All people inherently have impulses. Learning to control them however, is something not everyone is born with, but is something that we all need. This can be seen in both The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, and A Delicate Balance: Risks, Rewards, and the Adolescent Brain, by Carl Sherman. In A Delicate Balance, information is revealed about the adolescent brain, and how inadequate parenting can lead to a variety of ‘misadventures’, many of which can be dangerous. The protagonists in the play, Romeo and Juliet, made many rash decisions which led to setbacks and deaths throughout the course of their journey. Both of these works show consequences in not controlling human behaviors, supporting a theme of learning to control impulses, a skill …show more content…
Romeo and Juliet recently met each other, declaring eternal love. However miscommunication and Romeo’s impatience led him to follow through with a rash decision, eventually leading to them never seeing each other again. Romeo learned that Juliet was ‘dead’, and upon hearing this, decided to commit suicide. “Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die” (227 ll. 120). In fact, Juliet was not dead, and Romeo had actually noticed this “Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks,” (227 ll. 95). Had he taken more time to think out his actions, piecing together his observations, he perhaps would have been able to spend more time with Juliet. Romeo clearly loved Juliet a lot, which goes to show that impulsive actions can overpower the strongest of dreams or peoples’ wills. Before this happened, Romeo had made similar decisions resulting in loss of life. In the heat of the moment, after witnessing the death of his best