Nya Bilke Mrs. Whitehead Advanced Comm. Arts, 5th Hour 3/24/23 West Side Story Comparison Essay Between West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet we can all say we’ve been sufficiently subjected to the forbidden love story arc. Both Juliet and Maria are classically deluded, head-over-heels in love with impulsive (dare I say, stupid) delinquents. With the basis of the story line still intact, West Side Story shares a few essential similarities to its predecessor Romeo and Juliet. However, with the basic story line aside there are components of West Side Story that revolutionize its overarching message. The general theme of Romeo and Juliet is the message of ‘love conquers all’. Although a forbidden romance quite like Romeo and Juliet’s was reimagined in West Side Story, the theme of the story as a whole projected a message of the consequences of hate and baseless prejudice. …show more content…
However, their personalities have subtle differences that eventually lead up to their fates at the end of their stories. For instance, Maria is depicted from (quite literally) the beginning scene as a strong-minded, confident young woman. She knows what she wants and will pursue her passions without regard to her ‘responsibilities’ to her family. On the other hand, Juliet is innocent and timid in the way most women of the time were expected to behave. Her values are more strongly related to what her family wishes her to do and what is expected of her as a woman during that time period. At the climax of the story Juliet submits and succumbs to the feeling of sadness, deciding she would rather die than be without her Romeo. Maria, though notably also saddened by her loved one’s death, reacts in a more assertive manner, rather wallowing in her anguish and submitting she becomes angry. We see further juxtaposition between their personalities in how they handle the news of their significant others’