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Many are extremely familiar with the Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” love story but what many don’t know is that their unfortunate endings were heavily influenced by their surroundings, causing their unfortunate endings that could’ve been prevented. In the story, Romeo and Juliet go through many circumstances, leading up to their deaths, including: friends, parents, and society at that time. The young couple took their lives because of the overwhelming presence and constant pressure of their surroundings, causing each one to make questionable and dangerous decisions.
When looking into the famous love story, it is quite obvious to notice the difference in today’s society and the story’s society.
During this time period of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare demonstrates how everyone was treated; like how in battle, men were killed and women were taken and raped as a sign of victory. To connect this back to Romeo and Juliet, women were often looked at as a piece of property, a man’s possession, etc.
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In some parts of the play, Romeo is seen treating Juliet similarly to how all men treated women during that time: taking down to her, treating her like an object that he owns, etc. Shakespeare put into action the way men talked down to women, especially on page 201 where Juliet’s father is enraged by her rejection of marrying a man she doesn’t know, and shows his anger by yelling at Juliet and calling her such names as: worthless, brat, fool, and others.
Such outbursts as this had a decent effect on Juliet, making her choose the choices she made that lead to her and her lover’s death. Society during that time had a great effect on both, leading to their unfortunate mishaps and their sad loss.
Throughout the story, it’s not difficult to understand that neither Romeo or Juliet’s parents were involved in their lives growing up. On page 203, it is seen that the Nurse that cares after Juliet could be considered her motherly figure, as she defend Juliet during an argument with her father (Shakespeare). Seeing this, it’s rather easy to put together why Juliet is not close to her birth mother and why she is not fond of her. Absence of parental guidance through childhood years can severely impact the behavior of an adolescent, as seen in the play. In fact, the only time Romeo’s parents are mentioned in the story is when the Capulet’s and Montague’s are fighting in the streets of Verona (Shakespeare). Romeo is already portrayed as a more depressing character, so seeing his parents’ absence is another puzzle piece to his downward emotion. This had lead Romeo to make the decisions that later lead to his end. Understanding this, Romeo and Juliet have both been affected by the absence of their parents, which had left a gap in proper development of decision-making.
Along with the continued thoughts, research shows that an adolescent can be very much affected by their friends. In the story, Shakespeare shows Romeo being made fun of for expressing his emotion towards his crush’s rejection of his love. This ties back into their society’s expectations about boys not having emotion, along with the psychological imprint Romeo’s friends have on him. His friends are poking fun at the fact that Romeo is depressed over his failed attempt at love, and one can see the impact that it has on him throughout the play. In an article discussing influences of friends, Karen Kleinschmidt states, “The choices teens make are, at times, greatly influenced by their friends.” The article goes on to say that the brain activity of an adolescent is different when they’re alone and when they're with friends. Connecting this back to Romeo and Juliet, they were already at risk of doing something dangerous when in the presence of others, especially their friends. To say that their friends did not play a part in their deaths is a true misunderstanding and simply false information.
Another part that played a role in their deaths is the affects they had on themselves, such as their willingness to do anything for each other. Throughout the play, Romeo and Juliet are always ready to defend and protect each other, even though they’ve only known each other for a couple days. This romantic relationship has affected a multitude of their decisions, leading to their unfortunate endings. In addition to this, their undeveloped teenage minds were greatly affected by the influence the had on each other. “Falling in love is an emotional upheaval at any age, but for adolescents the feelings are more likely to be even more difficult to manage,”. This article discusses the impact of teenage love and association with their behavior. It goes on to discuss how adolescent development along with young romance impacts their choices depending on the lover. Romeo and Juliet went through similar circumstances and faced the same challenges, which helps put together the factual reason why they took their lives in the name of love.
Although the couple’s decisions seemed primary based off of the influence of their surroundings, their brain could also have a large affect on their choices made. “It was once believed that teens were impulsive due to raging hormones and that they were difficult because they hated authority,” . While this may have been true, many adolescent decisions are primarily based on the common trend of decisions within a group. It has been proven that teens can be smart with their choices when left alone, not while in a group of people. “Discussing the consequences of their actions can help teens link impulsive thinking with facts. This helps the brain make these connections and wires the brain to make this link more often,”. Because of the absence of parental guidance and lack of approval from friends, their questionable decisions were based on what they were surrounded by more than their developing brains. Romeo and Juliet’s actions were not based on their love for one another, but based on their imprints that their surroundings gave them.
In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet made nonlogical and risky decisions based on their negative surroundings. Many were involved and played a part in their deaths, such as: friends, parental involvement, and their stereotypical society. Their tragic ending caused by their actions could have been prevented, if only things were to happen at a different time and a different place.
The Famous Love Story Of Romeo and Juliet. (2024, Feb 15). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/the-famous-love-story-of-romeo-and-juliet-essay
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