What Is The Theme Of Control And Rebellion In Romeo And Juliet

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Control is defined as “the power to influence or direct people's behavior or the course of events”. Having the power to direct decisions, behaviors, and action, can cause someone to act against rules and wishes. Control and rebellion is seen in both Williams Shakespeare drama, Romeo and Juliet, in which children of feuding families fall in love, and Aisha Saeeds Written in the Stars, a story in which a daughter of a Pakistani family is forced to live by the rules of the religion. A theme that can be found in both stories is that controlling and strict parents can cause teenage rebellion. To begin, in Written in the Stars, Naila’s parents display a strict demeanor towards her and her decisions. After being caught at prom with her secret boyfriend, …show more content…

After the death of Tybalt, Juliet’s mother proposes the idea of marrying Juliet and Paris sooner than planned. Juliet refuses, and her father lashes out and continues to proceed with marriage. Juliet decides that Romeo is her one true love, and that she will do whatever it takes to be with him. Later on, in Act IV, scene i, Juliet goes to visit the Friar for a solution. The Friar provides Juliet with a potion that will put her to sleep just until after the wedding. The Friar explains, “Take thou this vial, being then in bed, and this distilling liquor drink thou off…and in this borrowed likeness of shrunk death, thou shalt continue two-and-forty hours, and then awake from a pleasant sleep…shall Romeo by my letters know our drift, and hither shall he come; and he and I will watch thy waking, and that very night shall Romeo bear thee hence to Mantua” Juliet replies, “Give me, give me! O, tell me not of fear!” The reader can understand that the Friar tells Juliet to take a potion and sleep for 42 hours, then she should be awakened at the sight of Romeo who will take her to Mantua with him. Juliet responds in excitement as she will get to avoid the marriage of Paris and get to be with Romeo instead. This is important because it explains how due to strict rules, Juliet's rebels and goes against