Similarities Between Romeo And Juliet And West Side Story

571 Words3 Pages

Everlasting funds, death, betrayal, just some of the themes of the tragedy of Romeo and Juilet. In the story Romeo and Juilet one of the biggest questions is what caused Romeo and Juliet’s death. Was it the feud between the families? Was it bad communication? Or was it just fate? Throughout the play Romeo and Juilet, and the movie West Side story all have these themes. Although being set in different times, both West Side Story and Romeo and Juilet both have very similar themes that lead to tragedy. One of the biggest themes in both story’s is betrayal. In West Side Story it’s the Jet’s(white’s) and the Sharks(puerto rican’s) feuding. Maria and Toni both betray their families by deciding to get together. This causes the feud between the Sharks and the Jets to intensify,which some could believe is the cause of the tragedy of the relationship, and Toni’s death. In Romeo and Juilet the two families(Capulets and Montigue’s) have been feuding for a long time. …show more content…

In West Side Story Maria’s family are sharks and Toni’s family are Jet”s, and despite the feud between the Jet’s and the Shark’s Maria and Tony get together. When Maria’s brother found out about her being with a Jet it makes him upset which makes the feud worst between the Sharks and Jets. This also puts a target on Toni which could be one thing that influenced the tragedy of death and relationship. In Romeo and Juilet both Romeo and Juilet are in different families that hate each other. Juilet says, “Tis but thy name that is my enemy. Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face. O, be some other name Belonging to a man. What’s in name?(Shakespeare 73)”. Juilet is saying that just by his last name Romeo is supposed to be her enemy if he is not, because of this they have to keep their love a secret. Based on this some may say this is what caused the tragedy of their