The play West Side Story, by Arthur Laurents, is based upon the play Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare. Despite a few differences, both works, in essence, have the same plot. The source of violence in Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story is the ever-present hatred between families and between gangs, although, because of the "star-cross’d lovers" motif in Romeo and Juliet, the hatred plays a larger role in producing the ending of West Side Story than it does the ending of Romeo and Juliet.
The tension and hatred between gangs in West Side Story has a drastic affect on Maria and Tony’s relationship as well as on the outcome of the play. Because of the hatred between their respective gangs, Tony and Maria are not able to meet or even talk in public - they must do it secretly. Also, Bernardo and Riff are strong focuses of hate. They cannot see past their blind hatred for each other. Because of this, both of them, as well as Tony, are killed in the "rumble." Anita’s hatred for the Jets is fueled by their treatment of her at Doc’s candy store. This influences her to tell them that Maria is dead, thus affecting the ending of the play. Chino is another source of hatred. When Tony kills Bernardo, Chino is driven by the need for revenge and he kills Tony.
In order to fully understand the plot of West Side Story, one must have an understanding of the nature of gangs in the 1950’s and know the reasons for their actions. Between 1941 and 1956, more than 500,000 Puerto Ricans moved to major cities in the U.S. such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Cleveland. The majority of them lived in poor areas of their city. Puerto Rican gangs formed so that they could protect themselves from prejudiced Americans. Many people took advantage of the immigrants’ poor social status. For example, Bernardo says, "And Chino makes half what the Polack makes - the Polack is American!" (Laurents 165) Youth agencies and youth boards concluded that most gangs formed because of the poverty, disease, and racism present in the ghetto. Gangs, which were usually made up of teenagers, fought over girls, territory (otherwise known as "turf"), and racial matters. Italian, Jewish, and Irish gangs were worried that the Puerto Ricans were taking over their "turf". "Turf" could range...
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...and Juliet, when they marry, must marry secretly because of the feud. However, Maria and Tony do not marry, although they do perform a mock wedding. Another example of a difference is that Anita purposely tells the Jets that Maria is dead because of her hatred for them. But when Balthasar tells Romeo that Juliet is dead, he does it without knowing that it isn’t true. The last major difference between the two works is the death of the heroine. Juliet kills herself because she knows that her Romeo is dead and she cannot live without him. However, Maria is left alive at the end of West Side Story. It is almost as though she does not die so that she can accuse society of its prejudicial attitude against the Puerto Ricans and reveal everyone’s role in her and Tony’s love story.
As it is with any work that is based on something else, it is the differences as well as the similarities that make both the original and the inspired appealing. Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story continue to portray the common themes of hatred and violence. However, because Juliet and Romeo’s relationship is so altered by fate, they are less affected by the violence in their society than Tony and Maria are.
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story both tell a story of two lovers who can not be together because of a feud. The characters in Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story are similar in their actions but are different in family background and their attitudes. Two characters that are similar, but different are Tybalt and Bernardo. The two characters had different attitudes and family backgrounds.Tybalt’s attitude was more daring, while Bernardo’s waited for the trouble to come to him first. Even though, Tybalt and Bernardo both come from different backgrounds, they have hatred toward the other side and the actions toward their enemies were the similar, which cost the lives of others and themselves.
The great love of Tony and Maria, they tried to keep their love a secret, scared of other reactions. When Bernardo saw Tony and Maria dancing, he freaked out and rushed her home, and Anita tried to tell Maria to stick to her own kind, Puerto Ricans, to forget Tony. They were expected to follow the informal sanctions, which are rules that no one speaks of but everyone knows about them. Another definition of informal sanction is “the usually unexpressed but widely known rules of group membership; the unspoken rules of social life” (Conley, ____). Though when murdered is committed the Jets all go into hiding and a plan to protect themselves because they broke a law society implemented and expected them to follow to stop crime, they broke a formal sanction. A clear definition of formal sanctions is “mechanisms of social control by which rules/laws prohibit deviant criminal behavior” (Conley, ___).
The language used in these two scenes is quite different. In Romeo and Juliet the majority of the scene is of the two lovers confessing their undying love for each other using beautiful language and many metaphors. They also discuss marriage and serious commitments to each other. In Westside Story, this scene is spent singing to each other, which I find, makes it more romantic but has less tension. They also don’t seem as serious about commitment towards each other.
How are modern day gangs compared to Shakespeare’s book, “Romeo and Juliet?” Romeo and Juliet is based on a play and gang violence can be based on a play, a real life story, or reality. Today, I will be comparing modern day gang violence in California to the family feud in Romeo and Juliet. The purpose for writing this essay is to inform readers on how family issues can be considered as gang related issues.
In 1596, William Shakespeare published the tragic tale of two star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. The origins of this story are uncertain but Shakespeare’s chief source for his adoption of the story was from “…The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet, a poem by Arthur Brooke (1562). He also knew the story from Palace of Pleasure, by William Painter, which appeared in several editions prior to 1580.”(Boyce 563) Shakespeare’s classic tale is about “two young lovers caught in the crossfire of a senseless family feud.”(Shakespeare 3) This feud between the two families ultimately is the cause of the two lovers untimely demise. In 1996, Baz Luhrmann produced a modern film of the classic tragedy entitled William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet. Adding familiar images and common ideas, Luhrmann brought the classic story to modern times. Though Romeo + Juliet has many differences from the original version from Shakespeare, it supports the original characters, themes, dialogue, and key issues of the classic tale of the star-crossed lovers.
The leaders of both gangs fell to the ground. Riff by the hands of Bernardo, then Bernardo by the hands of Tony. Angry and confused, Maria still retains her love for Tony even after her only brother was slain, but little did they know the jealous Chino had caught on to the lovers. In order to escape the justice of the law, Tony had to make his escape but first found aid among his friends. A message was sent through Anita, girlfriend to Bernardo, for Maria was detained by the police at the time of questioning.
Love is a beautiful thing, it always works out in the end. Everyone is always happy and no problems occur. West Side Story, a musical by Leonard Bornstein based on Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet parallels a love story of two star-crossed lovers. The play takes place in 1961 in New York City. This musical displays importance because it shows that nothing can overcome the power of love. This play is based on a love story between the main characters of Maria and Tony. Theses two are from different gangs that trouble to get along. They are from different gangs that do not get along at all. Roughly two hundred blocks make up Manhattan’s West Side, which stretches from Central Park West to the Hudson River. For the most part, the street youths
Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story share many similar themes. Romeo and Juliet both chronicle a story of overcoming prejudice and hatred, forbidden love, and defying stereotypes that nobody thought could be broken. The two stories are similar in a multitude of ways, even though their settings are centuries apart- Romeo and Juliet set in the 1500’s, and West Side Story set in the 1950’s. Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story both teach a lesson of how prejudice can teach you how to hate, and how one of your rivals may be the one who helps you remember how to love.
Paramount aspect of the movie and the play, the theme, were the same, and the overall messages in both were the same. For example, one main message in the stories was that love conquers all. This was demonstrated in both the play and the film when Romeo and Juliet kept secretly meeting each other even though they knew it was against their families’ wishes. In one scene of both the movie and the play Romeo and Juliet even got married and died together so that even if they could not be together on earth they would be together in death. Another message you learn from watching the movie and the play was that fighting solves nothing. In the play, when the two feuding families, the Montague’s and the Caplets, find their children dead they resolve their differences and agree to build a gold statue of Romeo and Juliet made out of gold after they state that their fighting only brought suffering. In the movie, although the families didn’t make up, you can infer that it was if the families and not been fighting that Romeo and Juliet would not have killed themselves, because they would not have to meet in secret and have Friar Lawrence devise a complicated plan so they could be together without their parents knowledge .
Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story have many differences and similarities. Characters such as Chino and Count Paris are very similar. There are also many similar events like their rumble. However, there are some differences in the scenes such as the tomb scene.There are many similarities and differences in West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo and Juliet is a play about two adolescents—Romeo and Juliet from two hostile families fall in love with each other. This prohibited love ultimately turns into a romantic tragedy, in which they commit suicide for each other. Both Franco Zeffirelli’s (1968) and Baz Lurhmann’s (1996) versions retained the dialogues written by William Shakespeare in their movies. However, these two movies are directed in their own unique ways, which have several distinctive differences.
“And remember, as it was written, to love another person is to see the face of God.” -Victor Hugo. William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a tragic, romantic play. The story takes place in place Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day. It was produced in the 16th century. Romeo and Juliet is the tale of two lovers. The Remains of the Day deals with the conflicting emotions and feelings of a butler named Mr. Stevens. It was produced in the 21st century. Romeo and Juliet and The Remains of the Day are extremely similar in regards to theme and characters, and although there are contrasting elements in the setting and plot, there are still similarities to be found.
West Side Story is a play that has stood test of time. The musical is based on the story West Side Story by Arthur Laurents. Laurents wrote the book as a loose retelling of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The story was included in a book that contained more of Laurents works. The year in which the book of works was released is unknown. The original production was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins. The production is based on a conception by Robbins. It was composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Before West Side Story became the production it is, it was originally going to be called East Side Story. East Side Story was about an interreligious Christian/Jewish relationship between two young lovers. After
To start with, Romeo and Juliet takes place in Verona in about 1594, while West Side Story takes places in New York City in 1957. Tony is the modern version of Romeo and Maria is the modern Juliet. A huge similarity is that the major conflict of both books is the opposing families do not agree with the relationship of their child. The resolution of this conflict is tragic in both and results in death for both male lovers.
As similarities, both stories center on star-crossed lovers; they come from different classes/levels, and in both stories, the man comes from a lower class, and the lady comes from royal society. Both of the ladies in the stories were being forced to marry another man, even if she loved someone else. Examples of differences are when in Romeo and Juliet, both Romeo and Juliet die, while only Jack dies in Titanic. In Romeo and Juliet, only a few characters die, and all their deaths are scattered throughout the book, while in Titanic, lots of people die, and they all die at once when the ship hit the iceberg and sinks. In Titanic, the upper and lower classes did not want to kill each other - like in Romeo and Juliet - they just treated them