Essay/Term paper: A comparison of romeo and juliet and west side story.

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Romeo and Juliet

A Comparison of Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story.


There is a lot in common between the two plays Romeo And Juliet and West
Side Story. The main male characters have many things in common. In fact,
Toni and Romeo both miss the beginning fight at the beginning of the plays, they
both fall in love and end up getting killed. The difference between the two is
that Toni takes place in the 1950s'', while Romeo happens in Elizabethan times
(the late 1500s). The two main female characters also have many things in
common. Juliet and Maria both come from families that hate each other's
boyfriend's families. Something that makes Juliet different from Maria is that
Juliet dies and Maria lives. In both of these plays the main male character
kills a relative of their lover. In Romeo And Juliet, Romeo kills Tybalta,
Juliet's cousin. In West Side Story, Toni kills Bernardo, Maria's brother.
There was a person in both play's that tried to make peace. These people were
the Prince and the Lieutenant. The Prince, from Romeo And Juliet, had told
Romeo and Juliet's families that if there was another riot that the heads of
each family will be killed. The Lieutenant, from West Side Story, had told the
Puerto Rican's and the American's that if they get into another fight they all
will have to go to jail. The difference between the two peace-makers is that the
Prince has more power than the Lieutenant. In the story of Romeo and Juliet,
Paris wants to marry Juliet against her wishes. Her father wants Paris West
Side Story to marry Juliet. Juliet goes off and marries Romeo without telling
anyone. In Chino wants to marry Maria against her wishes, just like Paris in
Romeo and Juliet. Maria and Toni do not get married, which is in contrast to
Romeo and Juliet. Marcucio in Romeo and Juliet, is killed while battling Tybalta.
In West Side Story Riff is killed in a knife fight with Bernardo. Both deaths
are accidental and cause the hero's ( Romeo and Toni) to kill the close relative
of their lovers (Tybalta and Bernardo). Both stories conclude in the sad
reconciliation of two fighting factions at the cost of the lives of the two
young lovers.
After comparing and contrasting the two plays I've come the conclusion
that Romeo and Juliet is better than West Side Story. It is better because the
language and the story moves in a more interesting manner. "A grooming peace
this morning with it brings. The Sun for sorrow will not show his head. For
never was there a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo".