Romeo and Juliet: Connecting With Characters

So far I am really enjoying Romeo and Juliet. I think for me, as a teenager, it is very easy to identify and connect with both Romeo and Juliet. To begin with there's Romeo, your stereotypical teenager. He claims to have "fallen in love" with Rosaline at the beginning of the story, (this infatuation, by the way, seems to be largely based on appearance) and then becomes depressed when faced with rejection. Teenagers, thanks to our stupid hormones, usually must deal with unrequited "love" at one time or another. We understand how difficult "love" is for Romeo and some of us can sympathize with him about experiencing the pain of rejection for the first time. Then there's Juliet. She, like many teenage girls, has "mommy issues". Juliet's mother, Lady Capulet, pressures her to get married as quickly as possible and have children. She wants her to marry Paris, whom Juliet does not love, but this seems to not matter to Lady Capulet. Juliet is stuck dealing with what most teenagers experience, especially today. Pressure from their parents. Not only this, but Juliet also seems to be dealing with something that girls at this age usually must go through. The strange idea that having a boyfriend, husband, whatever increases your worth and is what you must strive to have. I know I should be more forgiving because this was true for women during this time period, but I see this even today with girls at Olympia high school, and it bothers me. And so despite not being a huge Juliet fan ( I think she is a far too passive character) I do sympathize with her.

I enjoy reading this book at home. If there's something I don't understand I can usually check the word definitions given to us in the book or check Sparknotes to see what's going on. But I actually prefer reading it in class. I find stopping to analyze what the characters are saying with my classmates and the teacher really helps me understand the material. It's also a lot of fun listening to people read the book aloud. I definately think reading it in class is more effective.