Impulsiveness: A Comparative Study of Romeo and Juliet and The Three Questions

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Impulsiveness in Romeo and Juliet and The Three Questions In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, there is an underlying theme of doing things on impulse and living life by the moment. Along with this theme, there is also a theme of misunderstanding that is present throughout both of the stories. The same themes are presented in the short story The Three Questions by Leo Tolstoy. They might present the same themes, but in the end these two stories portray the characters and events in the story differently, fundamentally changing the message they convey and the story they tell. In Romeo and Juliet, the theme of living by your heart is romanticized in the beginning of the story, with Romeo and Juliet falling into love, but in the …show more content…

One of such similarities lies in the way that both stories portray the theme. Both stories, at some point, glorify and romanticize the thought of living life by the moment and living life on reflex. This is portrayed in Romeo and Juliet towards the beginning of the book, where their love at literal first sight is portrayed in a positive light and towards the end of The Three Questions, where the theme is treated as a wise lesson that the main character experienced first hand during his quest to find answers. In both of these sections of these two stories, the main characters both act on impulse, and from it, gain something. In the case of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo forgets about Rosaline and moves on from his depression and Juliet finally finds someone that she finally loves. In the case of the Three Questions, the king not only learns the answer to his three questions, but avoids being assassinated as well. Though despite how both stories are similar in how they portray the theme in a good light, they also both portray the same theme in a bad light at one point too. Both stories, at one point, portray impulsiveness as the wrong decision, especially when it is related to misunderstanding or revenge. For example, in Romeo and Juliet, due to the misunderstanding of the plan that Juliet set up, Romeo hastily killed himself, causing Juliet to kill herself, which placed a heavy weight on everybody they’ve known. In The Three Questions, the assassin, who had misunderstood the king and his actions, rose up to kill him out of rash revenge. This act almost gets him killed, and he is barely saved by the king himself. In both of these cases, the misunderstanding and rash actions of a character only brings suffering to the character and the characters related to

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