Romeo And Juliet - Comparisson To West Side Story Essay -- essays rese

The play western 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 villainy mingled with families and between gangs, although, because of the "star-crossd lovers" motif in Romeo and Juliet, the aversion 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 Tonys 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 riffle 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 "ru mble." Anitas hatred for the Jets is fueled by their treatment of her at Docs 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 discretion of the nature of gangs in the 1950s 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 distressing 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 close to 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 upturned that the Puerto Ricans were taking over their "turf". "Turf" could range... ...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. other 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 isnt 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 alliance of its prejudicial attitude against the Puerto Ricans and reveal everyones role in her and Tonys 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 elapse to portray the common themes of hatred and violence. However, because Juliet and Romeos relationship is so altered by fate, they are less affected by the violence in their society than Tony and Maria are.