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Compare and Contrast Romeo and Juliet andWestSide Story

Step One:Compare the characters from Romeo and Juliet and from West SideStory. Then compare the settings from Romeo and Juliet and WestSide Story. How are the characters or scenes similar? How are they

different?

Romeo & Juliet ~ West Side Story

Characters to compare/contrast

Romeo/ Tony

Juliet/ Maria

Paris/ Chino

Tybalt/ Bernardo

Nurse/ Anita

Mercutio/ Riff

Friar Lawrence/ Doc

Scenes to compare/contrastThe Capulets Balcony/ Fire escape in New York

Harass the Nurse in Verona/ Attack Anita in the candy store

Tybalts death/ Bernardos death

Romeos death/ Tonys death

Juliets fate/ Marias fate

Step Two:Write a description of five songs in the movie. You only need to pickFIVE SONGS from the songs below. Try to describe it visually (what isgoing on? Where are they singing? How are they dancingupbeat and

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energetically or slow and deliberate?) and musically (is the music happyand upbeat or sad and melancholy?).

Prologue

Jet Song

Somethings Coming

Dance at the Gym

Maria

America

Tonight

Gee, Officer Krupke

I Feel Pretty

One Hand, One Heart

Quintet

The Rumble

Somewhere

Cool

A Boy That/ I Have a Love

Step Three, Romeo and Juliet

and West Side Story essay:Choose an essay topic below. You will need to write a 5 paragraphessay. Your essay should include an introduction, 3 supportingparagraphs, and a conclusion. Your introduction should include a THESISSTATEMENTbasically a statement on what you are going to say in yourpaper. Choose only ONE of the essay ideas listed below for your essay.We will be working on these essays from December 15th to December

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18th (end of semester). Essays will be DUE December 18th. NOEXCEPTIONS!

Essay Topic #1: The Forcefulness of LoveRomeo and Juliet is the most famous love story in the English literarytradition. West Side Story tells of a love that knows no boundaries. Loveis both the plays and the movies dominant and most important theme.

Essay Topic #2: Love as a Cause of ViolenceLove, in Romeo and Juliet, is a grand passion, and as such it isblinding; it can overwhelm a person as powerfully and completely ashate can. The passionate love between Romeo and Juliet is linked fromthe moment of its inception with death, just as the love between Tonyand Maria causes great violence and death as well.

Essay Topic #3: The Individual Versus SocietyMuch of Romeo and Juliet and West Side Storyinvolves the loversstruggles against public and social institutions that either explicitly or

implicitly oppose the existence of their love.

Essay Topic #4: The Inevitability of FateIn its first address to the audience, the Chorus states that Romeo andJuliet are star-crossedthat is to say that fate (a power often vested inthe movements of the stars) controls them (prologue). Many could alsoargue that Tony and Maria, and their love, were doomed from the startas well.