Love And Loss In Romeo And Juliet

Ellen Kuck

Mr. Myers

English 1W

May 22, 2023

Love and Loss and Growth

“Whether it’s guilt, love, or loss. Change is never easy. We fight to hold on and we fight to let go.” (Reyes). Meriam Webster's dictionary defines coming of age as “the attainment of prominence, respectability, recognition, or maturity.” But, I like to think of coming of age as changing and maturing for the better by experiencing major life events such as having a first love, graduating, or having a job. Although there are many different aspects that can contribute to the coming of age of a person, love and loss are major factors that encourage the maturing and development of a person. In the book, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, the main character, Hazel, is a cancer

At the end of the book, Gus passes away after his cancer returns. Hazel undergoes the crushing experience of losing her first love and facing the aftermath of their love. Additionally, in the drama Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Juliet (one of the main characters) meets Romeo they fall in love almost instantly and she experiences a whirlwind romance for the first time. As a result, Juliet changes from the beginning of the play to the end of the play.

Firstly, experiencing the loss of a person can result in resounding change that helps people grow as individuals. In the book The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, the main character Hazel is a cancer patient who is trudging through her life weighed down by her terminal lung cancer. Everything in her life changes after she meets and falls in love with a former cancer patient named Gus. At the end of the book, Gus passes away after his cancer returns. Hazel undergoes the crushing experience of losing her first love and facing the aftermath of their love. At the beginning of the novel, Hazel believes that she is a bomb and that if she dies the lives of the people around her would be destroyed, but by the end of the book after going through loss herself, Hazel realizes that there is a way to continue to live and thrive. When Augustus

Arguably the most famous story of star-crossed lovers that exists, is the story of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet is the story of two young lovers who experience love for the first time. They faced many hurdles such as the feud between their families and their lack of communication. Romeo and Juliet fall in love at first sight and they both experience the excitement of falling in love for the first time, they want to be together despite their families being enemies. Experiencing love changed Juliet from the innocent and compliant daughter to the defiant, independent, and brave woman she became. Falling in love made Juliet realize that she should put herself before the expectations of her parents. She fought to stay with Romeo even though they had many differences by declaring her love for Romeo despite her family's desire to have her marry someone else. This is shown in Act 2, Scene 2, lines 34 to 36: “Forget about your father and change your name, just swear you love me and I’ll stop being a Capulet.” This quote demonstrates that Juliet is willing to renounce her family name in order to be with Romeo. This is a big difference from the beginning of the play when she was very compliant with her parents. She learned that at the end of the day, even if others disagree it is still her life and she can fight for what she wants. This is