlet. The most prominent of these characteristics is his innocence. He was lost in a sea of corruption and evil. He was the right intentions. A majority of the other characters had selfish reasons for their actions. For example Claudius killed Hamlets father to gain the kingship and to get his wife. The only reason for Hamlets actions was for vengeance for his fathers murder. He thought that was the right thing to do to protect the people from an corrupted leader. His innocence makes Hamlet a very personable character which adds to the tragedy element of the play. .
An extension of Hamlets innocence was his uncertainty. He constantly second guessed himself and his actions. He procrastinated and thus made things more difficult on himself. A very good example of this was when he had the opportunity to kill Claudius. He could have prevented a lot of later problems if he would have just killed him then. Hamlet did not think that it was the right time to murder him, therefore he waited. This was probably Hamlets biggest mistakes in the play because he could have prevented the murders at the end of the play. Another example of his uncertainty was when he second guessed the ghost of his father. He was hesitant to listen and obey the ghosts" directions. He had to prove that Claudius was guilty before he would take any actions in revenge. This uncertainty was very admirable because he wanted to be certain that it was the right thing to do.
