In the final paper, I chose to talk about the currently ongoing protests in New York City, adding in information I already knew about the Arab Spring, since the underlying message of Freire’s work dealt with ‘revolution.’ It was somewhat of a struggle to do so not because I had no knowledge whatsoever of either topic, but because it was hard to determine where I absolutely needed to cite information, especially since the most poignant of updates regarding Occupy Wall Street are in fact from sources generally not considered reputable. As for the topic of the Middle Eastern revolution, I felt it would be too obvious a topic choice if I had talked about those protests alone,  but I also didn’t want to disclude it entirely as it had been of special interest to me. The criteria for the essay forced me to look beyond education in terms of the classroom experience, but it also gave me an opportunity to talk about current issues that actually are relevant to me. Merely being able to explore such topics may have strengthened my writing. 

Uncertainty encompasses Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, at times driving forth the plot and at others delaying the progress of action. It is not completely accurate to say that other thematic elements of Hamlet are of lesser importance, for they all can be traced back to the central idea. Rather, other major themes, such as sanity vs. insanity and mortality, are contributors to the weight of uncertainty. The protagonist’s supposedly feigned insanity, among others, leaves the reader in a gray area as to his true state of mind, while his contemplation of death has left Hamlet himself in a place of indecision. Morally questionable relationships between various characters also serve as evidence of the theme of uncertainty’s pervasiveness throughout the play. Indeed, it is a combination of elements that make the world of Hamlet and the realm of indecision essentially one and the same. 
When Hamlet’s sanity is questioned, who is in the right? All save his closest companions – and the readers themselves – are told he is sane, the rest of his world led on by his act of madness. The ghostly illusions and his actions have lead many to doubt his clarity of mind. Shakespeare has left both reader and character in a state of doubt. Some characters in the play seem to reveal their own suspicions, remarking that his words, though surely odd, are not that of an outright madman. This would imply that Hamlet is indeed faking his descent into insanity. Similarly, both Claudius and Gertrude are unable to pinpoint the reason for his erratic behavior, perhaps a hint at that it is all merely an act. However, his encounters with the ghost in the form of his father may indicate just the opposite. His willingness to follow the specter, despite Horatio’s warning that Satan may be misleading him, suggests that Hamlet may be mentally impaired. 