Romeo and Juliet vs West Side Story free essay sample

Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and Arthur Laurent’s West Side Story share many elements in common, but also have differences that separate them. West Side Story is a modern version of Shakespeare’s classic love story that ended in tragedy. Because it is set in 1950’s New York City the scenes, characters, and plot have their own interpretations. The differences in some plot elements make each tragedy its own, but the similarities make them one. The audience can find a similarity right in the first scene, which shows the hatred between the enemies through a fight. The play begins with the Montague’s and Capulet’s fighting in the streets of Verona. Sampson, a servant of the Capulet house, speaks to a servant of the Montague house, â€Å"Draw, if you be men. -Gregory, remember thy washing blow. †(Act 1 Scene 1) Likewise in the film a fight between the Jets and Sharks is the opening scene. We will write a custom essay sample on Romeo and Juliet vs West Side Story or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In both tragedies one of the major conflicts is the disagreeing of love between Romeo and Juliet and Tony and Maria. Romeo and Juliet are not wanted to see each other because Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet. Similarly, Tony and Maria cannot be together because Tony is a Shark and Maria is a Jet. When Bernardo see’s Tony and Maria kissing at the dance he runs over and pushes him of f her, â€Å"Get your hands of American, stay away from my sister. † Then he says to Maria, â€Å"Can’t you see he’s one of them? † One major difference between both dramas is that in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet there are families fighting for generations over a feud, whereas in West Side Story there are opposing gangs who don’t accept each other because of racial and ethnic differences. The families, Montague and Capulet, have hated each other for over many generations without the audience being given a reason. In the film, the Jets are Puerto Ricans that just moved to America to start a new life and the Sharks are whites that don’t want Puerto Ricans there. Bernardo, leader of the Jets, â€Å"WHO JUMPED ME THE FIRST TIME I CAME HERE? † Shark members,† WHO ASKED YOU TO MOVE HERE†¦. GO BACK TO WEHRE YOU CAME FROM! † (After the dance at Doc’s shop) Another element that makes the dramas differ is the class and wealth of the families and gangs. Compared to the Montague and Capulet families the Jets and Sharks are very poor. Both families are described as wealthy and are shown great respect from everyone, â€Å"Two households both alike in dignity. † (Prologue) In contrast the Sharks are poor and treated roughly because their parents are always drinking and don’t work, and because they’ve never gotten love from their parents they act like jerks toward others. â€Å"Our mothers all are junkies, our fathers all are drunks. Golly Moses, natcherly were punks We never had the love that evry child oughta get. † (Song â€Å"Gee, Officer Krupke†) The Jets as well are not shown great disrespect because they are not American. Throughout The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story the audience can find several things in common, but on the contrary the differences between the two are quite translucent. The audience can infer that the families and gangs play a huge part in changing the plot line. Even though various scenes are similar, the setting of West Side Story adds its own perspective. Both of the dramas take different paths, with various twists, and turns, but the final destinations are the same.