West Side Story Similarities Between Romeo And Juliet

     The plot sequences are also different in West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet. Prince Escalius is completely neutral about the Capulet and Montague brawls as well as all public disputes. He is the voice of reason in their turmoil, and serves as the peacemaker. Lieutenant Schrank, although he tries to stop the brawl, is more biased towards the Jets. His prejudice almost permits the brawl to go on, and the Jets certainly take the hint. Romeo and Juliet marry each other secretly, and that in itself binds them together. It was because that Juliet couldn’t marry Paris for fear of bigamy that she had to go to Friar Lawrence for help. This ultimately led to both protagonists' death. Tony and Maria never

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The meshing of characters between Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Bernstein’s West Side Story formulate significant similarities between the two. In Romeo and Juliet the story of “Two households both alike in dignity,” (Montagues and Capulets) who have been feuding is parallel to the two gangs in West Side Story (Jets and Sharks). This grouping of loyalties keeps the segregation of the two groups at a dead lock, thus producing the tension that keeps the two lovers in each play (Romeo and Juliet, Tony and Maria) in the unattainable, intangible realm of their idealistic love. It is these two groupings that cause the star-crossed

West Side Story is a modern interpretation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In West Side Story, there are two gangs, the Sharks and the Jets. These two gangs represent the families that were feuding in Romeo and Juliet. The Sharks are the Capulets, and the Jets are the Montagues. Tony, who is portraying Romeo, is in the Jets gang.

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Love is a universal truth that is portrayed similarly in both Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. Two members of warring groups fall in love. Love is something that we can all relate to in one way or another and it will never change over time. In Romeo and Juliet both Romeo and Juliet have such a strong love for each other that they both commit suicide when the other dies. In West Side Story, Tony and Maria talk of running away and they have such a strong love that they believe that they can end the hatred with their love.

West Side Story maintains Romeo and Juliet’s intricate and exciting plot using appropriate adaptations to accommodate mid-twentieth-century pop culture. For instance, both artistic forms portray mutual disrespect between the parties. At the dawn of Romeo and Juliet, Capulet’s cohorts harass Montague’s. "I will bite my thumb at them; which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it," boasts Sampson (1.1.42-43). In the opening scene of West Side Story, several members of a Puerto Rican gang insult A-rab, a member of the opposing gang. It is here where Lieutenant Schrank becomes aware of the potential rumble.

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You can see here that loyalty can become a factor when it comes in between friends or even family, and the critical decisions made by the characters is a perfect example from White about how choosing where to place loyalty can often become complex and create a complicated

In the story, friendship is portrayed in many odd interesting ways between the characters. The main friendship of the story is between Lennie and George. Lennie depends on George for guidance and for security because that is the only person Lennie trusts and he considers George as a friend, they have basically been with each other all their life, but Lennie sometimes causes trouble because

Family discourses, societal pressures, and fate's cruel plan twist their love into tragedy. In both West Side Story and Romeo + Juliet, contrast eminent parallels of betrayal and loss through betrayal among friends, betrayal within familial bonds, and loss of innocence.

Loyalty and friendship play key roles in the lives of those who acknowledge its worth. Living life with whom a person loves greatly increases happiness and trust between those in the relationship. But this unity may come at a cost; true friendship requires sacrifice. Friendship and loyalty in the novella, Of Mice and Men, by expression through John Steinbeck’s interpretation, brings greater understanding to their importance of each.

Romeo and Juliet shared a secret, forbidden love, much like Tony and Maria’s. The Montagues and the Capulets- both sophisticated, wealthy families would have been driven mad to hear that their children had fallen in love, and had plans to marry secretly and run away together. The jets and sharks- two street gangs- would quite literally kill one another upon finding out about Tony and Maria’s short-lived romance. Neither of the groups wanted for the two to fall in love- whether it was because of a family hatred traced back for generations or because of a simple dispute over the street- their love way truly forbidden. When their love was discovered, there was a sense of betrayal, that by loving their enemies they were destroying their allies within their own groups. The gang members of West Side Story felt as if they had to get revenge for the death of their leader- and that led to more killing. Revenge became a common denominator in both

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Now, the nurse does more than care for her when Juliet becomes sick or gets hurt. The nurse has cared for Juliet her entire life, and relates to her as a type of mother. Since the two have been together for so long their loyalty for each other is strong. For example, the nurse sees Juliet with Romeo and does not tell Lord or Lady Capulet. Juliet wants to marry Romeo and the nurse allows it, and wants to help the wedding happen. “Hie to your chamber: I'll find Romeo To comfort you: I wot well where he is” (RJ.3.2.142-143). This quote depicts the Nurse being loyal by going to get Romeo even though he just killed Tybalt. In hindsight the nurse displayed the most loyalty due to her being around Juliet for so long and sticking with her through all of the tough