Romeo and Juliet Literary Essay

 In life, we always make irrational decisions. Sometimes we are given a choice. Other times, we are not. These decisions may lead you to something more terrifying and unexpected. “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare shows a perfect example. Romeo and Juliet make the wrong decisions that don’t only affect them, but others too. “Romeo and Juliet” is filled with tragedies and romance. Shakespeare shows how wrong decision can cause major consequences.  

One decision Romeo and Juliet made was to get married. Marriage doesn’t sound detrimental. But it doesn’t sound great either if your parents are rivals. The Montagues (Romeo’s family) and the Capulets (Juliet’s family) were enemies for a very long time. Romeo and Juliet knew that perfectly but that didn’t stop them from getting married. Their love for each other led them to that decision and they believed marriage will keep them together forever. “As mine on hers, so hers is set on mine, and all combined, save what thou must combine by holy marriage.” (2.3.63-65) so what Romeo is trying to say is that they are perfect for each other and they need to get married. They may be perfect for each other, but they should’ve thought about what might happen after they were married. Eventually, it all leads up to death. If Romeo and Juliet never met, they wouldn’t have been married. Romeo would probably still be sulking over Rosaline and Juliet will be married to Paris. Even though they don’t want that, it’s way better than losing your life. Even if they prefer death, I still think getting married was a bad decision.

Another bad decision Juliet made was drinking the vial instead of marrying Paris. She believed that after drinking the vial, everyone will think that she’s dead, Romeo will come for her, and her life will be perfect from then on. But things didn’t go as planned. Romeo wasn’t aware of her plan and when he found out she was“dead”, he killed himself. Juliet believed that marrying Paris would ruin her marriage with Romeo. “I pray you, tell my lord and father, madam, I will not marry yet, and when I do I swear it shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, rather than Paris.” (3.5.125-128). Juliet doesn’t actually hate Romeo. She was talking to her mother and she didn’t want her mother to know that they were married. I don’t think the Capulets, nor the Montagues, would accept that fact that their children are married. So Lady Capulet thinks that her daughter despises Romeo. And Juliet claims that she’d rather marry Romeo, whom she “hates”, than Paris. And her hate for Romeo is just an excuse for not marrying Paris. And she only wanted to be with Romeo. Therefore, she drank the vial. If she didn’t, she would have been married to Paris. But there are many other ways she could’ve gotten out of it. She could’ve ran away or have Romeo pick her up when everyone’s asleep. Instead, she took a risk, and drank the vial, which led to something worse.

A decision Romeo made, that wasn’t so clever, was to kill himself, when he found Juliet “dead”. He didn’t know that she drank the vial, so when he thought she was dead, he poisoned himself. He chose to do this because he loves Juliet and his love for her pulled him towards that decision. He insisted that he’d stay with her forever; “For fear of that I still will stay with thee and never from this palace of dim night depart again. Here, here will I remain with worms that are thy chambermaids. O, here will I set up my everlasting rest.” (5.3.106-110) What Romeo is trying to say is that he will stay with her forever no matter how bad it is down there in the tomb. Not even fear can chase him out of there. Therefore, he killed himself so he can be with Juliet eternally. “Here’s to my love. [Drinking] O true apothecary, Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.” (5.3. 119-120).  In my opinion, I think it was very kind of Romeo to take his life so he can be with Juliet. But at the same time, it’s unfortunate because she wasn’t really dead. If only she woke up in time.

Romeo and Juliet make decisions that turn out to be wrong, because their love for each other forces them into it. And these decisions may lead to more challenging choices. Romeo and Juliet decided to get married. Then that led to Juliet drinking the vial instead of marrying Paris. And that led to Romeo and Juliet killing themselves. They aren’t the only ones in the world that make mishandles decisions. Everyone does at least once in a life time. Even I made a few bad decisions. Some may be as serious and challenging as Romeo’s and Juliet’s. Others aren’t. But either way, everyone makes senseless choices.

Life As We Knew It

I’m reading a book called “life As We Knew It”. So far in this book Miranda a 16 year old is going through a lot. Her parents are divorced and her social life is not going so great.  Her dad got married to a girl half his age and is having a baby. Miranda doesn't like her dad’s new wife and she especially doesn't like the fact that there having a baby together. On the bright side her mom finally found a man that she really likes, peter. She also has two brothers Matt and Johnny. Johnny is obsessed with baseball and is a little self fish. Matt on the other hand is a smart positive that’s been sent out to collage. Miranda’s life changed when a meteor hit the moon. The meteor hit the moon so hard it got closer to earth. As it got closer the tides rose and tsunami hit. Thunderstorms hit and gas prices rose. Now Miranda has no electricity and has over a hundred cans of food in her kitchen. She did meet a boy named Dan. Eventually her mom stopped trusting her and Miranda is furious that her mom wouldn't let her go out. All in all Miranda’s life turned upside down.

                Miranda’s is confused about her new boyfriend because she really likes him but her mom does not approve. Miranda wants to stay with Dan but she knows that her mom is worried that Dan is using her. Miranda’s mom warned her about giving away food. Miranda’s mom told her that the only thing that matters is family. Miranda of course ignores are and still hangs out with Dan. If I was in a situation where I was in apocalypse, the only thing I will be worried about is my family. I’m guessing Miranda hasn't realized that, or maybe she’s in “love”.  A complex thing that Miranda is going through is that she can only eat once a day. Miranda and her family want to save food because they now that they will run out.  I feel bad for her family because they have to suffer through starvation. I can’t last one day without eating at least twice.

The Bully

I’m reading a book called “The Bully”. So far in this book a boy named Darrell who just moved from the projects to California is having a hard time getting adjusted. He had to start fresh and that didn’t work out so well. A new school, new home and a new bully that won’t stop bugging him. Darrel can’t even walk by himself to get some milk. His bully will charge Darrell. He told him to give him 10 dollars a day if he wants the bully to stop harassing him. But that still didn’t stop him. He spread rumors, humiliated him in front of class. Darrell did though meet a girl. She was a sweet girl that had a crush on Darrell. Darrell’s heart was broken after the girl rejected him because of a rumor the bully spread. After a few months of wrestling classes Darrell stood up for himself. No more rumors, harassment, and pay days. All in all he got the girl of his dreams and doesn’t have a bully harassing him any chance he has. Darrell’s life turned around.
     One complex thing that happened in the story is when the bully ruined Darrell’s love life. He told the girl of his dreams a false rumor about how Darrell was a man slut. This is complex because the only thing that got him into a good mood is Claudia (Darrell’s crush). He had no father, a broke mother and a bully. She’s the only person that got him through the day. When his bully told her a false rumor she wouldn't hang out with Darrell anymore.  I think the only reason why Tyral bullied Darrell was because he wanted to let out his anger onto him. I also think he likes Claudia because in the book it states that Tyral will always give Darrell a devious look whenever he’s with Claudia. 
While I was reading this book I noticed another important conflict. He didn't have a dad. It’s a small detail that was mentioned but I noticed a lot of things that were related to this detail. Like for instance he had to cry himself to sleep everyday because his dad left. His dad had a high paying job that supported the family. Also in my opinion I think that a dad’s responsibility is mostly motivation. Whenever Darrell is down he needed a dad to pick him right up. A dad is supposed to be at his son’s games and teach life lessons and not beating his wife senseless after drinking.  Sadly he didn’t have a dad. No one could protect him accept for himself. 
In conclusion Darrell’s life didn’t turn out the way he wanted. He had a broken heart, poor family and no dad to stand by him. Eventually he stood up for himself and his life twisted around.