The play Romeo and Juliet is one of love, violence, and above all else extremely tragic. There are many causes of the tragic events that occur in the play; for example, the feud between both of the families, unreasonable violence, but above all else the biggest cause was the teenage brain. It is common knowledge that teenagers are quite rambunctious because they are going through hormonal changes which cause them to react more drastically. Furthermore, it also results in them taking more risky actions and leading to situations or results that can be tragic. One of the key factors leading to the tragedy is the addictive love due to the teenage brain between Romeo and Juliet. According to the article "Romeo and Juliet's Death Trip: Addictive Love and Teen Suicide", teenagers are particularly susceptible to addictive behavior due to the heightened activity in the reward center of the brain during adolescence (Peele). The reward center is responsible for pleasure and satisfaction, this is usually what leads to an addictions of drugs, alcohol, and in the case of Romeo and Juliet, love. Their love for each other becomes an addiction that causes them to rely on each other and not stop pursuing each other even if it means facing many obstacles. Unfortunately, this behavior leads to their demise. …show more content…
Hence, the teenage brain is not able to make the best decision and has a hard time controlling impulses, this is what occurs in Romeo and Juliet as Romeo decides to kill Tybalt after he kills Mercutio. As stated in “Taking Words Seriously: Romeo and Juliet Are Troubled Kids”, Romeo's decision of taking revenge on Tybalt was not wise as he did not consider the consequences of his actions (Peele). This way of thinking is common amongst teens as the prefrontal cortex is not fully functional until the