English Literature

One of the numerous painful realities of life, death is one such reality which evokes intense emotions in human beings. Although all human beings accept the fact that death is inevitable, most of the people fear death and seek ways to cheat it. People harbor different attitudes while looking at death and it is these attitudes that shape their reactions when they face death. Numerous literary works depict death as their themes and one such work which stands among them is the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. The play focuses on the reaction of   Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark upon knowing the secret that his father was killed by his uncle.

The theme of death runs throughout the play, as Hamlet views death from various perspectives after the tragic death of his father. The same theme of death is presented in the movies Sunshine directed by Danny Boyle and No Country for Old Men directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Although death is a prominent theme in both these movies, the attitudes presented in the movie regarding death are completely different from each other. The play Hamlet and the movies Sunshine and No Country for Old Men bring forth the varying perspectives of the characters regarding death and also point towards the influence of the circumstances, in which the characters face death, on their attitudes towards death.

Hamlet
In the play Hamlet, Hamlet is deeply affected by his fathers death and begins to view death from various perspectives. He thinks about death from the spiritual perspective and also as a way of escape from the sufferings of life.  The thought that death can bring an end to his sufferings makes Hamlet to contemplate suicide. As Hamlet is overwhelmed by the sorrows in his life, he comes to regard death as solution to his hardships. Thoppressors wrong, the proud mans contumely, The pangs of disprized love, the laws delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns. (Shakespeare 60). These are the sorrows of life that are disturbing Hamlet and prompting him to think about suicide. Hamlet desires to end his life, as he is unable to bear the sorrows in his life following the death of his father and the consequent marriage of his mother with his uncle.

Hamlet considers suicide, especially in his soliloquy To Be or Not To Be, and often his behavior seems suicidal as he constantly ignores the royal orders of his uncle. (DiGaetani 166). He thinks it is better to die than to lead a life which is full of sorrows and hardships. But he is not even firm about his decision of suicide he fears what may happen after his death  Would death solve his problems or he would have to face unknown problems The thought about the torments that he would have to face after his death, avert him for committing suicide. And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of (Shakespeare 61). He explains that fear of unknown suffering after death makes one to bear the miseries of life. And this fear is experienced by Hamlet also.

The confusion which Hamlet is experiencing regarding his decision whether to live or die is evident when he utters, To be, or not to be that is the question. (Shakespeare 60). This line sums up the whole dilemma of Hamlet and his views regarding life and death. Although Hamlet thinks that life is full of suffering and death is peaceful, he is hesitant to end his life owing to his fear of the life he would have to face after his death.  The circumstance, in which Hamlet is thinking about death, influences his attitudes towards death. After the death of his father and his mothers immediate marriage with his uncle, Hamlet suffers from depression and therefore
regards death as a solution to his problems. His mothers conduct, the aspect of the world, his fathers death,-all made Hamlet impatient of life, which would not take the shape of his desires, but persisted in having one of its own. (Heraud 51). Instead of tackling the problems in his life, Hamlet wishes for death so that he can be freed from those problems. But as his religious beliefs contradict his desire to kill himself and he fears the unknown life after death, he decides to live.

Hamlets perspectives regarding death keep changing, as his philosophical outlook towards death turns into a desire to die after the death of his father. Later when Hamlet visits a graveyard and finds the skull of Yorick, a person whom he knew during his childhood, Hamlet comprehends the fact that all men turn into dust after their death. He accepts the fact that death is unavoidable and so instead of thinking about death, he decides to act on his desire to avenge his fathers murder.

Sunshine
The movie Sunshine also depicts the theme of death but from a different perspective than that presented in the play Hamlet. The movie follows the story of a group of astronauts who embark on a mission to reignite the Sun, as there is depletion in the amount of sunlight reaching their planet, the Earth. Set in the future, the movie depicts the theme of death as an act of sacrifice and courage. In course of their efforts to save the lives of the people on their planet, these astronauts decide to risk their life and accept to be the crew members of a spacecraft which will take them to Sun. Their mission is to reignite the Sun with the aid of a gigantic stellar bomb. But owing to the negligence of one of the crew members, these astronauts find themselves in
fatal circumstances. Although the astronauts are aware of the impending death, they persist in their efforts to succeed in their mission. Death fails to evoke any kind of fear in the minds of these astronauts, as they are more concerned about the success of their mission than their own survival. Facing death bravely, they are prepared to sacrifice their lives for saving the lives of the people on their planet. They view death as an act of sacrifice, through which they ensure that their efforts are successful in spite of their death. In the end, all the crew members die but the mission ends in success, as the Sun is reignited and Earth is once again illuminated with sunlight.

The movie opens with an account of the first mission, which is undertaken by human beings, in their effort to reignite a Sun, whose light is dying out slowly. A spacecraft named Icarus I, under the charge of Captain Pinbacker, is send to the Sun. But this mission fails, as the spacecraft disappears without carrying out the task for which it has been send to the Sun.  After a gap of seven years, another spacecraft, Icarus II is launched to reignite the Sun. The crew members of Icarus locate Icarus I on the Mercury on their way to the Sun. On the advice of physicist Robert Capa, the direction of the spacecraft is changed and turned towards Icarus I, so that the payload on Icarus is recovered and taken along with them on their mission. But owing to a mistake committed by Trey, the navigator of the spacecraft, a part of the spacecraft remains unprotected from the extreme heat emanating from the Sun. When the Captain of the spacecraft, Kaneda and Capa undertake the work of repairing the damaged part of the spacecraft, a technical problem results in a situation where Capa and Kaneda are exposed to the fatal heat of the Sun. Realizing the significance of survival of Capa for the success of the mission, Kaneda decides to carry out the repairs of the spacecraft alone while sending back Capa to the Spacecraft.

Kaneda is prepared sacrifice his life and embrace death for the sake of the success of the mission. The same kind of attitude towards death is displayed by other crew members when the mission runs into numerous problems, which threaten the lives of the crew members. While discussing the course of action that needs to be taken, the space crew members strive to save the lives of those members who are necessary for the success of the mission at the cost of their own lives. As the mission starts to go awry, the crew is forced to debate how to proceed in terse, well-written arguments. Soon, even those debates seem like a luxury in the face of lethal repair missions, a diminishing oxygen supply, and the unexpected. (Morris). Owing to the sacrifices of the crew members, Capa remains alive in spite of the numerous technical problems that occur in the functioning of the spacecraft and attacks made by Pinbacker on him. Although all the crew members die during the mission, they succeed in accomplishing the task for which they have sacrificed their lives. The movie presents the theme of death in a perspective which is different from Hamlet, for most of the characters in the movie face death bravely and views it as an act of sacrifice done for the sake of saving the lives of people on their planet. The influence of the circumstances in which the crew members face their death is evident in their attitudes towards death. In contrast to Hamlet, these characters remain undisturbed in the face of problems and strive to solve their problems instead of running away from them. Hamlet views death as an end to the sufferings of his life whereas the characters in the movie think of death as an act of sacrifice made by them in course of the fulfillment of their duties.    

No Country for Old Men
The theme of death in the movie No Country for Old Men is depicted through the violent killings and the attitude of the characters regarding death. The movie explores the relation between death and fate through its plot revolving around a killer chasing his intended victim. The movie presents the story of a vet, Llewelyn Moss who finds a satchel containing two million dollars of cash during a hunting trip. Moss finds this satchel near the dead bodies of men, who are killed during a dispute regarding a drug deal. Realizing the chances of being chased for the money he found near the dead bodies, Moss takes the money along with him and goes to stay in a motel in another region. It is in the air vent of his room in the motel that Moss puts his money, thinking that it would be a perfect hiding place for keeping the money. But Moss is unaware of the fact that the satchel contains a tracking device, which is aiding Anton Chigurh, a hitman whose services are being utilized for recovering the money, to locate the place where the money is kept. Another person who is chasing Moss and the money is Carson Wells, who is also hired for finding the money. The Sheriff of the town, Tom Bell seeks to save Moss from being killed by Chigurh, and so pursues both of them. The attitudes of Moss and Chigurh, and other characters in the movie bring forth the contrasting views of humans regarding death.

Even after escaping with the money belonging to the gangsters, Moss thinks that he can elude death by moving on from one place to another. His attempts to save himself from being killed by Chigurh bring forth his attitude that death can be cheated by human beings. He fails to comprehend the fact it is the fate of an individual which decides the time of the death and humans cannot change their fates. He is fated to die in course of his struggle to keep the money with him and his efforts fail to alter his fate. The character of Chigurh comes across as cold-blooded killer who kills people without the least hesitation or guilt. His decision whether to kill a particular person or not is influenced by the toss of a coin. He is a terminator, armed with a pressurised air canister and hose with which he knocks out the locks of doors he wants to get
through - or the brains of the hapless people he meets on his travels, and whose fates hinge, literally, on the toss of his coin. (Sandhu). The movie brings forth the notion that death can strike anyone at anytime and this is most evident in the manner Moss and Wells die. The innocent people, who are killed by Chirgurh, are also unaware of the approaching death when they are facing him. The movie highlights the relation between the fate of a person and hisher death. Through the death of Moss and Wells, the movie shows that an individual cannot escape death if heshe is fated to die at a particular time. The thoughts of Moss and Wells regarding death differ from those of Hamlet, the protagonist in the play Hamlet. Hamlet accepts his fate and deters from committing suicide whereas Moss and Wells attempt to keep the money with them and at the same time save themselves from being killed by Chirgurh. Along with the inevitability of death, the movies also emphasizes on the inevitable hold of fate on the life and death of a person.

Conclusion 
Death is viewed from different perspectives by Hamlet, the protagonist in the play Hamlet and the characters in the movies Sunshine and No Country for Old Men. The influence of the circumstances in which these characters face death is evident in their attitudes towards death. Hamlet thinks of death as an end to the sufferings of his life whereas most of the crew members of the spacecraft Icarus II in the movie Sunshine regard death as an act of sacrifice. The characters of Moss and Wells in the movie No Country for Old Men seek to escape their fate by seeking to fulfill their desire of keeping the money with them and at the same time eluding death. Through the deaths of Moss and Wells, the movie brings forth the notion that a person cannot escape hisher death if heshe is fated to die at that particular time.