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Paul Todor
Sal Catalano
ENG4U1-05
January 19, 2023
Searching for Cohesion and Identity
Literacy is as fundamental a need as having food on the table or a roof above
one’s head. It is the practical study of language, and to learn to communicate effectively is
crucial to contribute to the world. Narratives are shaped by language and in turn their local
environment. By examining these narratives, one can see the psychology of the narrated, and
develop a solid understanding of their world. Language, as the foundation, gives perspective,
recurrence, and conventions as tools to understand that world. Having different perspectives on
a matter gives the individual more options to solve a problem in the present. Honouring these
perspectives and acknowledging different lenses will be able to see an issue through. To teach
every new generation valuable lessons through recurrence and to provide a sense of unity among
different cultures and ethnicities are things that hold society together. These recurring
conventions also helps one understand mythology which allows one to then use that mythology
as a means of understanding the present day. Every concept mentioned, “…it’s the combination
of emotion and intellect we call imagination that goes to work” (Frye 57). Conrad Aiken’s Silent
Snow, Secret Snow and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet both speak the language of the
imagination. They train and improve the imagination, as it comes into conversation and practical
life. The value in studying these works is to recognize the difficulties in navigating their world of
illusions as the characters search for a sense of connection and cohesion that they long for. The
works are written to induce empathy and tolerance from the reader and to connect the reader with
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the main characters. The reader is taken from the start of the disconnection of cohesion and led
through the decisions made by the characters that worsen the situation, then ultimately lead to an
unfortunate end.
In both works, the feelings of frustration, confusion, and uncertainty associated with selfknowledge can be identified in the early stages of character development. Both Paul and Hamlet
yearn for a sense of cohesion within their environment, but there are certain factors that are
preventing them from doing so. For Paul, these factors are not necessarily so clear. There is
suspicion of a possibly dysfunctional family that causes Paul to seek refuge in the snow,
distancing himself from those around him. He is also beginning to show signs of a Persecution
Complex, an irrational fear that he is being mistreated. This was worsened in the doctor scene.
“There were times when he longed—positively ached—to tell everyone about it—to burst out
with it—only to be checked almost at once by a far-off feeling as of some faint absurdity which
was inherent in it—but was it absurd?—and more importantly by a sense of mysterious power in
his very secrecy. Yes; it must be kept secret” (Aiken 132). With the lack of cohesion and unity
with his local environment, Paul has developed two main temporary coping mechanisms: the
snow sensation and leading a double life. The snow has been established as Paul’s ‘safe area’,
where he seeks refuge from those around him. In order to stay relevant in his life, though, he
must lead a double life, repeating the pattern of his every day while exploring the new world he
has discovered. For Paul, the loss of his identity becomes more apparent the more immersed he is
in his illusion. For Hamlet, the overarching goal of revenge against his uncle establishes a set of
feelings and emotions within him that disrupts the relationships he has with those around him.
The vengeance of his dead father has taken priority over everything else in Hamlet’s life. “A
little more than kin and less than kind” (Shakespeare 1.2.67). Hamlet states that the closer the
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relatives, the less kindness they exhibit. This is in reference to Claudius, who is his uncle but also
now his stepfather. Since his father’s death, Hamlet’s hatred for Claudius only grew, eventually
enveloping him completely. To add to Hamlet’s emotions, the lack of loyalty to his father shown
by Gertrude disgusts Hamlet as he holds his father in high regard. He also faces the Persecution
Complex, though it is only exhibited by the parents, and not very evident until Hamlet takes up
his antic disposition. A counterclaim suggests that Hamlet and Paul had personalities that never
would have fit within their environments, despite the factors at hand. Paul had started out
different and yearns to stay the same, while Hamlet had always never liked Claudius, and only
had eyes for his father. Unfortunately, Hamlet has a constant that disproves this. Horatio, as his
life-long friend, knows Hamlet very well. Hamlet also had other friends such as Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern, who then betrayed him. This single fact that Hamlet had friends around him shows
that he was never dissociative before his father’s passing. Paul’s reason for his inability to fit in
is his possibly dysfunctional family. This is shown by the fact that Paul refers to his father as the
“punishment voice, resonant and cruel” (Aiken 142). It was also mentioned in the prelude that
“…the world finally became more than he could bear or understand” (Aiken 125), hinting at the
fact that Paul was able to coexist with those in his vicinity. Though after the change, Paul began
to have plenty of time to think, and that is where his lack of cohesion had started to rear its head.
“There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so” (Shakespeare 2.2.268-270).
Progressing further in both stories, the characters, with their increasingly
indistinguishable identities and further loss of cohesion and unity, are forced to act. They must
make a decision that will either reverse the cascading effect of their disassociation or intensify it.
The doctor along with his parents caused Paul to be persecuted in that situation, and immediately
designated the presences as hostile. The everyday pattern that Paul had in his double life was
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broken when the doctor started to dive deeper into the reasons behind Paul’s ‘condition’. “Even
here, even amongst these hostile presences, and in this arranged light, he could see the snow, he
could hear it—it was in the corners of the room, where the shadow was deepest…” (Aiken 139).
The doctor scene is the pivotal moment that determined the events following it. The
condescending pressure that the parents and the doctor had, though, led Paul into a corner and
seeking refuge in the snow. He’s “…just thinking, that’s all” (Aiken 141). The decision to let the
others in on some insight to his dream sensation was the deciding factor of the story. The fact
that Paul said he thought about “…snow, that’s all. I like to think about it” (Aiken 142) only
caused the parents and the doctor to pressure him more before the snow forced Paul to run.
Hamlet’s decision to sacrifice what cohesion and identity he had left in the form of his antic
disposition has been the root cause of the events occurring in Hamlet’s plot, such as the rejection
of Ophelia, which then, along with her father’s death, led to her death. The antic disposition was
a new layer/persona applied to Hamlet’s identity, which further shrouded it. “As I perchance
hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on—that you, at such a time seeing me,
never shall, with arms encumber’d thus, or this head-shake, or by pronouncing of some doubtful
phrase… that you know aught of me—this do swear, so grace and mercy at your most need help
you” (Shakespeare 1.5.179-188). Hamlet severs all ties except with those who were with him
when he spoke with the ghost in order to feign madness as he swears vengeance for his father.
The counterclaim is as follows: Paul was never becoming increasingly distant from his
surrounding world, the surrounding world simply started asking more questions about his secret.
They broke Paul’s everyday pattern instead of Paul doing so. He had wanted to keep the same
distance between the entities in his life despite the pressure, and treasured his alone time which
was unwarrantedly breached. With Hamlet, his antic disposition was not another mask applied
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but more of an alteration to his current one. His ‘feigned’ madness is in fact more genuine as he
is led by his hatred in most of his actions. To disprove the counterclaim, Paul never designated
other presences as hostile until the doctor scene. This is a sign that he is growing to hate others
around him, that he is growing distant. His Persecution Complex is more developed later in the
story, and the snow starts to talk to him. All of these factors point towards Paul growing more
distant. Meanwhile with Hamlet, there have been instances in the plot where he was alone or
only with Horatio and seemed to be his normal self, taking that time to think out loud. He was
able to have an on and off switch with his antic disposition and exploit it to progress towards his
primary goal.
The final decisions of Paul and Hamlet ultimately have exposed whether they have
achieved the sense of cohesion that they long for or are still in the search of it. The conclusion to
their stories have shown that Paul has indeed strayed farther from the path of connectivity while
Hamlet unfortunately died trying to get back on it. After conversing with the doctor, Paul had
started to see the snow become heavier and was forced to run into his room. The crucial choice
he had to make soon after was between accepting the heavy snow, or rejecting it. “A beautiful
varying dance of snow began at the front of the room, came forward and then retreated, flattened
out toward the floor, then rose fountainlike to the ceiling… It said peace, it said remoteness, it
said cold…” (Aiken 143). His decision was made clear when “…a gash of horrible light fell
brutally across the room… something alien had come into the room…” (Aiken 143) and “…he
was filled with such a loathing as he had never known…” (Aiken 143). The powerful and
negative words that were used to describe what Paul felt when his mother entered the room had
shown that Paul was willing to slip into the snow, possibly forever. In Hamlet, the final decision
was to go back to Denmark to fulfill his goal of killing Claudius. This is because Hamlet had the
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option to stay in England after killing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and attempt at regaining his
cohesion in society. Yet ultimately, he chose to complete his quest for vengeance, and died doing
so. “Here, thou incestuous, murd’rous damned Dane, drink off this potion. Is thy union here?
Follow my mother” (Shakespeare 5.2.356-359). While dying, Hamlet had completed what he had
set out to do, unwavering from this single goal. One may suggest that Paul and Hamlet were
forced into their situations, and reacted naturally to the others. For Paul, he was only seeing
refuge in the snow once again, after three hostile figures pressured him into a psychological
corner, with the Persecution Complex becoming almost complete. To contradict this, Aiken used
terms such as beautiful, dance, peace, and fountainlike to describe the snow. These words with
positive connotations show that Paul had ultimately chosen the snow over sharing his secret
because he wanted to escape the environment he found himself being persecuted in. As for
Hamlet, the love he had for his father had tied him to the revenge in the form of Claudius’ death,
and would never have chosen to leave Denmark for good. Hamlet also becomes fascinated with
the powerlessness that comes after the death of an individual, how that individual can stain the
world no longer. To refute this, Hamlet’s dedication to his noble cause was never set in stone, as
he had suicidal tendencies. “You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I will more willingly
part withal—except my life, except my life, except my life” (Shakespeare 2.2.233-235). Because
of this, one cannot draw the conclusion that Hamlet never questioned his purpose as well as his
ambitions.
Once again, the value in studying these works is to recognize the difficulties in
navigating their world of illusions as the characters search for a sense of connection and
cohesion that they long for. The works are written to induce empathy and tolerance from the
reader and to connect the reader with the main characters. Ultimately, those who lack a sense of
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cohesion and connectivity are pushed away even further by the illusions and possibly the
individuals around them. This can lead to severe consequences. Everyone has a unique identity
and a way of thinking, and if everyone is treated as such, one can truly learn about beautiful
stories that lie untold by many. By understanding these stories, one can understand and stay true
to their own. “This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day,
thou canst not then be false to any man” (Shakespeare 1.3.84-86).