Prisoners of our actions

I cannot relate as deeply to Hamlet as these prisoners. They clearly experienced a lot of emotion by playing the part of someone who had committed a crime similiar to one they might have committed. I have never murdered anyone or anything like that, but I guess I can relate to Hamlet's situation in that I have been faced with a difficult dilemna, like whether or not I should watch House or do my English homework tonight. I went with English. I think the part of the radio program that interested me the most was the question of are we forever prisoners of our actions? Should people who committed a very serious crime like murder be able to rejoin society if they show they have changed? Just like the actor, I cannot answer that. Everyone inmate who talked on the program seemed like a person I would be glad to know outside of prison, and if I only heard the actors comments that did not talk about prison, I might never have known they were locked up. The inmate who was going to play the ghost could feel remorse because of the character of the ghost and the words he used. Even inmates who might not have been very educated could tell that Shakespeare is "good." Hamlet has had a profound effect on the inmates. When they see in literature that certain crimes have tremendous effects on people, they can relate to the guilt they feel and see how it is wrong. It is hard for me to "relate [my] experience with Hamlet to that of the Missouri East Correctional Institution." I have not really had an experience with Hamlet. After listening to these prisoners, I can see how I really never have been in a rough situation, and I can see how lucky I have been throughout my life. While Hutch thinks Hamlet does not even have a decision to make, he should just kill Claudius, I would not kill Claudius because I would become a prisoner of my action. I do not feel lucky because of Hamlet, I feel lucky because of what the inmates have to go through. Ultimately, I hope I can be a blue whale and not a minnow.