Why did Hamlet decide to kill Claudius?

Question 1 

Hamlet is hesitant in taking King Claudius’ life. Although he believes the man is evil and the world would be better off without him, he also believes in God or perhaps the sanctity of a spiritual place. He goes as far to say that Claudius was asking repentance for having killed his father. He hesitates on the account that he realizes if he kills Claudius as he repents his sins then the king goes to heaven and escapes without paying penance. Hamlet emphasizes that “killing him now would be hire and salary and not revenge for he would go to heaven to signify reward”. Hamlet was not going to reward him with an escape route from paying penance. 

Question 2 

Hamlet’s decision to hesitate was catastrophically stupid one. His uncle King Claudius had murdered his father so that he could marry Hamlet’s mother and seize power. Taking his life to break an incest marriage motivated by his uncle’s blind ambition was warranted. His argument was not sound and he was basically making excuses because he lacked conviction to finish the task. Hamlet spared King Claudius’ who set in motion a trail of tragedies that took the life of Hamlet’s mother, King Claudius, Hamlet, Ophelia his love, and Laertes. If Hamlet had killed the king who had usurped the throne, he would have assumed it as the rightful heir after his father's demise. The conclusion would have probably been Ophelia and Hamlet’s wedding as she would still be alive as Hamlet would not have had to kill her father. The death of her father made her mentally deranged a condition which contributed to her death. 

Question 3 

Hamlet and Laertes are two completely contrasting characters. Hamlet and Laertes represent the two extreme opposites of revenge. Laertes is an impulsive individual. He is prone to reacting rather than weighing a situation then responding. Hamlet is rational always weighing circumstances before responding to them. Hamlet believed that justifiable violence was in seeking vengeance only where there is no remorse from the offender. For Laertes, any degree of force used in pursuit of revenge is justified. These passages help to show the true nature of these three characters. We see from the passages that King Claudius is an unsavory character without remorse. Hamlet is a bitter man who still has some level of empathy having spared the King’s life. We realize that Laertes is impulsive and capable of virtually anything and thus he is someone to watch out for.