The Pursuit Of Happiness In Romeo And Juliet, By Harper Lee

William James once said that “Action may not bring happiness but there is no happiness without action." Everyone living in a society we live in today are putting in efforts to obtain happiness. Many individuals will pursue that happiness while others will compromise it. To achieve happiness, everyone has their own methods, but sometimes it will not work, when you realize you can’t always have what you want. In the text To Kill A Mockingbird and the Shakespearean play Romeo and Juliet, Harper Lee and Shakespeare developed the idea that every individual pursue or compromise happiness differently because we have different beliefs and values that shapes our identities. Compromise can seem like a negative thing, but in some situations it is crucial to happiness. It is not possible to always everything you want in life but the desire of pursuing happiness provide individuals with more satisfaction than compromising happiness.

Every individuals are shaped by their own personal beliefs and values which influences how

they make decisions of how to pursue or compromise happiness. Many don’t believe that there is a set definition of happiness. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus was a character who believes in justice and that there should not be discrimination among people. Atticus said "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” This quote represents how even if there is no chance of victory they will still fight for justice because a person must still do the right thing, even when faced with a situation where they cannot succeed. Atticus defended Tom Robinson because he believed it was the right thing to do. The case did not end as we anticipated but most importantly Atticus stayed brave and firm about his beliefs and values. Without regrets he pursued his happiness by fighting for justice and helping others. Not everyone is like Atticus when it comes to pursuing happiness, some will compromise happiness instead.

Many individuals do not pursue happiness but rather compromise happiness. In the play Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare developed that idea that in some situations, compromise is crucial to happiness. Romeo and Juliet were entangled between their families feud and was unable to marry each other. They were unable to ignore the feud between their families and pursue their own happiness. Instead they had to compromise happiness which was indicated by “O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet.” This quote shows how Juliet tries to separate Romeo from his identity as a Montague, and contemplates deserting her family for him to acquire happiness. In the situation that Romeo and Juliet was in compromise was crucial to their happiness because they did not have any other options. Compromising is not the best alternative to acquire happiness.

It is better to have the desire of pursuing happiness than compromising happiness.

Happiness comes in many different ways depending on an individual. When you have to compromise to acquire happiness, it does not always end with good results. This idea was developed in the play Romeo and Juliet written by Shakespeare when the ending was not was we were anticipating. To acquire the happiness they wanted, Juliet faked her death to avoid marrying Paris and run away with Romeo. When Juliet tried to compromise her happiness she never thought about possible consequences. After discovering Romeo dead, Juliet said “Yea, noise? then I’ll be brief. O happy dagger! This is thy sheath.” This quote represents how when trying to compromise happiness, results are not always satisfying. In this case, if Juliet had to fake her death to acquire happiness, it is not worth it. If she had a stronger desire to pursuing happiness with Romeo, death would not be how this story

ends.