Teenage Brains In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

The headlines read: The woes of teen life has come to Verona with tragic results Their naive and irrational behavior have resulted in the death of several people, in particular thirteen year old Juliet Capulet and seventeen year old Romeo Montague. The following essay takes a look at first the under developed brain of the teenlager, secondly teenagers as impulsive risk takers, and lastly the lack of guidance from the adults in their lives. Juliet Capulet is a thirteen year old girl trying to make adult decisions with an undeveloped brain. Juliet believes she is in love with a boy she met at a dance. Furthermore, she is naive and follows her heart regardless of the fact she finds out the boy she loves is a hated enemy. Her feelings fuel

Romeo states, “I see more danger in your eyes than in twenty of their swords” (II.II.75-76) Romeo is willing to risk bodily harm from the Capulets and alienation from his family for the love of a girl he just met and is the daughter of his family’s hated enemy. As unlikely as it seems, studies conclude teens are prone to engage in reckless behavior due to the reward system in their brains being very sensitive. Romeo perceives the reward of Juliet’s love is worth the risk. With this in mind, as stated from the text, Teenage Brains are Malleable and Vulnerable, by John Hamilton, “Circuits involved in self-control are not developed yet.” Thus, the adolescent brain are vulnerable to impulsive decisions. Finally, Romeo appears to be left to his own devices without the guidance of responsible

On page 19 of “The Teenage Brain: Still under construction”it states, “The fact that so much change is taking place beneath the surface may be something for parents to keep in mind during the ups and downs of adolescents.” Juliet is dealing with an uncaring father with no guidance skills. On the other hand, Romeo’s father states, “But he, his own affections” counselor, is to himself.” (I.I.134) Romeo is being secretive and keeping his delima to himself, consequently he rambles the streets of Verona instead of sleeping. Sleep deprivation is another factor that young brains contend with making them irrational. Additionally, instead of Montegue allowing Romeo to either hide in his room or roam the streets at night, Winseler states in paragraph 3, “Parents, educator, and therapists need to pay attention to the role of sleep preventing mental illness among youth.” Teenagers who don’t get enough sleep have higher risk of mental health