Essay on West Side Story

“ Some of these early productions have racial themes which reorganize the world in such a way that black heritage is rewarded over white paternity; they are schematic renunciations of the prevailing order of things in white American society where, historically, the discovery of black blood meant sudden reversal of fortune, social exclusion, or banishment.” (Gaines, P.3) Within the movie the amount of mistruths about African Americans was sad. Within the movie you notice that the blacks were always or seem to be yelling, acting uncivilized and doing

Feelings are an abstract concept that takes children time and experience to understand and deal with in a socially acceptable manner. These activities have served to give the children in my class the foundation and the words needed to express their feelings. I can also use this strategy to remind children that emotions are okay, that words have power, and they now have the words.

West Side Story came out in 1961 as a melodramatic musical that took place in New York. It takes the same theme as Shakespeare's, Romeo and Juliet, in that it is about two lovers whose relationship is not accepted by others because of conflicting backgrounds.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the West was considered a wild and desert territory, with scarce possibilities of being populated. The advance of the Developed East over the Savage West was a clash of two different cultures; this collision would mean the end for one of them. The right to appropriate lands and displace Native Americans was justified by the belief that the United States had rights to aggressively spread the values of white civilization and expand the nation, also known as Manifest Destiny . The mid-end of the nineteen century was crucial in the development and expansion of the West, and also was its repercussion to natives and settlers. Hordes of settlers crossed the Great Plains on their way to find gold in California or to rich farms in Washington and Oregon.

Well the Tony that we audience are introduced to early on into the show. Mainly because Tony is a captain under Junior and normally would have/should have done anything to rid the family of anyone turning state's evidence to the feds. As well as not caring about local business that are not making the mob money. But he betrays this understanding and the acting head of the DiMeo family for Artie. Which again I understood this betrayal to Junior was Tony’s way of drawing a line in the sand when it came to Artie. Which is every bold on Tony’s part, yet also weird since throughout both season of the show we see Tony do horrible things to his close friends and allies in the name of the DiMeo family. But this relationship/bond with Artie destroys this understanding of Tony’s character. It was here that I began to notice that Tony’s relationship with Artie represented something more for Tony. Even more than a sense of normality within Tony’s chaotic life. What I mean by this is that I saw this relationship to Artie as a representation of Tony’s past and the man he could have been. In layman's terms Artie is Tony’s last connection to life he could have had if he didn’t take up the mantle of a mobster. Which is almost tragic to think about, Tony comes off as a person who will use any and everything to get ahead in life and within the DiMeo family—yet, Tony is not a bad guy and actually had a bright future in

West Side Story comes at a very important time in Orlando history after the shooting of Pulse which mainly targeted those of Latinx culture. A dedication to two of the victims of the shootings Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon and Jean Carlo Mendez-Perez who were both from Puerto Rico like the members of the Sharks who spent their short lived lives helping domestic abuse

For example, in the Outsiders, the greasers are poor and steal for money. Every greaser is poor and they are negatively influenced by people like Dally and Two-Bit who steal for money and cause trouble. Also in the Outsiders, the Socs are rich and treat the greasers like trash. Socs, for instance, negatively influence the gang by jumping the greasers that aren’t rich and aren’t high class. Thus, peer pressure and negative influence are one of the major reasons why gangs are causing harm.

John Edgar Wideman’s, “Our Time”, tells the story of how his brother’s mistakes have caused Robby lots of trouble. Many questions have roamed through my head about Robby, John’s brother, and why he turned out the way he was. Why did Robby have to turn out to be the rebel in the family? Could it have been his home town, his family, or his friends? Those are the questions. I feel like it may have been the “ghetto”, Homewood, that influenced him.

Swaying trees in the distance, blue skies and birds chirping, all of these are examples of setting. Setting can create the mood and tone of characters in a story. In the story Hills Like White Elephants, the story starts out with our two characters, Jig and the American, also referred to as the man, on a train overlooking mountains. “The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry” (Hemingway). In the case of this short story, the hills provided Jig something to take her mind off of the grueling conversation she was having with the Man. As said by a critic, “the story itself is comprised almost entirely of dialogue. Although there is a situation, there is no plot”

The closer I managed to make it to the edge of the cliff the colder it became, the light winds turned into heavy winds, and the ice-cold climate sent chills up my spine. When I looked down into the water it was no longer blue the reflection became unilluminated almost like a pool of blood. Looking into the sky was no longer it's usually color the clouds seemed to have disappeared, not a single trace of stars were in sight to lighten up my mood. The only object emerging was the intense yellow full moon behind the darkness. As I sat at the edge my feet were dangling along with my dark long hair. I began reflecting my life and soon my thoughts became vivid. I didn't want to remember anything. As i reloaded my gun tears fell down my face I

In the movie, the two white boys that were killed by the sheriff died because they were associated with a black guy. They tried to stand up as civil rights advocates and make a difference in the lives of African Americans and for that reason their lives were taken from them. Racism was so firm and supported in that era that they wouldn’t allow three friends to be buried together, because one of them was black.

Passions drive people, and the townspeople in “The Lottery” and Paul in “The Rocking-Horse Winner” are no different. Each of the members of the unnamed town has a strong passion for tradition. The original black box used for the lottery is described as being, “lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born” (Jackson 251). This sentence gives the reader an understanding that the lottery is an ancient tradition that has become an integral part of the town’s lifestyle. Such a tradition can only be carried on for this length of time if the people are passionate about preserving the tradition. Paul had a passion to be wealthy as a way to prove to his mother that he was lucky. From a young age, he saw that his family always wanted more money to support a better lifestyle, yet

It’s the sixties. Racism is running hot through the streets of New York. One neighborhood in particular, where one group of boys makes the choice that will change their lives and everyone’s around them forever. These boys are young, full of talent and smart. These boys choose to take all of what they had and throw it away. What happens to these boys next is something that you would not want to wish on anybody. Here these young talented boys cram into a car and ride to the African-American neighborhood. The boys toss burning bottle of alcohol through a glass window into a store. With burning bottles shattering left and right there is one that doesn’t break. This one bottle was tossed back into these boys car and there is

The director uses location to make a gap between black and white by putting them in different areas. It seems that the one belongs to black society, while the richer area is white’s. In this movie, black people are pictured to look like criminals, and their lives are messed up and they live in poverty.

West Side Story exemplifies the concept of a thematic tragedy due to the aspects of plot format, the involvement of ‘elevated’ tragic heroes, and conclusion of inescapable disaster. The perseverance to rise and the sadness of the fall has been used to depict tragedy from many works of literature and production. What would have occurred if in these works, characters could consider other “if only” possibilities? The forces against a hero are not solely to blame. The tragedy stems from pride, which in many tragedies, leads to