Romeo and Juliet Essay (edited)

   

Some people say you can't help who you fall in love with, others believe marriages should be planned. As far as marriage traditions, the role of parents, and rebelling while in love, there are many similarities and differences between Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and modern day teenage couples lives.

    Marriage traditions have changed/not changed in many ways. In Romeo and Juliet everyone had arranged marriage. It was a tradition of many people to have their parents pick their husband or wife. For example in Romeo and Juliet when Lady Capulet first tells Juliet she must get married she starts off by saying, “Tell me, daughter Juliet, how stands your disposition to be married?” (1.3.69-70) She imposes marriage on Juliet even though Juliet is only 14.These traditions still exist today but they are practiced much less. Some religions still require arranged marriage but overall it's a much rarer thing to see. Another difference is that back in the days of Romeo and Juliet gay/lesbian marriage was completely unheard of. Now gay/lesbian marriage is legalized in 9 states and is on its way to being legalized in more.

    Parents are a very big part of both modern day teenage couples and Romeo and Juliet. Back then and now, if you're a teen you live with your parents. When you live with your parents they have much more control over your life than if you lived away from home. They have much more control over you since you aren't yet an adult. They see who you are dating and who you bring in and out of their home. If they don't like the person you are seeing then they most likely will ban you from dating them. And, as mentioned before, parents have all control over arranged marriages. In one scene of Romeo and Juliet, Capulet is forcing Juliet to marry Paris, he says: “I tell thee what: get thee to church o’ Thursday, or never again look me in the face.” (3.5.167-168)

    Kids rebelling is and was a common thing for teenagers to do when in love. In the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo sneaks out at night and climbs the garden walls of Juliets house just to see her, he says, “For stony limits cannot hold love out, and what love can do, that dares love attempt. Therefore thy kinsman are no stop to me”, Juliet responds saying, “If they do see thee, they will murder thee.” (2.2.72-75) This shows how many rules Romeo is breaking just to see Juliet. One reason kids rebel is when their parents are strict. When parents are strict kids often feel the need to defy them and do something bad. They'll date people they aren't supposed to, run away from home, or sneak out at night. When Romeo and Juliet rebelled I feel like it was a bigger deal because rules were much stricter back then and the penalty for breaking rules was bigger as well. Also in Romeo and Juliet it was a rare thing to break the rules, whereas today many teens break the rules of their parents.

    All these points make it easy to see the many similarities and differences between Romeo and Juliet and the lives of modern day couples. Some people prefer a more traditional way of living while others like being more lenient. No matter what the circumstances are, the meaning of love never changes.

Final Romeo and Juliet Essay due 5/1

Some people say you can't help who you fall in love with, others believe marriages should be planned. As far as marriage, parents, and rebelling, there are many similarities and differences between Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespere and modern day teenage couples.

    Marriage traditions have changed/not changed in many ways. In Romeo and Juliet everyone had arranged marriage. It was a tradition of many people to have their parents pick their husband or wife. For example in Romeo and Juliet when Lady Capulet first tells Juliet she must get married she starts off by saying, “Tell me, daughter Juliet, how stands your disposition to be married?” (1.3.69-70) She imposes marriage on Juliet even though Juliet is only 14.These traditions still exist today but they are practiced much less. Some religions still require arranged marriage but overall it's a much rarer thing to see. Another difference is that back in the days of Romeo and Juliet gay/lesbian marriage was completely unheard of. Now gay/lesbian marriage is legalized in 9 states and is on its way to being legalized in more.

    Parents are a very big part of both modern day teenage couples and Romeo and Juliet. Back then and now, if you're a teen you live with your parents. When you live with your parents they have much more control over your life than if you lived away from home. They have much more control over you since you aren't yet an adult. They see who you are dating and who you bring in and out of their home. If they don't like the person you are seeing then they most likely will ban you from dating them. And, as mentioned before, parents have all control over arranged marriages. In one scene of Romeo and Juliet, Capulet is forcing Juliet to marry Paris, he says: “I tell thee what: get thee to church o’ Thursday, or never again look me in the face.” (3.5.167-168)

    Kids rebelling is and was a common thing for teenagers to do when in love. In the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo sneaks out at night and climbs the garden walls of Juliets house just to see her, he says, “For stony limits cannot hold love out, and what love can do, that dares love attempt. Therefore thy kinsman are no stop to me”, Juliet responds saying, “If they do see thee, they will murder thee.” (2.2.72-75) This shows how many rules Romeo is breaking just to see Juliet. One reason kids rebel is when their parents are strict. When parents are strict kids often feel the need to defy them and do something bad. They'll date people they aren't supposed to, run away from home, or sneak out at night. When Romeo and Juliet rebelled I feel like it was a bigger deal because rules were much stricter back then and the penalty for breaking rules was bigger as well. Also in Romeo and Juliet it was a rare thing to break the rules, whereas today many teens break the rules of their parents.

    In conclusion Romeo and Juliet are very similar and different from modern day teenage couples. Marriage, parents, and rebelling are all big parts of love, whether or not it was then or now.

First Draft due 4/29

     Some people say you can't help who you fall in love with, others believe marriages should be planned. The actions of Romeo and Juliet are similar and different to the actions of modern day teenage couples.
     Marriage traditions have changed/not changed in many ways. In Romeo and Juliet everyone had arranged marriage. It was a tradition of many people to have their parents pick their husband or wife. These traditions still exist today but they are practiced much less. Some religions still require arranged marriage but overall it's a much rarer thing to see. Another difference is that back in the days of Romeo and Juliet gay/lesbian marriage was completely unheard of. Now gay/lesbian marriage is legalized in 9 states and is on its way to being legalized in more.
     Parents are a very big part of both modern day teenage couples and Romeo and Juliet. Back then and now, if you're a teen you live with your parents. When you live with your parents they have much more control over your life than if you lived away from home. They have much more control over you since you aren't yet an adult. They see who you are dating and who you bring in and out of their home. If they don't like the person you are seeing then they most likely will ban you from dating them. And, as mentioned before, parents have all control over arranged marriages.
     Kids rebelling is and was a common thing for teenagers to do when in love. One reason kids rebel is when their parents are strict. When parents are strict kids often feel the need to defy them and do something bad. They'll date people they aren't supposed to, run away from home, or sneak out at night. When Romeo and Juliet rebelled I feel like it was a bigger deal because rules were much stricter back then and the penalty for breaking rules was bigger as well. Also in Romeo and Juliet it was a rare thing to rebel the rules, whereas today many teens break the rules of their parents.
     In conclusion Romeo and Juliet are very similar and different from modern day teenage couples. Marriage, parents, and rebelling are all big parts of love, whether or not it was then or now.

Romeo and Juliet: Thesis + Outline

Thesis: The action of Romeo and Juliet are similar and different to the actions of modern day teenage couples.

Paragraph 1
Topic Sentence: Marriage rules and traditions have changed/not changed in many ways.
- some religions still have arranged marriage, there is less of it today//in R and J it was always arranged marriage
- people are still attracted to people of the same "type" as themselves// some have opened up and date other types of people
Paragraph 2
Topic Sentence: Parents are a very big part of both modern day couples and Romeo and Juliet.
-when you're a teen you live with your parents so they ave much control over your life, this is true with both R+J and now
- parents have say in the arranged marriages mentioned before
Paragraph 3
Topic Sentence: Kids rebelling is and was a common thing for teenagers to do when in love
-kids often rebel when their parents are strict
-when R+J rebelled it was more of a big deal because rules were in some ways stricter back then

RR on Struck by Lightning due 4/17/13

     In the book "Struck By Lightning" by Chris Colfer there is a lot of confusion as to who has power. The main character Carson Phillips basically takes care of himself because his mother abuses alchohal and takes drugs. His father left them when he was ten and he hates his town. Because of all this he has power over himself.
     Carson actually is a mature person even though he's just a teenager. This makes it okay that he takes care of himself. He is very ambitious and plans to go to a big college and become an editor of a NYC magazine. Ofcourse its a typical story that no one thinks he will, but he conducts himself very well. The confusion part comes in when you realize that everyone TRIES to have power over him. His teachers try to convince him to aim lower and his mom wants him to stay in Clover with her. All these people try to convince him but he's so strong and independant that he doesn't let anyone control him.
     In conclusion, Carson basically is the main power in the text even though many others are trying to convince him otherwise. Maybe later on in the book something big will happen that will change the way that either Carson, his mom, or his teachers think/act.

Non-Fiction RR due 3/21/13

      In the article "Surprise Demand for Housing Catches Industry Off-Guard" by Catherine Rampell, she explains the sudden issue about housing in America. The amount of people buying houses has never been higher than right now. Realtors are in distress about not finding homes right for families. Construction workers have an extremely overwhelming amount of work to be done in short periods of time. The people of America are living in conditions no human should have to, all because there is a shortage of housing. People could probably find houses easily but the prices in the past year have gone up 7.3%. There are many urgent deadlines for houses that need to be built and there are very little skilled labor workers to quickly complete the jobs. Obviously this is a disasterous issue.
      I think that this is so shocking. I mean, I knew that the housing economy was bad but i didn't expect it to be this bad. Some cases of pricing are just horrible. In Phoenix the prices rose 23%. I see this happening all around me. The house next door to mine has recently been renovated and is now worth around 2 million dollars. That's crazy, yet people are still moving in and buying the apartments. I dont understand where all these extremely wealthy people are coming from. I thought that our nation was in a state of extremely low income families, so I don't understand how all these people suddenly have the money to purchase these super expensive houses. Beyond that issue there are very few workers available to complete these jobs. There are such extreme deadlines and so much to be done, especially with the new push on having your house be extremely modern and technological.

SOURCE: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/business/economy/in-us-surprise-housing-demand-catches-industry-off-guard.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=us&pagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1363813262-3On4lMycwFd1AljT1TaGjQ

The Fault In Our Stars (due 3/7/13)

~spoilers~    

    In the novel The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, many things are unfair. The three teenagers in this book are Isaac, Gus, and Hazel. Each one of them suffers from a different kind of cancer, which is the first thing that is unfair because cancer is uncontrollable and takes over your life. This book shows peaks for the characters but for the most part its a downhill slope. 

    One example of this book being unfair is when Gus finds out that his cancer has spread everywhere in his body. He is expected not to live much longer. That is unfair on its own; but to make matters worse Hazel and Isaac are now living almost normal lives while Gus is slowly dying. It must feel horrible to have the two people that were fighting your same battle suddenly get better while you get worse. Luckily, they all stick together because they all still are slightly sick and they all struggle daily. Isaac is blind and Hazel carries an oxygen tank everywhere she goes.
    Overall, the book is very much unfair to every character. I forgot to mention this but it's unfair to the parents too because their children are the ones dying. This book is a downward slope, though it is very good. I'm almost done with it and im hoping that there will be some sort of happy ending.