My Opinions On Parental Surveillance (inspired by Hamlet)

     In the beginning of Act II, Polonius hires his servant to spy on his son Laertes. Polonius requests that Reynaldo inquire about Laertes' private life and behavior. I think that Polonius seems very manipulative and I wonder what Laertes did or even what happened to Polonius to make him so overprotective and overbearing. 

     Personally, I think that parents spying on their children shows an extreme lack of trust. If they truly had faith in the way their child was raised I don't think there would be any reason to look into text messages, emails, Facebook accounts, etc. I've experienced my parents reading my text messages before and I think that it was a complete invasion of privacy. However, I think it is one thing to openly spy, but for Polonius to hire someone to befriend Laertes to get inside knowledge on what is happening while Polonius is not physically there is extremely scheming. 

     On line 25 to line 30, Polonius and Reynaldo clarify what exactly he is supposed to be looking for while on surveillance. Polonius says, "Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, Quarreling, drabbing-- you may go so far" (II.i.28-29). Here, I can slightly understand where Polonius is coming from because he only wants to hold Laertes to the highest of standards and wants to confirm that he is acting esteemed.