Similarities Between Romeo And Juliet And To Kill A Mockingbird

In fair Verona and sleepy Maycomb County where the scene is lain, two young girls come of age. One comes from the slumbersome town of Maycomb County, Alabama, where racism brews social anarchy, and she grows into a young woman. The other comes from Verona, a fair Italian city where an age-old feud has caused time-old chaos, and tragically takes her own life to escape herself. Harper Lee wrote Jean Louise “Scout” Finch in the classic coming-of-age historical fiction novel To Kill a Mockingbird, and William Shakespeare wrote Juliet Capulet in the tragic play Romeo and Juliet; they both craft rebellious young women who are still considered strong individuals to date, but with different executions that set them apart. While Juliet and Scout both

Romeo and Juliet is set in Renaissance Era Italy, where it is customary for fathers to find suitors for their daughters. However, when confronted with the idea of marriage, Juliet claims “it is an honor [she dreams] not of” (1.3.68). She uses the phrase “dreams” to reinforce a major motif in the play, dreaming, as she fantasizes of living a life of choice and freedom from the constraints of her family, and society. Her family does not approve of this mindset that she possesses, and continues to pressure her into marrying Paris, or any young bachelor thereof. To further their coercion of Juliet, Lady Capulet uses other woman in Verona to pressure Juliet into marrying, despite her obvious wishes not to at such a young age. She tells her that women “younger than [her,] in Verona, ladies of esteem Are already made mothers” (1.3.71-73). By referring to those women as “ladies of esteem” she puts an implied burden on Juliet, that she cannot be a lady of “esteem” until she renounces her life off to a suitor. Despite these pressures to marry, Juliet does

Their families views on their rebellious nature and their relationships with their family members alter who they are as characters, and which of them may be better suited to be an example for today’s youth. First, Juliet’s family is very easily roped in by the outside world pressuring them into marrying her off. When discussing marriage with Lord Capulet, Paris says to him that “younger than she are happy mothers made”, meaning that women that are younger than Juliet are already happily married with children. (1.2.12). This puts another layer of pressure on Juliet and the Capulet house to find her a suitor, because the outside world is watching and waiting as well. The burden that the people of Verona are waiting in anticipation for Juliet to be married is why they eventually grow aggressive towards her, and make utterly rash decisions when trying to convince her to marry, threatening her with a life on the streets if she does not comply. When Juliet denies marrying Paris, and continues to persist, Lord Capulet threatens that she can “graze where [she] will, [but she] shall not house with [him]”, meaning that she may be with whom she pleases if she wishes to live on the streets without support from them (3.5.189). The decline in the relationship between Juliet and her parents is due to the cultural expectation that