When it comes to having friends, there is always the issue of being able to pick ones who will be trustworthy. If one does not choose the correct people to be friends with, then the person is going to end up fighting and arguing with those people. In one play, a character named Hamlet ends up sacrificing his friends’ life in order to save his own life. In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Hamlet faces several different conflicts concerning his relationships with his friends Horatio, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern. 

To begin, one of Hamlet’s most important relationships is his friendship with Horatio. Out of all of Hamlet’s companions, Horatio is his closest. One reason why Hamlet considers Horatio to be his closest ally is, he always remained by Hamlet’s side and never betrayed him. Whenever Hamlet faces a problem, the only person he shares them with is Horatio. When Hamlet is professing his last words to Horatio, he states, “O, I die, Horatio. The potent poison quite o’er-crows my spirit. I cannot live to hear the news from England; But I do prophesy the election lights on Fortinbras. He has my dying voice. So tell him, with occur rents, more and less, which have solicitated. The rest is silence” (Act V, Scene II, pg 120). Hamlet trusts Horatio enough to leave him with the duty of letting Fortinbras know he is the new king. He knows Horatio will be responsible and tell the truth, instead of trying to claim the throne for himself. The bond between Hamlet and Horatio is one that is kept strong throughout the whole play.  

In addition to Hamlet’s relationship with Horatio, Hamlet is also friends with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet considers both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to be close friends of his. However, as the play progresses the relationships between them changes; Hamlet starts to trust Rosencrantz and Guildenstern less and less. For example, when Hamlet and Horatio are talking Hamlet states, “ An earnest conjuration from the king, as England was his faithful tributary, as love between them like the palm might flourish, as peace should still her wheaten garland wear and stand a comma’ tween their amities, and many such. Like ‘as’es of great charge, that on the view and knowing of these contents, without debatement further, more or less, he should the bearers put to sudden death, not shriving-time allow’d” (Act V, Scene II, pg 111). The type of conflict between Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern is man vs. man.  When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are taking Hamlet to England, to have him killed, he finds out and turns the table on them. Hamlet switches the letter given to them with his own letter. The letter Hamlet writes is going to have them both killed in his place. Thus, by the end of the play Hamlet ends up tossing two of his closest friends aside, by ultimately ending their lives.

Lastly, there are some similarities and differences between Horatio and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. One similarity is all three characters are close friends with Hamlet. The only difference is Horatio is the only one who remains loyal to Hamlet throughout the play. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern betray Hamlet when they decide to work for Claudius. The type of conflict for this relationship is man vs. man. Evidence of Hamlet’s lack of trust towards Rosencrantz and Guildenstern is when all three of them are in the same room and Hamlet sates, “That you must teach me. But let me conjure you by the rights of our fellowship, by the consonance of our youth, by the obligation of our ever- preserved love, and by what more dear a better proposer could charge you withal, be even and direct me whether you were sent for or no” ( Act II, Scene II, pg 41). Hamlet does not know if Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are sent by the king to try to tell them what his problem is. He does not know if they are going to be able to remain loyal friends of his. When Hamlet finds out they are working for the king, he loses the trust he once had for them. Even though Rosencrantz and Guildenstern betray Hamlet, Horatio chooses to stay by his side. The idea of betraying Hamlet is something that would never cross Horatio’s mind.

When it comes to choosing your friends, it is always difficult to pick the right ones. If the correct friends are not chosen, a person might find himself/herself to associate less and less with the people they chose to call friends. Hamlet, the protagonist from the play Hamlet, faces many problems having to do with relationships. Out of his three closest friends, the only one he is able to trust is Horatio. Due to his unwise decision in choosing his friends, he is left lonely with almost everyone else trying to kill him. In life, it is important to note that people who choose friends who only tell them what they want to hear, and not the ones who are willing to be truthful with them, are the ones who end facing problems with those friends in the future.