Month: March 2019
Major Theme in Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare uses various events and characters like Romeo and Juliet, efficiently to convey that love conquers everyone. Throughout the play Shakespeare effectively shows how the love of Romeo and Juliet overcomes many things in the play. Romeo and Juliet risk their families’ reputation and even their lives, for love which causes the conflict in the play. This ultimately does cause the death of the two lovers but brings the families together in the end. This story shows how love triumphs over the terror of death.
Romeo and Juliet are driven to love each other even though their families hate each other. This creates conflict and multiple deaths in the play. After the party in Act 1, Romeo goes to Juliet’s house to see her again later being warned that “If they do see thee they will murder thee. (2.2.70), but Romeo states “And but thou love me, let them find me here. My life were better ended by their hate…Than death proroguèd, wanting of thy love...” (2.2.69) Romeo feels so much love for Juliet that he is willing to die for her and he even says that if Juliet doesn’t love him back that he should die because his life would be meaningless. The topics of death and brutality tie in with Romeo and Juliet, and they are constantly associated with enthusiasm, regardless of whether that energy is love or despise. The association between abhor, viciousness, and passing appears glaringly evident.
Love is the major theme in Romeo and Juliet, but a theme that is tied in with love is hate; emotion can overwhelmed someone and essentially blind a person from their actions. An example of this would be when Tybalt wants to kill Romeo in Act 1 because he was looking at Juliet. He describes Romeo as a “Slave… Come hither, covered with an antic face, to fleer and scorn at our solemnity?” (1.5.54) He tells his slave to bring him his sword to kill Romeo but Lord Capulet refuses for Tybalt to kill Romeo stating “Verona brags of him”(1.5.67) Lord Capulet is basically telling Tybalt to calm down and control himself because he’s letting his emotions control him. Tybalt dies later and kills Mercutio which was foreshadowed in the end of Act 1 because of his immaturity.
The incredible idea of affection can be found in the way it is portrayed, or, all the more precisely, the path depictions of it so reliably neglect to catch its sum. Now and again love is portrayed in the terms of religion, as in the fourteen lines when Romeo and Juliet initially meet. At others it is depicted as a kind of enchantment: "Alike bewitchèd by the charm of looks" (2.Prologue.6). Juliet, maybe, most superbly depicts her adoration for Romeo by declining to portray it: "But my true love is grown to such excess / I cannot sum up some of half my wealth" (3.1.33– 34). Love, as it were, opposes any single similitude since it is too incredible to be so effectively contained or comprehended.
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The Play of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet written by Shakespeare, portrays the life of a pair of star-crossed lovers who’s passion ultimately leads the pair to their unfortunate deaths. Shakespeare uses the thematic focus to communicate the way Romeo and Juliet’s love for one another influences the outcome of their relationship in a negative and violent way. Most of the time, being in love makes people become very aware and dramatic to the point that when it comes to losing someone they love, they come to believe that their lives are over and are unable to stop holding on onto the past. As shown throughout the play of Romeo and Juliet, love is a great passion, and as it is blinding, it can overwhelm a person powerfully and completely such as hate can.
Violence can be influenced in different forms such as an action or an idea inflicted onto yourself or others. In this scene Romeo exclaims, “To call hers, exquisite, in question more. These happy mask that kiss fair ladies’ brows, Being black, puts us in mind they hide the fair. He that is strucken blind cannot forget the precious treasure of his eyesight lost”(Shakespeare Act 1.2.229-233). After Romeo is declined by Rosaline, his first love, he comes to believe that no one else in the world will ever have the audacity to challenge her beauty and personality, even though shortly after he falls in love at first sight when he layed his eyes on Juliet. Similarly to when Romeo is exiled from Verona, he compains to Friar claiming, “Ha, banishment? Be merciful, say “death”; For exile hath more terror in his look, much more than death. Do not say banishment” (Shakespeare Act 3.3.12-14).
Romeo argues that being banished from Verona is the worst thing to happen to him therefore arguing it is just saying death by another name. Romeo would gladly chose to die rather than being tortured by being taken away from his love Juliet. As for Juliet, the same state of mindset she took when she heard the news of Romeo’s banishment. Juliet argues, “But wherefore, villain, didst thou kill my cousin? That villain cousin would have killed my husband.”(Shakespeare Act 3.3.100-101). She defended Romeo claiming his outcomes of being banished much more drastic than the life of her own family. In both scenes, both Romeo and Juliet have gone through a period where there is nothing possible at the moment that would comfort them as much as being better off alone. Both show that they would rather to linger in the dark and become depressed over the idea of love rather than actually trying and working on restoring hope. Both Romeo and Juliet show throughout the play that whenever handling a situation with one another, they inflict pain to themselves mentally and physically by contemplating and attempting violent ideas such as suicide.
Love can be very blinding forcing violence to reflect off of the decisions a person makes, meaning why a person decides this and how the action is taken upon. Romeo and Juliet both have shown to make unreasonable and dangerous choices due their love clouding their ability to think wisely. For example, Romeo bought the poison from a apothecary claiming “There is thy gold, worse poison to men's souls” (Shakespeare Act 5.2.80). He never considered all of his options, but instead immediately jumps to the conclusion of needing to sacrifice his life in order to preserve and defend his love with Juliet. While Juliet being placed in the same situation as well, she states, “I long to die if what thou speak’st speak not of remedy” (Shakespeare, Act 4.1.66-67). She said this to Friar Lawrence claiming that if he can’t find her a way out of marrying Paris, she will just simply need to take her life away. This highlights the significance of her relationship between Romeo demonstrating through her actions how her love for Romeo made her think violently, even if she didn’t follow through with the task she said she was capable of committing . Both lovers show that they are willing to do anything in power without hesitation in order to conserve their relationship even if it means sacrificing one another.
Violence can interfere between those you hate and who you love without any intentions to any of them. Romeo never wished to hurt Tybalt in anyway due to him being cousins with Juliet as he claimed, “ I do protest, I never injured thee, But love thee better than thou canst devise, Toll thou shalt know the reason of my love. And so, good Capulet-which name I tender as dearly as mine own” (Shakespeare Act 3.1.67-71). On the other hand, Mercutio believes Romeo to be a dastardly person and refers to him as an “O calm, dishonourable, vile submission” (Shakespeare Act 3.1.70). Mercutio knows what a threat Tybalt poses against Romeo encouraging Mercution to feel angry by Tybalt’s challenge; therefore, Mercutio obtrudes himself into the conflict as a way to defend Romeo as a way to demonstrate the responsibility and control he holds. Once Mercution has been killed, Romeo results in killing Tybalt out of rage from losing his beloved best friend Mercutio.
The platonic love between both Romeo and Mercutio had a big influence in the avengances of Mercutio’s death. Although clearly Tybalt is responsible for Mercutio’s death, Romeo personally expresses his own guilt for having contributed to Mercutio’s death when killing Mercutio. Treating Violence with violence justified and inflicted the real pain Romeo had to experience and cooperate unexpectedly.
The power of violence has the capability to do or change anything under it’s influence and control. Romeo and Juliet were prohibited to love one another under the control of their parents due to “...the continuance of their parents rage”(Shakespeare The Prologue. 10). However, the double suicide was what interfered into the families perspectives and resulted ending the conflict between the two feuding families. Both families have looked past through all those years of constant arguing and competition with one another and have come to realize through the actions of their children their consequences.
Romeo’s Father claimed, “Alas, my liege, my wife is dead tonight. Grief of my son’s exile hath stopped her breath.” Lady Montague died of grieving for her banished son who she lovedvery much. Both details introduce the idea of how love is the source of all or most of the violence that occur throughout the play of Romeo and Juliet. Had there not been a family feud, there would have been no need for Romeo and Juliet to hide their love resulting in having no one else die tragically. Also arguing the idea that Romeo and Juliet have not been the only ones who have died due to love.
The main theme of Love as a cause of violence is frequently shown throughout the entire play of Romeo and Juliet. The amount of power that love contains can work in various ways. In the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, love causes over dramatic behaviour, bad influences and decisions, and most of all, violent actions and thoughts expressed by the main and minor characters causing harm to others and one’s self.
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The Play of Romeo and Juliet. (2019, Mar 13).
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Cause of Tragedy Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is widely known to be a tragedy, but what caused the atrocity for which it is so renowned? Some may argue fate was to blame for Romeo’s and Juliet’s deaths, that the situations these young lovers faced were depicted as being out of their control. Could Romeo have refused to attend the Capulet masque? Was Romeo destined to duel the raging Tybalt? Did Romeo and Juliet truly have to kill themselves? If one considers the specific circumstances and causes of these situations, the fact that all scenarios are the result of choice rather than chance, and the notion that the characters were never left without options, only one conclusion can be determined. It was unarguably the decisions made by characters, not those made by fate, that were responsible for the tragedy in Romeo and Juliet.
To fully comprehend how fate and destiny had no role in the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet, the terms “fate”, “destiny”, and “tragedy must first be understood. Fate can be defined as being “a power that determines and controls everything that is or happens,” (Newfeldt (Ed.) p.431) while destiny can be described as “what is predetermined to happen in spite of all efforts to change or prevent it.” (Newfeldt (Ed.) p.321) Therefore, fate is the entity that decides all that will occur, and destiny is the decision made by fate.
Tragedy can be defined as the dramatic representation of serious and important actions that turn out disastrously for the main character. This indicates that the tragedies in Romeo and Juliet were the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, and to say fate and destiny were not responsible for these tragedies, is to say the characters of the play, rather than some intangible force, were aware and in control of the actions that caused Romeo’s and Juliet’s deaths.
Of all the events that preluded to the joining and eventual deaths of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo’s attendance at the Capulet masque was paramount, with all other events being derived from this choice. This occurrence was not destiny; it was the contemplated decision made by Romeo to do something irresponsible. Upon being presented with the opportunity to go to the party, it can be seen that Romeo foresaw his demise when he said:
I fear, too early; for my mind misgives
Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars,
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date
With this night’s revels, and expire the term
Of a despised life closed in my breast
By some vile forfeit of untimely death. (Romeo and Juliet 1.4.106-111)
However, even with this knowledge that he would die as result of going to the masque, he consciously decided to venture out and disregard his safety. Immediately after recognizing his possible death, he went on to say “But He that hath the steerage of my course/ Direct my sail?”
(Romeo and Juliet 1.4.112-113) Not only did Romeo actively choose to do nothing to alter this grim destiny, he deliberately submitted to follow the path on which he was doomed. Fate, or some other power, presented Romeo with this vision of his death that he could use to prevent disaster, yet he chose to let tragedy befall him.
Following the party where Romeo and Juliet first met, beginning their tragic relationship, Romeo continued, and Juliet started, to demonstrate self-destructive acts. Romeo desired to be with his love interest, and so sought her despite the dangers such action entailed. He chose to re-enter the Capulet’s domain, abandoning this friends, in order to find Juliet. Romeo’s decision perpetuated his and Juliet’s relationship, which could have ended at this point, as the two were not likely to see one another without forced action.
With Romeo arriving at her balcony, Juliet made a choice that was severely against her best interests, increasing the likeliness of a terrible end. She stated “I have no joy of this contract tonight./ It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden…” (Romeo and Juliet 2.2.117-118) showing she recognized the folly of swearing her love to Romeo. The choice she made with this knowledge, however, lead towards her and Romeo’s destruction; she told Romeo “If that thy bent of love be honourable,/Thy purpose marriage, send me word to-morrow,…/ And all my fortunes at thy foot I’ll lay,…” (Romeo and Juliet 2.2.143-147), thus making the decision to marry Romeo, and do what so recently seemed irrational to her. This built up the potential for Romeo and Juliet to meet with untimely death, further leading to the fatal tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.
The deaths of Romeo and Juliet were brought about by their marriage and their refusal to be without one another; when they decided to be wed, blame must be placed upon them for their decisions, but also on Friar Laurence, who married them.
While Friar Laurence would not have married the two youths had they not chosen to do so, conversely, if the Friar had not decided to join them in marriage, Romeo and Juliet could not have become husband and wife. Friar Laurence demonstrated that he knew how ill-advised the marriage was when he informed Romeo and Juliet “These violent delights have violent ends, / And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, / Which as they kiss consume.” (Romeo and Juliet 2.6.9-11), and yet he proceeded to marry the young lovers. With his wisdom in this regard, Laurence should have known not to wed the couple; he should have known it would lead to catastrophe. Therefore, the marriage of Romeo and Juliet was not destined to happen; it was determined by an individual, Friar Laurence.
However, it was not only love and marriage that were initiated when Romeo went to the Capulet masque; hatred and murder were incited as well. By attending the party, Romeo provoked Tybalt’s anger and became the target of this furious Capulet’s wrath. Tybalt did not randomly become enraged with Romeo and suddenly engage in a fight with him; he chose to battle Romeo well ahead of the event, even sending Romeo a letter to inform him of his intent to duel. It must also be recognized that, as both the Montague and Capulet families were well known to despise each other, Romeo would have known it very illogical to enter the Capulet celebration. Being a Montague himself, Romeo was surely aware his act would entail some sort of punishment, yet he once again took control of his destiny, misusing information that could potentially be used for his salvation.
The choices made by Romeo and Tybalt had obvious detrimental effects that, easily seen by these two, resulted in the deaths of Tybalt and Mercutio, the banishment of Romeo, and progressively coerced Romeo towards his possible demise.
Following the banishment of Romeo, the final events preceding the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet took place. Juliet, condemned to marrying the County Paris by the will of her father, chose to seek out Friar Laurence. He would devise a plan that would rid the disease of a second marriage from Juliet and reunite her and Romeo. The Friar elected to help the young woman, creating a plan that was far too complicated and dangerous to work effectively. Juliet took upon herself the form of death by drinking a potion; this would surely cause Romeo to fall into despair should he be fooled by his love’s state. Although the Friar intended to inform the banished Montague, he did not attempt to do so until after the plan was put into effect, and did not convey the gravity of the situation to his messenger, Friar John. When Juliet herself took action on the plan formed by Friar Laurence, she glimpsed an ominous vision of what may happen was she to drink the potion; she foresaw either her true death or insanity’s crescendo upon her mind. It was this final decision to drink the elixir, again made against foresight of hazard, that invariably lead to the scenario where Romeo and Juliet were faced with their possible deaths.
Conclusion
Finally, it must be recognized that, ultimately, Romeo and Juliet were responsible for each of their own deaths. The young lovers were not murdered by an enemy, they were not victims to an accident, nor did they fall ill with some deadly pestilence; they simply committed suicide. Romeo chose to take his life over living without Juliet, drinking the fatal poison he had purchased. Likewise was the case for Juliet, who, like Romeo, was the sole possessor of blame for her death. In this final situation, she was prey only to herself, with no force or individual controlling and conspiring against her. It was her hand that drove the dagger into her body, tragically ending the love she and Romeo briefly knew. There were no destinies for Romeo and Juliet other than those which they determined for themselves.
To take one’s own life is the sole choice of the one committing suicide; it is not the responsibility of fate, as only the individual is in control of his or her own life. Romeo’s and Juliet’s deaths were the final results of a long series of consequential choices and actions. The possibility of tragedy was established with Romeo attending the Capulet’s masque, and with Romeo and Juliet swearing their love in marriage with help of Friar Laurence. The likeliness of their deaths was augmented with Tybalt battling Romeo, Romeo’s banishment, and Juliet’s and Friar Laurence’s plan to reunite the lovers. The tragedy ultimately took form when Romeo and Juliet were faced with the decisions to kill themselves. At no point in the sequence of events were Romeo, Juliet, the Friar, or anyone else left without an alternate choice to their actual deeds. They were always conscious of what was happening around them, and had good ideas as to what may come about from their actions. There was no intricately designed destiny, leading to a bitter halt, that could not have been prevented; Romeo and Juliet’s road to destruction was paved simply by the poor choices made by themselves, their own fates.
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Gnomeo and Juliet Compared to Romeo and Juliet
"Romeo and Juliet," a tragic play written by William Shakespeare, tells the story of two teenage lovers who get caught in the clash of their family's ongoing conflict. Despite the devastation of this play, a British-American animated film titled, “Gnomeo and Juliet,” tells a lighthearted and simplified version of Shakespeare’s famous play. One of the most famous scenes in literature takes place in “Romeo and Juliet,” as the two are seen on a balcony, passionately declaring their unconditional love for each other, as well as their desire to marry. In the animated-remake, "Gnomeo and Juliet" takes an interesting approach in showcasing Shakespeare’s famous balcony scene. In the original play, the language expressed to one another is very complex, surreal, and passionate; however, in the animated remake, “Gnomeo and Juliet,” the language is simplified, childlike, and displays a more innocent theme.
The setting is also significantly different. As Shakespeare’s balcony scene takes place in the city of Verona in the early 1600s, “Gnomeo and Juliet” appears to take place in a modern-day garden. Although these are noticeably diverse, the most significant difference in the two scenes is the emotions showcased by the characters. Shakespeare’s version exemplifies the love between the two teenagers as an ecstatic and overpowering need to be together, where the animated remake, “Gnomeo and Juliet,” lacks the intense passion and the overwhelming love the two share. Although “Gnomeo and Juliet” displays a much simpler approach to Shakespeare’s film, the traits of the characters are quite similar. For example, in the original play, Romeo is portrayed as being quite impulsive and immature.
In “Gnomeo and Juliet,” Romeo is also portrayed as impulsive and immature. These characteristics are shown in the animated film when Gnomeo appears to accidentally flip on a switch, followed by a vibrant light-show in the garden. Another similarity between the original play and the animated remake is the unnecessary and ongoing conflict between the two families. In Romeo and Juliet, the conflict displayed between two families, the Capulets and the Montagues. In “Gnomeo and Juliet,” the conflict is also displayed by two families. Although the animated film creates a more innocent and simplified version of the conflict, the overall message is similar: the conflict is unnecessary and ongoing.
Conclusion
In conclusion, “Gnomeo and Juliet”’s approach to Shakespeare’s famous balcony scene is lighthearted and entertaining, yet lacks the deep emotions and unconditional love that the original displays. Since “Gnomeo and Juliet” is an animated film created for children, Shakespeare’s incredible language lacks greatly. Although there are significant differences in the two, the characteristics and the overall message of the story are similar.
Research Paper FAQ
What stories are similar to Romeo and Juliet?
Some of the stories similar to Romeo and Juliet are Daz 4 Zoe by Robert Swindells, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, and Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman. Most of these books describe the loves that were not meant to be or ended up tragically.
How do Gnomeo and Juliet relate to Romeo and Juliet?
Gnomeo and Juliet is an animated movie based on Shakespeare’s famous play, Romeo and Juliet. In the play and the film, characters fall in love with each other as soon as they meet. Gnomeo and Juliet is an allusion to the play. It has lots of humor and not as much tragedy, and it is suitable for the young audience.
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Comedy in Romeo and Juliet
Many people see Romeo and Juliet as a tragedy, but how often is such comedy in a tragedy? The play Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare in 1589 is about two young teenagers who fall in love and wind up killing themselves over their love for each other. The play consists of both romantic scenes along with the tragedies which ignites the argument of whether Romeo and Juliet is a romance or tragedy. The play is a romance. To back that up, they fall in love at first sight, the reason for all the tragedies is driven by love, and the play can be thought to have a happy ending.
The second Romeo lays eyes on Juliet at the Capulet party, he instantly has his eyes locked on her and is overwhelmed with her beauty. He goes on to illustrate her beauty in great detail. Romeo has fallen in love. The thought of Rosaline instantaneously leaves his mind, which makes it seem that he was never genuinely in love with Rosaline. Romeo was solely focused on Juliet. Shakespeare portrays very distinctly that Romeo and Juliet first fell in love based on looks and later on during the balcony scene, fell more in love with each other’s personality and heart.
Most of the tragedies that occur in the play are driven by the love of Romeo and Juliet. For example, Lady Montague, Romeo’s mother, would not have passed away of grief if Romeo had never fallen in love with Juliet. He ended up killing himself because of his love for Juliet, which
Mayer 2led to Lady Montague's death. The reason for Tybalt and Mercutio's death was caused because of Romeo’s appearance at the Capulet party. If Romeo had not spotted Juliet, he would have left the party hopelessly and would not have been seen by Tybalt.
Conclusion
The ending of the play, to most people, is what makes this a tragedy, but there is a different way to look at it. Romeo and Juliet killed themselves because of love. They had such a longing to be together, and to them this was the only option. They were at such a young age and felt that no one could ever truly understand how deeply their love was. Romeo and Juliet will forever be with each other in heaven.
To sum it up, Romeo and Juliet is a play circled around romance. At a young age, they fell in love and went through numerous obstacles to try and be together. They showed the audience that love at first sight is real, but can lead to devastating things. The romance in the story is what created the tragedy.
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Duality and Contrasts in Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare used opposing concepts to create a sense of contrast in his writing. He frequently established the theme of duality in Romeo and Juliet, which is a play about two lovers whose love filled bounty is “…boundless as the sea”(II ii 133). Duality means two-sided, as in two concepts. These concepts include love and hate, life and death, and good and bad. He demonstrates these examples within the language, characters, and events in the play. Romeo and Juliet is a play of contrasts and duality. The characters in the play show duality as a result of the feud between the Montagues and Capulets.
The two families despised each other, which alluded the idea that Romeo and Juliet would never be together. But eventually, their love is what brought the Montagues and the Capulets to end their feud. In the play, it says “My only love sprung from my only hate! / Too early seen unknown, and known too late! / Prodigious birth of love it is to me. / That I must love a loathed enemy” (I v 138-140). In this quote, Juliet expresses her disappointment as she learns that Romeo is a Montague. This example explores the concept of love and hate. Friar Laurence explores good and bad when he says, “In man as well as herbs, grace and rude will”(II iii 28). Friar Laurence is insinuating that, as herbs do, a man also has these two sides, implying the constantly reiterated theme of the play – duality.
Man and herbs can concurrently be beneficial and malevolent. In Act III, Juliet says “O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face!”(III ii 74). In this excerpt from the play, Juliet is in a state of incredulity when she learned Romeo had murdered Tybalt. Romeo looked like one thing, but he was really another, which highlights Romeos dual personality, good and bad. Furthermore, the language in the play introduces examples of contrasts and duality. In the play it says, “The earth, that’s nature’s mother, is her tomb / What is her burying, grave that is her womb (II iii 9-10). In this quote, Friar Lawrence explains how the earth provided a womb and a tomb. The dual natures of the womb and the tomb represent the notion of life and death. Continuing the concept of life and death, Friar Laurence says “For this, being smelt, with that part cheers each part; / Being tasted slays all senses with the heart.”(II iii 25-27).This quote displays how some flowers have dual natures, as well as people. The flower is fragrant, however, its poisonous behalf could kill if ingested.
Additionally, the quote “These violent delights have violent ends / And in their triumph die, like fire and powder (II vi 9), signifies how some things can take a turn for the worse. Friar Laurence warned Romeo and Juliet not rush into their marriage because good could potentially turn bad. Moreover, numerous events display the primary theme of the play. In Act 4, Juliet’s unwanted wedding with Paris ultimately turns into a funeral. In the play is says, “Turn from their office to black funeral; / Our instruments to melancholy bells, / Our wedding cheer to a sad burial feast, / Our solemn hymns to sullen dirges change / Our bridal flowers serve for a buried corse, / And all things change them to the contrary”(IV vi 86-91). Lord Capulet finds a bright side to Juliet’s death. He had already brought in musicians and put up decorations for the wedding, but now they will aid in the funeral.
This, again, shows the concept of good and bad in Shakespeare’s writing. Another event in the story that showcases duality is when Tybalt slays Mercutio out of rage for Romeo. In the play it says, “Alive in triumph—and Mercutio slain! / Away to heaven, respective lenity, / And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now”(III i 84-86) In this quote, Romeo reveals his hatred towards Tybalt by avenging his love for his friend. Accordingly, Romeo defeats Tybalt and kills him. Through Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare spread the two sided theme of duality. These concepts, including love and hate, life and death, and good and bad, develop throughout the language, characters, and events in the play. Romeo and Juliet is a play of contrasts and duality.
Works cited:
- Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet.
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The Deaths of the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is filled with death in every Act, excluding I and II, across the remaining 3 Acts there a total of 6 deaths. (Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Mercutio, Paris and Lady Capulet) William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, was published in 1597. None of the deaths in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet are similar, they all surround different issues and they all have a different impact on the not only the flow of the play, but the play itself.
The suicides of Romeo and Juliet are surrounded in matters that deal with the families’ hatred toward one another. Juliet expresses herself in Act II Scene II, she mentions that both her and Romeo must defy their names in order for the two to be together: “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name” (Shakespeare 33-34). Juliet is proclaiming that the love shared between her and Romeo cannot be expressed in public, due to the ongoing, seemingly everlasting feud between the Montagues and Capulets. Shakespeare treats these deaths in a very climatic way, he almost wants you to think “Dang, all of these teens lives are being taken from them just because of a feud that they probably know nothing about.”
While Romeo’s suicide has to do with family related issues, Mercutio’s murder deals with personal disputes between himself, Romeo and Tybalt. Mercutio fights for Romeo in Act III Scene I, when Tybalt issues the challenge; this is right after his marriage with Juliet, so he has reason to care for Tybalt: “O calm dishonourable, vile submission! Alla stoccata carries it away. (draws his sword) Tybalt, you ratcatcher, will you walk?” (Shakespeare 44-46). Mercutio is obviously willing to fight for Romeo, as he challenges and insults Tybalt. Shakespeare treats this death as something to build plot, something to build tension and make the later killing of Tybalt more impactful.
Mercutio’s death has been proven to be under personal circumstances, Tybalt’s murder is surrounded by moral issues. Staying in Act III Scene I, Romeo feels he has a need to slay Tybalt after Tybalt has killed Romeo’s good friend Mercutio. “Alive in triumph—and Mercutio slain! Away to heaven, respective lenity, And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now.
Now, Tybalt, take the “villain” back again That late thou gavest me, for Mercutio’s soul Is but a little way above our heads, Staying for thine to keep him company. Either thou or I, or both, must go with him” (Shakespeare 84-91). Romeo is saying that he is very furious at Tybalt’s actions and that it will either be Tybalt, himself or both men that will join Mercutio in death, but someone must die. Shakespeare treats this death as if it was this big, dramatic moment in the play’s progression, he wants the audience watching the play to think, “Tybalt had it coming to him.”
None of the deaths in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet are alike, they all surround different subjects and they all have a different impact on the the flow of the play. Romeo and Juliet’s suicides both revolve around familial issues, Romeo and Mercutio’s deaths are surrounded by personal and familial problems, and Mercutio and Tybalt’s deaths are encircled by personal and moral matters. If there is one consistency amongst all of these deaths, it is the fact that Shakespeare was trying to say that he doesn’t care how impactful in the play a character is, death can come knocking at any time; regardless if they are main characters or very obscure and have little impact to the play.
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Romeo and Juliet: the Forbidden Love
Romeo and Juliet: The Forbidden Love
Love is like waking up in a field of yellow grass with the last rays of the sun keeping one just warm enough to want to stay there forever. To some, love is the most precious possession, which can’t be seen or heard, but felt within oneself. Love acknowledges no boundary. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, and demolishes walls to arrive at its destination full of hope. In Shakespeare's tragic play Romeo and Juliet, two star-crossed lovers, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, secretly participate in young romance strictly prohibited by their feuding families. As their young love blossoms, they constantly fight to be together. Romeo even went to an extent to where he allows Juliet to completely control him all because he wants to protect his vulnerable love for Juliet. Similarly, Juliet’s scheme to play dead so that she can be far away from the nurse and her parents to marry Romeo shows the sacrifices lovers make to be together. However, despite both Romeo’s and Juliet’s efforts to be together, a misunderstanding led to both of their demises at the end of the play. Overall, the shifting characteristics of the two lovers portray how when influenced by love, change and sacrifices need to be made by the people in love in order to shield their love from outside forces revolt.
First, Juliet starts out as a naïve girl who's dependent on her family but falling in love with Romeo causes her to bravely sacrifice her own family to be together with him. Famously Hridia 2 referred to as the “balcony scene,” Act 2, Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet begins with Juliet standing on her bedroom balcony, talking to herself. She muses on how unfair it is that the striking gentleman she kissed moments ago is, in fact, Romeo Montague, a young man from the family her Capulet kin are warring with. She is so deeply in regret that she wishes, “Belonging to a man, O, be some other name” (2.2.41). As oblivious as Juliet is, she didn’t notice Romeo who has crept into the Capulet grounds, overheard her words. When he presents himself to Juliet, the two embark on a very passionate conversation in which they seldom confess their love for one another. Their declarations are cut short in fear that Romeo will be discovered and by Juliet’s nurse constantly calling her to come back into her bedroom. Before they separate, Juliet instructs Romeo to meet with her the following day to make a plan to elope and marry. Through Juliet’s daunting actions, Shakespeare portrays how when in love, sacrifices by lovers need to be made to have unison of two parties. When sacrifices are made it is proven how much one desires the other. Consequently, outside forces admire how one gives away certain aspects of their possessions to satisfy their lover, leading to no obstruction in continuing the love between two lovers.
Second, Romeo starts out as a confident character but when he agrees to love Juliet, he becomes impulsive and allows Juliet of complete dominance over him. Romeo’s impulsive nature is evident as he crept behind enemy lines and claims that he has no fear of the Capulets. As he is driven by his ego, he immediately denies his heritage, claiming the Montague heritage is inferior to Juliet.
In an attempt to learn how Romeo had trespassed he family grounds, Juliet Hridia 3 inquires Romeo. Flattered, Romeo, doesn’t hesitate to confidently respond, “...there lies more peril in the thin eye, Than twenty of their swords” (2.2.71-72). He figures his pursuit of Juliet in the language of perilous adventure, where he must advance “stony limits” (2.2.67) and persevere through the “farthest sea” (2.2.83) in order to hit the target of his love and passion for Juliet. Regardless of his heroic portrayal, his self-confidence is reduced by the power Juliet has over him. Ever since she came into his life, she has a lot of control over him.
Furthermore, Romeo describes himself as Juliet’s pet “bird” now, which signifies him as a tiny toy being manipulated by Juliet in every whim (2.2.182). However, her manipulation is only presented as love in Romeo’s eyes. It is evident that when in love, lovers change themselves no matter how drastic because it satisfies the other party. When the other party is happy, tranquility on another level is achieved. As a result, when outsides forces watch, it is hard to not admire how two lovers change for each other to bring out the best versions of themselves while keeping everyone else satisfied.
Conclusion
Therefore in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, it is evident that when two people are in love they change and make sacrifices to preserve their love. Romeo and Juliet are an example of this concept. Juliet is willing to sacrifice by leaving her family just to be with Romeo because she loves him that much. Similarly, Romeo changes from a boastful person to one that allows Juliet to control him all because he also loves Juliet. It is these sacrifices and change formed during relationships that help couples last, as it proves their genuineness and pure caring of each other, driving them to achieve the maximum point in each other’s passion.
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Love and Hate Romeo and Juliet
Love at first sight, hate at first site. These are commonplace in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. There are countless themes throughout Romeo and Juliet. One of the most prevalent themes is “Love and Hate”. Love and Hate can be seen all throughout the book, from the Montague vs. Capulet war to Tybalt’s unnecessary hatred, to the terminal thought and act of suicide between the lovers. Love can also be seen everywhere in the story, from Romeo’s love for Rosaline to Romeo and Juliet’s burning love for each other, and to Romeo’s amicable love for his cousins. Love and Hate is a universal theme, as it appears in multitudes of other stories. It is fitting that one theme of Romeo and Juliet is Love and Hate, as it is the most famous English love story. Love and Hate is a felicitous theme for Romeo and Juliet, as it presses consistently throughout the tragedy.
The theme of the Love and Hate is evident at the beginning of the tragedy. In the story, the prologue clearly exemplifies the theme from a very early standpoint. From the prologue, “two star-crossed lovers,” it can be concluded that there will be two lovers in the story, presumably, Romeo and Juliet. Additionally, the prologue also states, “Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean” (Prologue). This quote is direct foreshadowing, telling us the future of the fight between something or someone. “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny” is another quote stemming from the prologue of Romeo and Juliet; it exemplifies how the two families are going to fight again, due to an ancient grudge (Prologue). The theme of Romeo and Juliet was introduced with haste. Love and Hate can be seen very early from the prologue. The events of the tragedy cannot yet be foreseen, but the theme is evident from the start.
The first major development of the theme of Love and Hate can be observed in the very beginning, and it quickly develops into a conflict. Fighting breaks out very early among the two families, “Clubs, bills, and partisans! Strike! Beat them down! Down with the Capulets! Down with the Montagues!” (Act I, Scene I). It can be observed very early on that there is a lot of hatred between the two families. It would seem as if families are fighting for no reason, as the fight started from a scuttle between servants of the families. The fighting then stemmed and broke out into the streets and was a frenzied mash of bodies, weapons, screaming, and blood. Love is also evident early on in the story. When Romeo wants to be with Rosaline, he is turned away: “She will not be hit with Cupid’s arrow” (Act I, Scene I). Rosaline is committed to being a nun, but it is clear that Romeo is in love with her. It shows Romeo’s vulnerability and quickness to fall in love. This is part of the reason he has such a youthful love for Juliet. It can be observed that Love and Hate is a clear theme to this story.
Romeo and Juliet’s love is one of the most important parts of the play, as is Tybalt’s hate. Without their twisted love and Tybalt’s unrelenting hate, the play would not unfold so tragically. “My bounty is as endless as the sea, My love is deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have for both are infinite” (Act II, Scene II). This quote expresses Juliet’s love for Romeo and shows that the two are endearing in youthful love. Here, we see that Juliet believes in never-ending love, and the more she gives, the more she receives, which makes it a self-perpetuating cycle. We may worry that this love cycle ends as soon as one of the lovers find another interest. But for now, the young couple is in love and is happy about their feelings for each other. Still, we have an uneasy feeling because Juliet mentions the sea and the depth, leading us to believe that their love is frail, like a small boat in a deep ocean.
Tybalt is a significant proponent of hate throughout the story. He despises things so much, that his own hatred brings his own demise. “Now stock and honor of my kin To strike him dead I hold it not a sin” (Act I, Scene V). Tybalt, who is so angered by Romeo showing up to a party uninvited, sets out to kill Romeo. This perpetuates the existing cycle of hatred between two families. Tybalt kills Mercutio, and to avenge his death, Romeo slays Tybalt. Therefore, Romeo and Juliet’s love and Tybalt’s hate further develop the theme of the tragedy.
In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the theme of love and hate proceeds throughout the play. Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other is so strong that they stand together against the whole world. At the same time, their hate for each other’s families and for the rejection that they experience is so strong that they choose death over life. We feel hopeful when Friar Lawerence comes up with the plan to keep the couple together but we are shocked by the quick unraveling of the tragedy. If only Romeo had more love for life itself, he would not sacrifice himself in the name of love for Juliet. But his hate for the world results in death and brings the rivaling families to their knees.
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The Contrast of Love and Violence in Romeo and Juliet
Throughout the play, Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, love, and violence have come in contact with each other multiple times. Through the few scenes where these two meet, Shakespeare shows his audience, or readers, that the differences may not be so far apart. The contrast introduces the audience to the theory that love can be violent, and in the midst of violence, there can be love. The juxtaposition of the two elements helps move along the thematic tension of the two houses, the Capulets and the Montagues. The first time that Romeo and Juliet meet, the contradiction begins. It sets the stage for the rest of the comparisons and eventually foreshadows the two lover’s end. Shakespeare does a good job of introducing the juxtaposition early on.
In act, I, scene v, Romeo says something flattering about Juliet, and Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, overhears him and know right away that he is a Montague. Tybalt then wants to kill him on sight and asks for his sword. But love conquers hate, and Lord Capulet says that Romeo is a dignified man known around Verona for his virtue and that he would not start a fight so it would be disgraceful if Tybalt started a fight with him. The first time that Romeo sees Juliet, he is blown away by her beauty and completely forgets about Rosaline. He says, “Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear, beauty to rich for use, for earth too dear. So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows as yonder lady o’er her fellows shows…. Did my heart love till now? Foreswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” (I, v, 42-50) This is the love half of the dynamic duo.
The hate comes from Tybalt when he says, “This, by his voice, should be a Montague. Fetch me my rapier, boy. What, dares the slave come hither, covered with an antic face, to fleer and scorn at our solemnity? Now, by the stock and honor of my kin, to strike him dead I hold it not a sin.” (I, v, 51-57) From these two quotes, the audience is exposed to the notion of love vs. violence, or love vs. hate. In Shakespeare’s contrast, love does not always have to be for one’s romantic partner. It can be for a friend or relative, too. In act III, scene i, the audience sees the love for a friend guide Romeo to partake in violent actions. Romeo and Juliet have just been married, and Romeo is with Benvolio and Mercutio when they run into Tybalt, Petruchio, and other Capulets. Mercutio and Tybalt end up in a sword fight, and Romeo tries to break up the fight for the love of his new cousin in law and his friend. But Tybalt ends up killing Mercutio. Romeo is determined not to get in a fight with Tybalt, his new cousin in law.
He sees his love for Juliet spread to her family, even if it is not a reciprocated feeling. Romeo hints to Tybalt that he married his sister, but very subtly. He says, “Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee doth much excuse the appertaining rage to such a greeting.” (III, i, 58-60) Romeo also says, “I disagree. I’ve never done you harm. I love you more than you can understand until you know the reason why I love you.” (III, i, 64-66) Romeo lets his love for Tybalt overweigh his anger from the things that Tybalt said to him. Romeo’s first defense is love and trying to talk things out. But when Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo snaps and lets love guide his anger. When Tybalt returns to the scene of the crime, Romeo says, “Alive in triumph-and Mercutio slain! Away to heaven, respective lenity, and fire-eyed fury be my conduct now. Now, Tybalt, take the ‘villain’ back again that late thou gavest me, for Mercutio’s soul is but a little way above our heads, staying for thine to keep him company. Either thou or I, or both, must go with him.” (III, i, 118-125) Translated to a more modern dialect of English, Romeo says, Tybalt is alive and victorious, while Mercutio is dead? Enough with mercy. It’s time for rage to guide my actions. Now, Tybalt, go ahead and call me a villain like you did before.
But know that Mercutio’s soul is floating above our heads. He’s waiting for you die and keep him company up in the heavens. You, or I, or perhaps both, must accompany him. Romeo and Tybalt proceed to fight, and true to his words, Romeo kills Tybalt. In the end, Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other lead to their death. Juliet has been promised to Paris, but she is already in love with Romeo, so she fakes her death. Romeo thinks that she is dead so he buys a poison that he plans to kill himself with, but first, he goes to Verona. While visiting Juliet's tomb, Romeo says, “Thou detestable maw, thou womb of death, gorged with the dearest morsel of the earth…” (V, iii, 45-46) Romeo calls the tomb a horrible mouth of death and says that is has eaten up the dearest creature on Earth, which would be Juliet. His love for his wife has lead him here so that he can be with her in his final moments.
He could not bear to live without her, so violent ideas came into his mind. When he encounters Paris, those ideas transfer to actions. Romeo knows that he is on a short fuse already when Paris comes along, so he warns him, “...tempt not a desperate man...put not another sin upon my head by urging me to fury. O, be gone!” (V, iii, 59-63) He tells Paris not to anger a desperate man, and that he should leave before he tempts Romeo to commit another crime. But Paris does not heed his advice and tempts him. The two fight and Paris ends up dead. But Romeo recognizes his actions and quickly dispels the anger. He goes into the tomb to do what he came there to do. When he sees Juliet, he says, “A lantern...for here lies Juliet, and her beauty makes this vault a feasting presence full of light.” His love for his wife has replaced the anger that persuaded him to kill Paris just a few moments ago.
He says that she is still beautiful, even in death, and that her beauty makes the tomb shine with light. It was not a coincidence that when Romeo first saw Juliet, he said that she teaches torches how to shine bright because she was so beautiful that she outshone them. From their first breath shared, to their last, Juliet will always be the light in Romeo’s life. As the audience knows, Romeo and Juliet kill themselves in the end. Their love for each other was so strong that they couldn’t be without the other. When Juliet found Romeo dead, she killed herself with his dagger. Ultimately, it was their decisions that lead to their downfall. Throughout the play Romao and Juliet, the audience becomes familiar with the theory that love can be violent, and in the midst of violence, there can be love. In moments of violence, Romeo used his love to fuel his anger. Like when he killed Tybalt, his love for his friend Mercutio could be found in the midst of the violence. And just like the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, love can lead to violence. A rose has thorns, after all.
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William Shakespeare about Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
In Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare presents the idea that love can conquer all, love can conquer anything if you truly believe it can. In Romeo and Juliet, the theme is proven in the way that Juliet almost dies trying to keep Romeo' and Juliet's marriage still a thing. Shakespeare proves the thought that love can conquer all in many ways, but is shown specifically in three main points including self-sacrifice, family issues, and the willingness to do something to join someone you care about.
Shakespeare shows the theme of self-sacrifice for both Romeo and Juliet in nearly identical ways. The thought of self-sacrifice for Romeo is shown in Act 2, scene II by his willingness to scale the orchard walls just to talk to Juliet. Juliet in fear of Romeo getting harmed says “How cam'st thou hither, tell me, and wherefore? The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, And the place death, considering who thou art If any of my kinsmen find thee here. (2.2 66-69).” Shakespeare puts the dialogue toward Romeo to explain a mood of anxiety toward Romeo from Juliet. Shakespeare even goes a step ahead and decides to show another example for Juliet caring about Romeo, in Act 4, scene I-II, Juliet shows her sacrifice by deciding to drink a potion from Friar Laurence, which in turn should make her assumptively "dead" for roughly 24 hours, to avoid marrying anyone other than Romeo, who she is already married to. Friar is hesitant at first when Juliet asks for a way to avoid the marriage by saying "Tomorrow night, look that thou lie alone. Let not the Nurse lie with thee in thy chamber, Take thou this vial, being then in bed, And this distilling liquor drink thou off; (4.2 92-25)." Friar wants to avoid the marriage between Paris and Juliet because of his morals as a friar, as well as Juliet already being married to Romeo.
In Act III, Romeo and Juliet are faced with the danger of having married as enemies as Tybalt and Mercutio argue and the newly married Romeo attempts to stop the fight, but pledging his love for Tybalt as a new Capulet, Romeo raises the anger of Tybalt who is ignorant of this new development. Tybalt raises his sword at Mercutio for threatening Romeo defending himself. The tragedy causes Romeo to be banished from Verona by the prince. Thus, by marrying Juliet, Romeo has lost his citizenship in Verona and must run away from his new significant other.
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Gender Roles in Romeo and Juliet
The society of Verona had major differences among the way men and women should act. Men were expected to be masculine and carry themselves with honor and pride; while women were expected to please their men and hold their own opinions. Nevertheless, Romeo and Juliet defied the expected gender roles of their society.
Men in Verona, during this time, induced a strong sense of power over women. Whereas, women were looked at as possessions who were supposed to do what the men asked of them. Yet, Romeo and Juliet tested these ideas by challenging these gender roles. Romeo defied his masculinity and possessed much more feminine and passive traits. In Act I, Romeo communicated in a poetic tone to the other men. Romeo was in love. His way of thinking was made fun of by many of his peers as being feminine. His male role faded in the eyes of others. He put himself below Juliet and spoke to her in a weak tone, especially during the well-known balcony scene. “O speak again, bright angel, for thou art / As glorious to this night, being o’er me head, / As a winged messenger of heaven” (Shakespeare 2.2.26-28). Men in Verona during this time period would never put themselves below a woman. Romeo challenged many of the male gender roles for this time.
Women of Verona were viewed to be a totally different rank to the men of that time. They were thought of as lesser value, powerless, and essentially just items to possess. Women were expected to have arranged marriages, as well as, obey and honor their husbands. In Act I, Sampson speaks this: ”‘Tis true, and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall; therefore I / will push Montaque’s men from the wall, and thrust / his maids to the wall” (Shakespeare 1.1.15-18) In this quote, Sampson is showing dominance and referring to women to be weaker in power than him. Juliet defied these rules and had many opinions of her own, such as marrying Romeo without her parents’ consent. This caused issues with Juliet’s father, Lord Capulet. He insisted for Juliet to marry a different guy, Paris. Juliet went against her father’s wishes. This was not an acceptable act for woman during this time. Juliet is characterized, by Shakespeare, in a way that opposes the roles of women by giving her extraordinary power during this time period.
When challenged by society’s expectations, Romeo and Juliet tried to conform to the expected gender roles. Romeo was concerned about losing his manliness by his actions from falling in love: “O sweet Juliet. / Thy beauty hath made me effeminate, / And in my temper soft’ned valor’s steel!” (Shakespeare 3.1.113-115). Romeo fought to take revenge for his close friend, Mercutio, that was killed. This led to him being sent away and a major turn of events. Near the end of the play, Romeo’s harsh behavior increased. He continued to fight anyone preventing him from being with Juliet. This gave Romeo more of a masculine image. Juliet gave into Friar Lawrence’s plan of drinking the potion to fake her death and escape the disagreement with her parents. This provided Juliet with a more feminine appearance as she allowed others to choose what’s best for her. As Romeo and Juliet changed back to society’s expectations of their gender roles, they left an opening for a huge disaster to happen.
It was evident that Romeo and Juliet disregarded their gender expectations for that period of time. Their behaviors and actions throughout the play reflected how they were different from many other people in their society. Romeo and Juliet’s gender reversal left a huge impact on the two rival families and the city of Verona.
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The Persistence of Love in Romeo and Juliet
Throughout Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, outside forces, particularly those resulting from the ongoing feud between the Montague and Capulet families, constantly test the title characters’ passionate love for each other. However, these conflicts unexpectedly fail to destroy the relationship between Romeo and Juliet and in fact, render it stronger. The scenes depicting the tension between Mercutio and Tybalt, Juliet and her parents, and the Montagues and Capulets illustrate that these outside forces serve to embolden and amplify Romeo and Juliet's love. Through the persistence of Romeo and Juliet’s love despite the obstacles they face, Shakespeare conveys to the reader that love is more powerful than hate.
The fight between Mercutio and Tybalt reveals the effect on Romeo of his relationship with Juliet and the endurance of his love for her despite the hatred between their families. As Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin approaches Mercutio, Romeo’s servant, a fight begins to brew. When Romeo enters, he interjects and urges them to stop fighting. Tybalt taunts Romeo, telling him, “No better term than this, thou art a villain!” (3.1.57). Tybalt’s attack and his threats to both him and Mercutio force Romeo to choose his loyalties. As a Montague, his duty is to defend his family name and fight Tybalt. But the confrontation instead forces Romeo to side with his new bride, whom he has recently married in secret.
Rather than attacking Tybalt, Romeo seeks to include him in the love Romeo feels for Juliet: “Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee / Doth many excuses the appertaining rage / To such a greeting” (3.1.58-61). Romeo’s love for and marriage to Juliet has thus transformed him, blurring the lines between the Montagues and the Capulets: “And so, good Capulet--which name I tender / As dearly as my own--be satisfied” (3.1.67-68). By his own estimation, Romeo has become “effeminate” and his valor “softened” because of his love for Juliet (3.1.110-111). Through Romeo’s transformation, Shakespeare shows the audience that love is stronger than hate. Although Romeo eventually kills Tybalt to avenge Mercutio’s death, his love for Juliet perseveres despite the rivalry between the two families.
Test The Love Between Juliet And Romeo
Similarly, Juliet’s parents test the love between her and Romeo, which unexpectedly strengthens their relationship. When Juliet objects to her father’s plans for her to marry Paris, Sir Capulet becomes enraged and threatens to disown Juliet: “An you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend. / An you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, / For, by my soul, I’ll ne'er acknowledge thee” (3.5.192-194). While the audience would expect Juliet to obey her father and marry Paris, Juliet unexpectedly does the opposite and runs to Friar Lawrence for help. Sir Capulet’s ultimatum, coupled with Lady Capulet’s concurrence and the nurse’s praise of Paris, drive Juliet to abandon her life as a Capulet and to seek out Romeo, who has already been cast out.
Juliet tells Friar Lawrence she would rather die than live without Romeo: “O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, / From off the battlements of yonder tower; / … And I will do it without fear or doubt, / To live an unstained wife to my sweet love” (4.1.78-79, 88-90). Sir Capulet’s threats, therefore, serve to solidify Juliet’s resolve to be a wife to Romeo and give her the strength to carry out the plan that Friar Lawrence concocts: “Love give me strength, and strength shall help afford” (4.1.126). By showing the audience that Juliet would rather die than be forced to marry someone other than Romeo, Shakespeare shows the audience that love can overcome any obstacles.
In addition to the obstacles that Romeo and Juliet face individually, perhaps the most significant obstacle to their relationship is the hatred between their two families, which prevents them from the meeting. Because they are not able to visit each other publicly, Romeo and Juliet are forced to arrange secret meetings. The lack of communication seemingly emboldens Romeo and Juliet, whose love for each other appears stronger each time they meet. Shakespeare uses Romeo’s language to reflect the deepening of his love for Juliet. When he first sees Juliet, Romeo describes mostly her beauty, saying Juliet “teach[es] the torches to burn bright” (1.5.42) and “hangs upon the cheek of night / Like a rich jewel” (1.5.43-44).
The chorus explains that because of the families’ feud, Romeo does not have as much opportunity to woo Juliet as others would: “Being held a foe, he may not have the access / To breathe such vows as lovers use to swear” (2.prologue.9-10). Despite their inability to meet freely, Romeo and Juliet’s relationship progresses, as reflected by the language they use to describe their love. When they meet at the quarters of Friar Lawrence, Romeo says, “Ah, Juliet, if the measure of thy joy / Be heaped like mine … / then sweeten with thy breath / This neighbor air, and let rich music’s tongue / Unfold the imagined happiness that both / Receive in either by this dear encounter”(2.6.24-29). Shakespeare’s comparison of love to the sound of “rich music” reflects how ardent Romeo’s love is for Juliet. Similarly, Juliet explains to Romeo that her “true love is grown to such excess / I cannot sum up sum of half my wealth” (2.6.34). Whereas at their first meeting Romeo compares Juliet to a jewel, as the play progresses, Romeo and Juliet refer to a love that cannot be quantified and that is richer than any ornament.
By showing the progression of Romeo and Juliet’s love despite their lack of time together, Shakespeare demonstrates that “passion lends them power” (2.prologue.13) and love overpower hatred.
Conclusion
Romeo and Juliet’s love is tested time and again throughout the play, especially by outside forces. Rather than crumbling, their love perseveres until they end their lives rather than allowing their families to keep them apart. Their ability to overcome obstacles convinces the reader that love is more powerful than hatred. Ironically, although Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other is not enough to unite their families during their lives, it is in their death that the Capulets and the Montagues are able to reconcile. The families’ vows to raise statues of Romeo and Juliet in Verona so that their love can be remembered gives the reader hope that at last love has prevailed.
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A Tragic Yet Passionate Play
Introduction
Romeo and Juliet, a tragic yet passionate play written by William Shakespeare, tells the story of two teenage lovers who get caught in the clash of their family's ongoing conflict. One of the most profound and famous scenes in literature takes place in Romeo and Juliet, as the two young lovers are seen on a balcony, passionately declaring their unconditional love for each other. Released in 2011, a British-American Disney animated film titled, Gnomeo and Juliet tells a lighthearted and simplified version of Shakespeare’s famous play. Disney’s Gnomeo and Juliet takes an interesting approach in showcasing Shakespeare’s famous balcony scene.
When comparing Shakespeare’s original balcony scene and Disney’s remade cartoon, there are many topics worthy of being discussed, such as: setting, characterization, and language. In Shakespeare’s original play, the famous balcony scene takes place in the Capulet family’s garden. Disney’s Gnomeo and Juliet also takes place in a garden: however, it is modernized and occupied with living gnomes instead of humans. The time period is also significantly different. As Romeo and Juliet takes place in the 1600s, Gnomeo and Juliet takes place in modern time. These small differences make a huge impact in modernizing Shakespeare’s classic play, especially for the impact and understanding of younger audiences. Although Gnomeo and Juliet displays a much simpler approach to Shakespeare’s tragedy, the traits of the characters are overall quite similar. In both scenes, Romeo is portrayed as being quite impulsive and immature, where Juliet appears to be more cautious and reserved. Juliet’s reaction in both scenes is also quite similar, as she is embarrassed, yet relieved that Romeo feels the same yearning passion that she does.
Although this is true, these is a noticeable difference in these two scenes; the contrast in the emotions expressed by the characters. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet showcases the love between the two teenagers as an ecstatic and overpowering need to be together; however, Gnomeo and Juliet lacks the intense yearning and overwhelming love the two share. The language expressed in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is very complex, surreal, and passionate; however, in the animated remake, Gnomeo and Juliet, the language is simplified, childlike, and displays a more innocent theme. Although this is a noticeable change, it is beneficial to a younger audience, as Shakespeare’s language can be difficult to understand.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Disney’s approach to Shakespeare’s famous balcony scene is lighthearted and entertaining, yet lacks the deep emotions and unconditional love that the original displays. Since “Gnomeo and Juliet” is an animated film created for children, Shakespeare’s incredible language lacks greatly. Although there are significant differences in the two, the characteristics and the overall message of the story are similar: love that is so intensely passionate will break all morals. Works Cited Shakespeare, William and Alan Durband. Romeo and Juliet. Hauppage: NY: Barron’s, 1985. Print. Accessed 4 January 2019. Asbury, Kelly. Gnomeo and Juliet. Hollywood: Walt Disney Studios. 2011. DVD. Accessed 8 January 2019.
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Genome the Autobiography of a Species
This semester, I have read a good number of books about biology and different biological processes. This book out of all the books I have read was the worst in terms of entertainment value. However, I learned more from this book than I have from all the other books I have read this semester. The writing was dry, but the information was full and informative. I've probably erased and re-written this paper 3 or 4 times because there is so much information to cover. The genome is a wonderful thing and can really make a difference once we understand what it is and how it works. The minor variances between all human DNA can predict our futures and how we will be years from now.
The first chapter I am going to touch on is the chapter talking about genetic disease. This chapter was interesting for me to read because of my own personal genome. Many years ago, I took place in a study about skin cancer and was told I have the P16 gene which increases the chance I have for skin cancer. Later in life, my chances for pancreatic cancer will also increase. The chapter on genetic disease talks about ABO blood typing to discuss disease. Specifically, people with O blood type are more susceptible to Cholera but they are still around today because their O blood type makes them more resistant to many other strains of disease. While O blood type isn't a disease, it does indicate that our genome can affect our overall health for good or bad. Throughout this chapter the author does talk about how our genome affects us but does not seem to discuss how we can affect our genome. It almost seems to be from the author's point of view that if you have certain genetic coding there isn't anything you can do to change that.
I personally challenge this idea to an extent. While you can't change your genetic coding, you can affect the outcomes of your coding to an extent. Take for example my genome. I know that I have increased risk for cancer. If I took the outlook of the author, I'd do nothing about it and just accept my fate. But we know that healthy living can significantly decrease the risks for cancer. By me choosing to live healthy, I can absolutely affect my genes and decrease my chances for cancer. I think that the author misses this point but does make other great points when discussing how a genome can affect our health.
The next chapter that really challenge my viewpoints was the chapter on personality. The author shares a story about how 3 generations of a family of were all criminals. Upon further analysis it was discovered that all 3 men shared the same gene which gave them unusual Serotonin levels. While the author states this isn't a crime gene, it does indicate how our personality will be affected by our brain chemistry. This challenged my idea of personality because I have personal experience with changing personality.
My natural personality is one of quiet and introverted behavior. In high school, I was very unpopular and only had one close friend which was hard on me. I realized that to be successful or get anywhere in life I had to change my personality and be more friendly and outgoing. Since the years of high school, I have become very outgoing, friendly, and have made many more friends than I had in my first 18 years of life combined. I understand that the author also agrees with the belief that our genes do not make up everything that we are or will be. However, there were several instances of the author indicating that people were more likely to believe their genome over everything else. I think this is a big caution that genetic analyzation should take. If we tell someone you have a gene that will make you a criminal they are more likely to think that's just the way it is rather than do something so they aren't a criminal.
For this book, my major critical analysis and thought is that our genome affects us to a great degree, but we shouldn't let our genome dictate or control us. After reading this book, the author does touch on this briefly in some chapters, but skims over it in others. This indicates to me that the author believes there are certain things that can be controlled by our actions, and others that cannot. I've never been a fan of the idea that you are helpless to your genome. Everyone has a say no matter how small in who they are, what happens to them, and the types of things they must deal with. It's just a matter of making the right choices to mitigate the impact your genome may have on you.
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Genome the Autobiography of a Species. (2019, Mar 13).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
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Autobiography Paper
To someone on the outside, my life looked as bland and normal as a plain sheet of printer paper. I had two loving parents, a house far too large for the three of us, several well trained golden retrievers, and three Audi A4's parked in the driveway. Little did they know my father was the biggest pothead ever, I occasionally stole hundreds of dollars worth of underwear from Victoria's Secret, and my mother was dealing with the consequences of a seven-year-long family feud. I will admit, other than the above deviations from the social norm, my life was pretty on the straight and narrow in high school. This is what I'd like to think separates my delinquent shoplifting experiences from life course-persistent offenders. According to our lecture on Control Bonding Theory, these offenders are those who take their delinquent actions and behaviors beyond high school and college into their adult life (Hoffman, Slide ?…–). I fit in with the category of those who are considered to be adolescent-limited delinquents. They commit illegal acts to defy authority, experiment how far they can take their actions, and are around the ages of 12-17 (Hoffman, Slide ?…–). In order to understand why I shoplifted in high school, I must go into greater detail about the Differential Association Theory. Thinking back, I can now apply the Control Bonding Theory to my decision to stop shoplifting once I got into college.
I would say I've shoplifted about five times in my life. All of the offences took place throughout high school. I can't remember specifically who showed me the ultimate way to smuggle underwear, but I do know I picked up the routine from a friend (a now three-times removed acquaintance). My friends and I were at the Tanger Outlets one weekend during Sophomore year. We went into Victoria's Secret, that we called VS back then, and started to shop around. I noticed my friend picking up several pairs of underwear and putting them under the other items that she had put into her cart.
We went into a dressing room where she proceeded to take off her pants and start layering the underwear from her cart on top of her own. She pulled her pants back up, and walked out of the store with about $175 worth of underwear. Want to know a secret? VS underwear don't have sensors on them. I asked her why she stole them and her reasonings made sense in my mind: They sell underwear for $15 when in reality they are probably worth $2.50. It's a complete ripoff, so I rip them off. I agreed with her, thus starting my short-lived shoplifting habit.
I saw my friend successfully steal items that I wanted, so I followed in her footsteps, a classic example of Edwin Sutherland and Donald Cressey's Differential Association Theory. The base of the theory is that criminal behavior is a learned trait (Differential). In other words, according to the theory, a person doesn't start committing crimes on their own. They have to observe/interact with primary group members in order to pick up criminal behaviors (Differential). The primary group, meaning friends, parents, peers, and close relatives, has the most effect on the offender because when growing up, that group has influence over the offenders behaviors and ideals (Differential).
The Differential Association Theory acknowledges the fact that from the moment we are born, we are being shaped by society: [Individuals] learn gender roles through their interactions with their parents and observations of gender specific characteristics. Interaction and observations are the same methods of communication through which criminals learn their deviance (Differential). Throughout high school, I felt this pressure to be very feminine.
It's not like I wasn't feminine, but my primary concerns weren't makeup and the latest Abercrombie and Fitch trends. I played every sport you could possibly play, including softball, which was referred to as dyke ball. Personally, I'm straight, but several of my teammates were apart of the LGBT community. I felt as though I was seen as being a part of that group, and back then I wanted to separate myself from that assumption.
I always have had more guy friends than girlfriends, but in middle/high school I was never romantically involved with anyone. That on top of my mother's constant that's not very ladylike of you pep talks, made me want to up the feminine ante. My thought process back then was maybe if I buy this sexy underwear, I'll get a guy. The girl who taught me how to steal underwear had no trouble finding a new relationship every other day of the week. In order for me to fit in with the social norms that surrounded me, I felt the need to change my dynamic, which caused me to engage in criminal behavior.
There was a certain thrill that came with shoplifting. It's like I was single handedly pulling off this big scheme against a corporate giant. When I got away with it once, every single time I shoplifted after I never thought about the possibility of being caught. I have never been caught, but the odds were never in my favor. Shoplifting is riskey; when caught there is a 50/50 chance you'll be handed off to the police (Shoplifting). However, according to statistics compiled by the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifters are caught once every 48 times they shoplift (Shoplifting).
At the time, the benefit of stealing VS underwear outweighed the possibility that I could be caught. The Rational Choice Theory is based on the fact that people commit crimes because of the benefits (Clarke, 23). It also assumes that crimes are committed consciously, and not randomly (Clarke, 24). In my case, I didn't just happen to throw on numerous pairs of underwear and walk out of VS, I deliberately stole them. The decision I made to shoplift also follows an important sequence the theory revolves around. I became involved with shoplifting, continued to do it, then halted after five shoplifting experiences. This pattern follows the initiation, habituation, and distancing stages of the theory (Clarke, 24).
There were several reasons why I stopped shoplifting. For one, my dad passed away and that meant I didn't have an automatic lawyer to get me out of trouble. He had the tendency to take knick knacks from restaurants and similar establishments to keep as momentos. I was never really interested in how many travel size shampoo and conditioner bottles I could take from the housekeepers cart on my way out of the hotel. Thus I don't consider him the reason why I started shoplifting.
He would have been mad for a second, then we would have laughed it off. Now that it's just my mom and I, I know for a fact that me getting in trouble would kill her. She already has to work three jobs to get me through college, so paying a fine or to get me out of jail is not something she could afford to do. Several elements of the Control Bonding Theory explain why I chose to halt my deviant behavior.
Rather than looking at why people commit crimes, the Control Bonding Theory attempts to explain why individuals don't get involved with criminal activities. According to Travis Hirshi, author of A Control Theory of Delinquency, ...possessing strong social bonds gives the individual a "stake in conformity"; engaging in delinquency or crime involves the risk of losing those things that the individual deems valu?able, such as love and respect from parents or time and effort expended in school to obtain a good job (Hirshi, 272). There are four bonds associated with the theory: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief (Hirshi, 272). In the instance of my family, the theory contributes me stopping due to the attachment bond because of the fear of losing my mom in consequence of committing criminal acts (Hirshi, 272-273).
On a college application it asks the applicant if they've ever committed a crime. College was never not an option for me. My parents, like many others, have drilled it into me that without college, opportunities out in the real world are very limited. I've never seen a job application that didn't have a blank for what college you went to. My parents were so proud when I got into every single college I applied to. I couldn't go out to dinner without my dad telling somebody that I one-upped him by getting into all of my colleges. Too many times I've seen intelligent kids do something stupid and not be able to go to college. I vowed to myself that I wouldn't let that be me. The commitment bond made me walk away from crime because there was too much at stake to lose and not go to college. I was committed to going to college, and halted a possible obstacle that could have destroyed that commitment.
My name is Catharine Fleming. I've lived in the Hamptons almost all my life, my four bedroom, 4 ?? bathroom, three story house now only holds two people, everybody in my town knows my golden retriever by his first name, and I have committed criminal acts. Given my fortunate life, there was no reason for me to steal. I could have bought the underwear without it affecting if I had a next meal or not. My birthmom used to steal in order to make sure my half sister had at least two meals a day. Economic factors, oppression, desperation, genetics and so on are all reasons for why people commit crimes; None of which I have been exposed to. There is not just one form of ?criminal', nor will there ever be. I do not define myself as criminal, but as an experimental delinquent who has now grown up only to study the exact behavior that I exhibited as a youth.
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Autobiography Paper. (2019, Mar 13).
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Sociological Autobiography
When we make decisions and experience things, we often describe them as being our own, ours. However, when we think about why we made those decisions and why we experience things we come to realize that we are influenced by society to make decisions for us. There are many external societal factors that influence our beliefs and values which in turn affect how and why we make decisions. My family, friends, and society in general have heavily influenced the way I have lived my life and the person that I am today.
I was birthed into this world on January 24, 2002 in the city of San Jose, California, eyes wide open, ready to be shaped and molded into the individual that society wanted me to become. Immediately I was given the ascribed status of a girl. A quick glance was all it took to confirm what then became my gender and that was that. With this social label my parents, in result, treated me according to society's view of how a girl should be treated. This included pink and purple everything, dolls and dollhouses. It wasn't until I got a little older and would play with my cousins that that stereotype began to change. I grew up surrounded by a lot of family mainly because my culture is very family-oriented, but also because my family was so large in number.
Most of my first cousins, especially those close to my age, were male. Because many of my cousins who I played with as a child were male, I started to participate in more boy activities. For example, playing in the dirt and mud, playing basketball, and playing video games. I do not recall my parents or family ever saying anything about me participating in these activities however, I do remember an occurrence when I was in kindergarten in art class. The art teacher had assigned us an art project where we were to paint a picture for our dads for Father's Day. I decided to paint flowers for my dad because at the time he liked to garden and had all kinds of vegetables and flowers growing in our backyard. When I had told the art teacher what I was going to paint she told me to paint something else, like a car. At the time I didn't understand why I couldn't paint flowers for my dad when I knew that he would like it, but that didn't matter because flowers are girly and not meant for boys. This was just the first of my experiences with society's gender roles.
I am the youngest and only girl out of three other siblings. However, they are all half-siblings. I have two older brothers from my father and one older brother from my mother. Because of this, and because of the large age gap between my brothers and I, I never experienced that close sibling relationship with them. Being not only the youngest, but also the only girl had a huge influence on who I am today. My dad had only ever had sons, so he, in a way, treated me like another son.
He wanted me to play all kinds of sports like my brothers did. I was never an athletic person, and still am not, so I never played any sports that my brothers played like football and baseball. My dad also was rougher with me because he didn't want me to be soft. Because of this I was called a baby or wimp if I cried over little things. My mom however, always defended saying that it was okay for me to cry though her reasoning was because I'm a girl and you must be more careful around me because I am not as tough as a boy.
Growing up in the Bay Area the community that I was surrounded by was extremely diverse much like here in Sacramento, if not more so. There was a great mix of people from different cultures, religions, and backgrounds. The neighborhood that I grew up in specifically was inhabited mostly by middle class families, my own included. Being around people of the same or similar social class and economic backgrounds caused less discrimination and prejudice toward people when it came to social statuses and salaries. Being raised in this community also encouraged diversity especially in race and ethnicities, so even at a young age, seeing people of different skin colors participating in various cultural practices became a norm.
Though I am half African American and half Chamorro, I was raised predominantly by my maternal side of the family. My mother and my mother's side of the family being Pacific Islanders, I grew up with their beliefs, norms, and values solely because that was what I grew up with. As a Pacific Islander, more specifically a Chamorro/Guamanian, our culture is centered around a very social lifestyle. Our culture is also extremely family-oriented and that includes both immediate and extended family members, so as I was raised, family was taught to be one of the most important values in life.
Another important value that was taught is storytelling. Passing down stories through generations was taught to be important in order to keep the culture alive. Because Pacific Islanders are not a very common race compared to others based on population sizes, there is often prejudice towards Pacific Islanders since there is such little common knowledge about us. Pacific Islanders as a group are often generalized to all be Hawaiian or the same as Hawaiians when that is not the case. At a young age when people would ask me where I am from and I would tell them that I am from Guam, they would be confused, which even at a young age I understood because it is a very small island on the other side of the globe, and I wouldn't expect them to know.
It was often difficult to feel involved or connected with classmates and groups in school because of the race being so underrepresented. In turn, I embrace my ethnicity and culture as much as possible and will be sure to pass those values on to my future children. One way I embrace my culture right now is through cultural dancing. I have danced with a local Polynesian dance group since I was nine years old. In the group we perform Hula, Tahitian, and other Polynesian dances. Hula and Tahitian dancing are often sexualized because of the movement of the hips and the type of attire worn, especially by women, when dancing and performing.
When I would tell people that I danced Hula and Tahitian, many times guys would say things like, Oh, so you can move your hips? Society portrays the Hula Girl in a way to attract tourists or a public relations campaign. As a result, sometimes people don't take the performances seriously or do not recognize the significance of the dance. This is just another example of the lack of common knowledge of Pacific Island cultures.
Another value that Pacific Islanders have is practicing religion. There is no one religion that is enforced specifically however, Catholicism is predominantly practiced within the race. My father is not a very religious person and that was just how he was raised, but my mother was raised in a very Catholic home. Consequently, I was raised in a Catholic family. My maternal grandmother often pushes Catholicism on me and my other cousins. If someone were to ask me right now what religion I follow, I would tell them Catholicism but only because that is the only religion that I was taught about or practiced.
As I have grown older and have been more educated on different religions and on how different people view religion, my belief about certain practices and their purpose has faltered. I believe in God, but many of the beliefs and rules of the Catholic faith I have begun to question. Religion is very complicated. As I am growing and truly finding what I believe in, I begin to question who is right? Who is wrong? Is there a right or a wrong? Overall, my religion is something that I am continuing to question every day and will continue to change as I discover myself and my true beliefs.
Sexuality and my sexual orientation were not something that I ever really thought a lot about. Growing up I knew that I was attracted to the opposite sex. It wasn't until I got older, around middle school, when I was properly educated about the different sexual orientations. At that time, it was starting to become more common for people around my age to discover their sexuality. Becoming more educated on the various sexual orientations, my orientation did not change however, I became more open to a possible change. All my life thus far I have only ever been attracted to the opposite sex, heterosexual, but I cannot say that I will never be attracted to someone of the opposite sex or someone of a different gender identity.
The way that society and the people in my life have defined race and ethnicity, social class, and gender have greatly affected how my life has developed thus far. They have shifted the way I view my roles as a mixed race, middle class, female. The things that I have experienced and learned have affected and will continue to affect the way I live the rest of my life. Society has a huge impact on our lives and will continue to change and shape the way we live throughout time. Our experiences in the social world are what make us who we are.
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Sociological Autobiography. (2019, Mar 13).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
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Autobiography Narrative
My name starts with the most recognized flower in the nation and the most common name of people, however, I am original. My name is Jasmine Alexander. The dream I have holds the most emotional and special moment in my life. In childhood, that's when I discovered I had the desire to dance. From that point on, that was all I ever wanted. This narrative will discuss the history of dance and how it relates to me, the hardship I had in finding a sound dance school, and how my patience led its way to find a dance school with a different outcome than others. The passion I have for ballet is not summarized, however, I had never worked with an instructor before also I had never danced before. The reality of this crippled the imagination of my dream of ever being onstage.
My parents and my two older brothers encouraged me, they also told me the pros and cons of being a ballerina. The things I had to sacrifice and gain in return, they were all stressful to me. Reaching my goals with obstacles in the mix was hard and still is mental. The best advocator I have is my mother and with her prior experience in ballet, it was even better. Whenever my mother would train me, she always told me to show her the five positions also show her my pointers. This has a connection with its history. Long before this era, ballet originated within the 15th century around the renaissance era.
This type of dance started in Florence, France, that was adored by many noblemen. When ballerinas danced on their toes, in France, it was called Romantic Ballet according to Christopher Muscato, it states The origins of ballet can be traced back to 15th century Italy, when the peninsula was in the height of its period of artistic, cultural, and scientific growth known as the Renaissance. It was in the tradition of early 19th century Romantic ballet that dancing on the toes, or en pointe, first became a standard part of the performance, reserved for female dancers. After a family discussion on matters dealing with money supply and proper attire, Mom and I went school hunting. The first school we came upon was local to our area. The school was small, and the inside had an office at the front and classrooms in the back where ballerinas practiced. My mother started communicating with the head instructor of the place, where she started to tell her all about my dream to dance.
The head instructor told my mother her requirements and standards for her class. My mother and the instructor made a deal where she paid her every month to teach me the basics. When I first started, my mother was dropping me off for dance class, I was running a little late, however, as soon as we arrived, we had to wait a whole hour for the instructor. Right then, my mother and I saw everything we needed to see. The ballerinas weren't wearing proper attire, they were all chatting outside the classroom instead of going to their next class, everything the instructor said they were doing they wasn't. The experience was more like high school than a dance school. For those reasons, my mother and I quit, we resulted back into finding another dance school.
Years later, I began to lose hope in finding a sound school and I began to believe it was more like a fantasy than reality. That is when mom came across a different school that was apart of a gym and another class, that was all in one building. The inside had old scuffed walls and an office in front. The ballet class was across from the office to the left. Once again, we waited for the instructor and once she came, we started to talk. The instructor started to ask me what my name and age is. I told her my name is Jasmine Alexander and I am 15 years old. The instructor then said, okay, you're fifteen, so you'll be learning with others around your age. My mother then jumped to the point and asked what her requirements and standards for her class are.
The instructor enlightened my mother on everything, however, something out of the conversation stuck out to my mother and me. The instructor did not care about what size the ballerinas were and she didn't mind if they come as they are. This went against everything she said she stood for, also, this went against the morals of a sound prestige school, we were looking for. The experience I had out of this one was not productive or sound. Months went by, discouraged is what I felt at the time. I thought I was never going to find a proper dance school, at least, that's what I thought. My mother took me to another school a few minutes up the street from our house. The school was in a neighborhood called Providence. The school was small.
However, in the inside it was huge studios, one after the other, it was truly amazing. We talked to the instructor and gotten a different attitude about how she feels about dance. The instructor educated me on the determination it will take. The instructor also educated me on everything I had to do in her class and what classes I need to get to the pre-professionals stage, where most ballerinas my age was. I enlightened the instructor about my passion for dance and it thrilled her to know such passion of mine. The instructor allowed me to have a free lesson of ballet to see how I adjust. With this, we were able to sit in other classes to see how things work. After this experience, my mother and I both said, this is it.
What I learned from this experience is you must put in the effort. My goal is to learn how to dance, as I said previously, ever since childhood I loved everything about dance and the making of it. Whenever a ballerina performed on stage, I knew that would be me. The hardship I had in finding a sound school that could teach me, was one of the obstacles in my way of success. However, I learned that patience and good deeds go a long way since we couldn't find a proper school at first, it didn't mean we failed. As others say, little progress is better than none. At many attempts I felt failure, however, I did not lose hope.
When I founded the school I was looking for, everything I have done paid off, going through the trouble of finding the school of my dream was worth it. The effort my family and me put into this goal made every move risky and challenging, but it proved after all tribulations were over, that anything is possible, only if you keep going forward and learn from mistakes, that is when success is truly accessible.
References:
- Christopher Muscato, https://study.com/academy/lesson/history-of-ballet-timeline-facts.html Prentice Hall, P.H. (2012).
- Prentice Hall Literature, Common Core Edition, Grade 11. Retrieved from: https://courses.jmhs.com/d2l/le/content/7390/fullscreen/13586/View
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Autobiography Narrative. (2019, Mar 13).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/03/page/19/
Cultural Autobiography
My name is Lane Kidd, and I was born January 19, 1978, in Shreveport, Louisiana. I have two sisters, which are 11 months apart, and 7-8 years older than myself. I am the youngest. For those whom I would say know me personally, or at work, would probably say I am an average guy who works hard and because of some of my life’s experiences, perceive that I play hard. Truth is, I don’t play enough. There is always something that can be getting done. Growing up as a child, the slogan “Don’t put off tomorrow for what you can do today”, was embedded in me and at times, I can honestly say that I take that literally.
My parents worked extremely hard and rarely did I ever see them take days off. The days my mother did take vacation from her job, mostly was for, as she called it, “The Clean Sweep!” This was never good for my sisters, nor my father because the clean sweep meant if it were laying out on the floor or not put up in its proper place, it was probably going in the trash. As I think back, it was always close to trash day pick up. The same went for my father. He never exercised his vacation rights either. The times he did, it was to tend to the animals he raised, whether it was for repairs or for the slaughter, there was always work being done. My life growing up consisted of productivity, but most importantly, the culture I grew up in evolved around hard working, African American men and women. I too, am an African American male, and I am forty years old.
I was unaware of how many people from diverse countries can’t differentiate black men from African men. America is my nationality. I am an African American, or Black male. It was never difficult for me to differentiate between the two because I didn’t grow up around any Africans; therefore, I didn’t know or wouldn’t have known the difference myself. The predicament for me began as a child when my father made certain that I knew that there was a difference in this world between blacks and whites, and by no means would we (his kids) be what white folk perceived blacks to be by what they had seen on television, and whether I liked it or not, it was something I’d better accept. There were reasons the men in our community worked hard and all the time.
We didn’t grow up in an underprivilege community, nor did we attend underprivilege schools. Majority, if not all the men in our community were educated and successful in their career. Growing up, there was a sense of self identification and most importantly, having the will to succeed; whatever success meant to you. As the years move forward, I noticed that around high school, there was a huge difference between whites and blacks socially. For example, it is learned quickly that most of the kids that grew up playing sports together and having sleepovers, were no longer allowed to participate in other races’ functions. The high school I attended had three student parking lots: whites, blacks, and everybody else. As a mid to late teen is when I began realizing that being an African American or Black male is different from being white. It was weird that I couldn’t socialize with certain white friends that I had much of my life.
As time moved forward, I began to accept the fact that there were just some people, due to the color of my skin, did not accept me as their equal, and whether I had known them as kids or not, seemingly, it simply wasn’t acceptable to associate with blacks as white people with certain social and/or economic status. In the United States, there is a tendency that whites live amongst whites, while blacks live amongst the blacks. This isn’t the case for every community, but many of them. The difference in seasons brings out the differences in races of people. In the summer time, majority of white people gather up their boats and life preservers, and head for the lakes. However, black people, on the other hand, mostly choose to gather in parks and barbeque, even though it’s already 100 degrees.
When you compare the cultures between blacks and whites, there are some similarities, but there are several differences. Even though we grow up in the same country and learn from the same or similar institutions, the way we eat, dress, socialize, and even our religious practices are different. For example, most African Americans eat unhealthily until they reach an age where they learn that our habits are not fit for a healthy lifestyle. This is mainly because during slavery, African Americans fed and cooked for white families. The blacks didn’t earn enough wages to provide much food for theirs, so they had to make do with the scraps they were given. Mostly, this was the left over from the pig or whatever they could get their hands on. African Americans cook food in grease and butter, which are unhealthy. As a child, it seemed as that the only animals that the black men did raise were pigs and cattle; two animals where the bulk of our meat comes from. With days of work on the job and coming home to provide for their families, there was little to no time for exercising.
It was a culture shock in some ways because in the white communities, you would always see someone walking or running down the street, exercising. This was a rare occasion in my community. In my neighborhood, the resources for health and fitness isn’t accessible. There are no 24-hour gyms and the fitness centers we did have were across town in the white communities, with a membership needed. Truth be told, majority of blacks in my community made excuses for not working out, whether it was too tired, or the convenient old age rebuttal. There were those that did exercise, and they were willing to drive the distance to utilize the fitness facilities. Again, the issue wasn’t limited to transportation, finances played a major role.
As African Americans, even though successful, didn’t condone to paying for or creating bills that wasn’t considered a need. Although fitness is extremely important, in black communities then, it was not considered a necessity. The culture I was raised in, the work that had to be done around the house or the farm was about as much exercise as one could get; and it was saving money so to speak. As I got older and moved to the city, in a white community, I must admit that I wasn’t used to the amenities that came with living in a predominantly white area. Although health and fitness are dissimilar, both cultures rely heavily on religion. It may be difficult to notice by watching the interactions between the black churches and white churches, but they do have their similarities. While they both teach from the same bible, the teachings and worships services are different.
The ministry is heavy on my father’s side of the family, but both of my parents come from strict religious backgrounds. When my parents were growing up, religion was a part of daily life for blacks. It is where majority of congregating and festivities took place; food, games, etc. It was a time when families came together to really get to know one another because each other was all they had, and everyone took care of everyone and their children. The saying went, “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child.” This is how blacks lived, while celebrating and soaking in as much wisdom from the elderly. For in those times, it was nothing for the neighbors to get together and have a feast for the new family that recently moved into the community.
This was the culture of African Americans and religion. As I have gotten older, I sit with my mom and question her on how things were then when she was a child versus how things are now as I raise mine; simply to gain a bit more knowledge on the culture of yesterday to today. Listening to some of her stories makes it difficult for me at times to imagine raising my kids in her time. She would explain how they would go to church every day. I can’t imagine going every single day, but listening to her, this was the thing to do. This was the road to success so to speak. She explained how it strengthens the community and kept the trail blazing for those coming behind them.
The more I learned about my culture, the more I realized that religion played a vital role in our upbringing. It is still the same today, but my generation does share its differences. Religion is still heavy in African American communities, but we don’t attend service every day of the week, and most importantly, the services are much shorter. Also, there are a lot less festivities going on due to majority of black churches now are comprised of many people who worship together but go about their own separate lives afterwards. In my opinion, I have learned that religion is a culture within its own, and both white and blacks maneuver in the culture by how they were raised and the religion that they were surrounded by, ie: Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, etc.
While both black and white people read and teach from the same bible, the atmosphere and culture of religion is different. In the white culture, church service is quiet and absolutely no one is yelling to the top of their lungs begging for a witness. In my culture, on the other hand, after 3 prayers, 4 scripture readings, and an A & B selection from the choir, it’s already been a couple hours and the preacher hasn’t come close to the sermon. Each culture has its positive and negative. The African American culture in religion requires plenty of patience and discipline because church wasn’t ending anytime soon. I can say it taught me both. There were consequences for not learning both, and in the black culture, any parent, other than your own had full rights to see to it that you did learn those two qualities and quickly.
Most people, like myself, grow up in one culture; only being exposed to views that is being presented to them. While enrolled in the military, that experience afforded me the opportunity to view other cultures up close other than on television. What I learned was that each culture has its own opinions and views on how the society should operate. Not being multicultural like many people in foreign countries, has raised a certain awareness in myself of how different other cultures can be. I represent the African American culture and that is the only culture I can knowingly converse on. Having the opportunity to travel to other countries allowed me to explore other cultures and their languages. Unfortunately, I speak only one language; which is English.
Acquiring the life skills I received from the US Navy, I am grateful for the valuable lessons I obtained along the way. Throughout these experiences, I have been able to practice different cultures, increase valued knowledge on different religions, and have learned, in some form to communicate in different languages with others. These experiences can’t be purchased. I am grateful for having the opportunity to enhance my knowledge on not only other cultures, but myself as well.
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Personal Story
To start off the personal narrative about my life, my full name is Suzanna Joy Fia. My life began in Lamour, CA, where I was born on December 15, 1999. I am the youngest of 4 sisters, we grew up in many different places due to my father serving in the military. My Dad retired in 2010 after 31 years of service, whereas my Mom moved on to become a Special Ed. teacher with a Masters in that field. My family and I moved to Alaska shortly after my dad’s retirement where he continued working as a bus driver and my Mom, a teacher at Reddington High School in Settlers Bay. I spent most of Elementary school in Texas and the rest of my academic career in Alaska.
The best memories I have from high school began with Fridays. Friday at my school wasn’t bad at all. Very rarely did we have homework to be done over the weekends. Classes were much more relaxed and often consisted of work days. Fridays were special because for each week that went by, the closer and closer you got to freedom. A big motivation for me to go to school were my friends. We worked hard together to get good grades while having fun. All of my current best friends are people I met in high school. When you’re going through the same kind of life problems, it’s nice to have a group of friends to help you along the way.
Although there were good times, high school consisted some of the worst. Something that goes hand in hand with friend groups is drama. Highschool can be very dramatic and can find yourself in the middle of it. I learned that sometimes it’s best to just ignore it and keep your thoughts to yourself. One memory I will never forget was going to gym, being surrounded by much fitter students and challenging obstacles. The dreaded mile run was one of the most difficult things I had to do in high school. For the life of me I could not get my time under ten minutes. Being the last person to finish your run with the longest time was one of the worst feelings and still haunts me to this day.
Growing up I had a love for art and creativity. I have been drawing since I was a little child.
I usually drew animals and landscapes with vibrant colors that were hung up in my room, taking up every inch of the walls. Painting quickly became my new obsession in middle school. I would spend days working on a piece for my own personal getaway from life. I have a secret respect a devotion for animals. I adore dogs more than any other animal, considering I’ve got 4 of my own at home. I have worked in a vet clinic and taken vet assisting classes, increasing my love. Volunteering at the local shelter is a hobby I will never let go of. Giving the animals a little bit a joy and seeing it in their eyes, makes every visit worth my time.
Attending college has always been a life goal starting in high school. People who graduate from college make more money and open up more opportunities and choices for jobs/careers. I decided to go to college because I am a strong believer in that education opens new doors of opportunity. I’m also finding new friends that can help me along the way to graduating. I hope I can start a tradition in the family line to attend college and move up in the world. To find a career that I love and will support me in life and give me the chance to grow as a person would be a dream come true.
Currently my life consists of school, family, and lots of napping. In order to keep everything on track, I must follow a strict schedule. Having my planner will help me finish projects in a timely manner, manage my time, and make sure my classes are in order. My goal is keeping a heathy balance between school and my social life. I hope by the end of this semester I will be more active and organized with my life choices. After a couple more years at Matsu College I plan on moving out of Alaska and pursue the career I’ve chosen.
College was definitely a step out of my comfort zone. The fear of change took over my life after graduating high school. I was scared of making new friends and having a professor instead of a teacher. Then the stage of loneliness started to set in as my time slowly began to consist of studying. I find it hard to get out of the acutance zone with people in class. There are so many different people with different backgrounds its difficult to find the right friends that fit me. The dreaded “What if?” haunts me every time I’m heading to class, thinking of the worst that can happen. Thinking like this gets my heart pumping at the chance of embarrassing myself in class, keeping me from new opportunities.
I started my first semester at Middle college with no friend’s, severe depression, and anxiety. I was in a slow decline of unhealthy self-care and kept many mental health problems to myself. I was only 17 and unprepared for a big academic step such as college and independent responsibility. I was scared to ask for help and communicate what was going on in my life with the counselor, principal, even my family. I pushed myself towards poor mental health, resulting in hospitalization. I have found the chemical imbalance causing my mental problems and am taking the necessary medications to keep my depression and anxiety stable. I have developed healthy coping skills such as exercise, mindfulness, the importance of asking for help and having many different support outlets. I am able to continue my coursework and improve my academic progress.
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Story about my Family
I think being born into a large family, nine brothers and seven sisters, has many advantages. I always had someone to play with as a child. My older brothers and sisters were always there to protect me; therefore, I never got teased or bullied. My support group was big which helped build my confidence, self-esteem, and resilience. I am not afraid to try anything new because I know my family will always be there to help me out if things don't turn out as planned.
I went away to college the fall after graduating from high school. I did well academically and loved expanding my knowledge. However, I had no connection to my family. Land lines were the only telephones at that time and long distance phone calls were expensive. No one came to visit; either they didn't have the time or transportation. I never returned after that first year. I got a job and figured I would go back to college once I bought a car so that I could go home once in a while to avoid getting so homesick. That plan didn't work out either. I ended up having a child and getting married. Three years later I had my second child, but never gave up the idea of going back to college.
Eleven years later, I decided it was time for me to return to college. I got an associate's degree in medical imaging. I worked a total of two weeks as an x-ray technician before I admitted that I disliked the job and didn't want to work another minute in that field. I had no idea what type of job I wanted to do, but knew I wanted to do more than factory work. At my husband's suggestion, I went back to school and got an associate's degree in environmental, health and safety. I found a job immediately even though it was the beginning of the recession and many people were getting laid-off. I really enjoyed this line of work but found it difficult to be taken seriously in this positon since I am a petite woman.
I am a firm believer that something good can come out of most situations. I had to attend monthly safety council meetings and it was during one of these meetings that I met a nurse who worked at a factory. This was my introduction to the occupational health nurse position. After researching the job duties and possible career advancements, I knew this was the job I had been seeking all along. I knew my former education and experiences would help not only with nursing school, but also working as an occupational health nurse.
I couldn't convince my nursing instructors that my experience as a safety director in a factory would help me get a job as an occupational health nurse immediately after graduating as a nurse. I was informed that many positions require at least two years of experience in the emergency department or acute care. After researching many job openings listed during my time in nursing school, I discovered they were right. However, I wasn't about to let that stop me. I knew the only people I had to convince I was qualified for the position were those on the hiring panel when I went for an interview. My persistence and persuasion paid off. One year after passing the state boards and getting my nursing license, I took a positon as an occupational health nurse.
I have been an occupational health nurse in a factory for one year. I knew this was my calling before I even worked in this field. During my interview, I revealed my intentions of taking online courses to get my Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree and then sitting for the boards to become a Certified Occupational Health Nurse-Specialist (COHN-S). I am in the process of taking online courses to complete the RN to BSN degree. Once I have achieved this goal, I will begin to prepare for the COHN-S examination. I give my family partial credit for what I have accomplished. My diligence and determination was instilled in me during my childhood which wouldn't have been possible if my family didn't support me as I was growing up which has made me the strong person that I am today.
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Musical Story
My musical story begins in the hills and countryside of Kentucky, where my family has lived since the early 1700's. Bluegrass music was created in Kentucky, originally emerging from English and Scottish folk music. The Bluegrass State has almost entirely influenced my musical preferences. Listening to the bluegrass of my Papaw's youth and the 70's country my mom loves attracted me to country music. My heritage has played a major role in my musical influences.
Papaw was born in 1934 in Buckner, Kentucky. His father was a sharecropper, and as a result of his alcoholism, the family of fourteen had to migrate from farm to farm. His rural upbringing influenced his musical tastes, and he treasures bluegrass music to this day. He vacations in his camper to bluegrass festivals as far as West Virginia. Mamaw was born in 1930 in Webster, Kentucky. She grew up in a family shattered by an abusive father, amidst vicious arguments between the Catholics and Baptists. When her mother died in 1937, her father sent her and her siblings to live in an orphanage in Louisville as opposed to ceding the children to the Baptist relatives. Living among her peers, she gravitated to the music of her time, including Frank Sinatra and Conway Twitty.
My mother was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1968. Her family lived there for a short time while Papaw worked in a printing factory. He moved her and her six sisters back to Kentucky when my mom was four. My mom's musical preferences derive from her rural upbringing. She appreciates old country, such as Waylon Jennings and Charlie Pride, as well as modern favorites with simple beats, including Ed Sheeran and Phillip Phillips. My father was born in Santa Ana, California, in 1965. He grew up in an instrument playing family; however, my dad's hobbies differed. As a child, he enjoyed playing sports instead of instruments. Today, he listens to the music from his youth, including classic rock. His move to Kentucky in 1995 introduced him to country music. I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2000. Throughout my childhood, I established consistent musical preferences.
I listened to modern country music in my dad's car and old country and gospel in my mom's. I still listen to country music in the car because of these early influences. Also, my best friend, Emma Topp, and I spent our weekends together all through elementary school indulging Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and Selena Gomez. I gained formal music experience through studying the violin from age 4 to 14. I played a conglomeration of Catholic hymns and fiddle music. While I didn't relish listening to hymns while sitting in church, I enjoyed playing them; however, fiddle music was my favorite because I could play fast. I played hundreds of bluegrass songs for my Papaw. For Christmas when I was 9, my Uncle Don in California gave me a guitar.
I exhausted hours learning to play, but I never perfected it. Because my Uncle Don was so far away, I didn't have the guidance to refine my playing, so I would still consider myself a beginner. Additionally, from a young age, I reveled in watching American Idol. This contributed to my taste in music because one of the runners up, Crystal Bowersox, is one of my favorite singers to this day. Her songs are soulful country, and this remains one of my favored categories of country music.
My musical influences also include my peers. From attending homecoming and prom, to cruising around town, I developed a taste for rap. Rap music ties our generation together with its catchy rhythms and sounds. My favorite rappers include Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, and Post Malone. I also like pop music; however this genre is overplayed and I tire of it easily. As much as I adore rap, country music will always hold an exclusive place in my heart. Old country is soothing to me, especially when I am overwhelmed. Also, in my agriculture classes in high school, we played country music on the speakers as we worked. Country music epitomizes jubilant memories in my life. My favorite country singers are Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, and Carrie Underwood.
However, my current favorite song is Kentucky Bred by David Tucker. Several of the references in the song reflect who I am and where I come from, such as riding in a truck bed, going to church on Sundays, and Ale 8, which is a ginger ale drink only made in Kentucky. Kentucky culture has always been emulated in the types of music in which I listen. My papaw loves to take our family to bluegrass festivals, and bluegrass is always fiddling in his house. If my childhood was summarized into one song, it would be Rocky Top, by the Osborne Brothers. It is a song that is treasured among several generations. In addition, every year on the Kentucky Derby, we celebrate with a Derby party at our house, and all of our extended family and friends are in attendance. We all gather in our basement and sing My Old Kentucky Home simultaneously with the rest of the Bluegrass State.
Music is always playing in my life. While driving, in the shower, studying, or even doing laundry. Music motivates me, and I follow its rhythms and melodies as I work. Even when I listen to music for entertainment, my roommate, our friend, and I enjoy imagining fun dances to our favorite songs, especially with the Latin rhythms of Shakira. Childhood influences almost every aspect of a person's life: their food preferences, good or bad habits, and of course, musical tastes. I was never exposed to electronic or heavy metal as a child, so I find these genres annoying today. I've listened to rap since middle school, and I cherish it to this day. However, country music was the sounds of my childhood, and it will always be my favorite as it represents my culture, my lifestyle, and ultimately who I am.
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The Ruler who was not a King
I am a conqueror, I am king, and more than that I am a ruler. A king can be can be an evil tyrant, but a ruler is respected, and expands his kingdom for the better. My name is Cyrus II known as Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid empire, and father to many.
My father is the king of Anshan, and my grandfather is the king of Media. I know that I will inherit inevitable power, and I what I saw as an embodiment of power was my Grandfather, king Astyages. Though, I loved my grandfather, I wish I knew that he would be my enemy and most unexpected rival. My goal as a ruler is to have my subject's loyalty, and it is through this loyalty that a kingdom expands. This was my grandfather's mistake, and I will make sure that it is not mine.
My grandfather's betrayal which made me the respected king that I am now happened when I returned back to Anshan and was given a package of a hare, that I was told to open. I was shocked by the contents of the letter I received in inside. I was told my grandfather's servant Harpagus, which he said he has been abused terrifically, that my grandfather wanted me dead and was about to head for me, though if I march on Media, he'll gather the army that's supposed to oppose me, and we'll fight together. I jumped for this opportunity, and headed for Media. I am a conqueror, I could not let anyone even my grandfather, threaten that, my rule of Media, I know is for the better, and it is from here where I continue my conquest and create an empire an empire. When I got there I met with Harpagus and we fought together until I get complete control of Media.
Afterwards, I asked if he thought he needed anything in return, I was appalled when he said, he wanted vengeance on my grandfather for the the years of torture he put him through. I furiously told him he was foolish and wicked man, for having the desire to shed blood and go through war just on the basis of getting revenge. My philosophy is conquer what needs to beconquered for the better, affecting other people lives in a horrible manner for a personal vendetta is unforgivable. It's times like this why I later, let the jews be free, and let the babylonians be continue on with their life when I conquered them. So, I denied this offer, and kept my grandfather in seclusion, after all he put me through, he's lucky I spared him with my kindness. It was the year, 560 BCE, where I finally united the persians with Media. My two homes, that I felt a disconnection two when only at one, now are bonded in unison, and can be associated as one. From here is where I am able to expand my rule over others that would be later known as the Achaemenid Empire.
I was resideding back in Persia, until 546 BCE, when I became faced with Croesus, king of Lydia. Ever since this war, I became to feel more sympathetic towards people, and others saw that, and it is this emotional attachment with my subjects' that their loyalty is so great. Through my spies and further intelligence, I was informed Croesus was about to try and conquer the empire which I just succeeded in taking. I was not about to let my new found rule go to a waste, I immediately went to fight him on a battlefield at Pteria. The battle felt long, and lasted till morning, I knew this battle would keep going, and I knew Croesus knew too, so we both went our separate ways, knowing this was not the end. A king may sacrifice his men for a win, but I am a ruler, strategic decisions like this saves my men which later allowed others to follow me in my successful, resulted reign.
We won the battle and took Croesus prisoner. Before he was executed and sentenced to death by fire, Croesus cried to someone named solon in regret, in curiosity I told them to stop, but the fire had already lit and it was too late. He then cried out to god Apollo, and a big thunder came down and water spilled down him, and he was saved. In response Croesus told me how Solon proclaimed that he would not know the meaning of true happiness, till his life ended, and I could tell that the gods agreed, upon his salvation. I soon became fond him, and it was right then and there where I finally told myself to be thankful for the life given to me, and started to see people in a different way, that made me care more. I found myself to now be a foe of Croesus and learned to care more about the people in my life, and how I affect them and myself, in order to reach full happiness.
544 BCE, is when I reached my greatest victory, and where my soul was lightened for the better. There was a massive city called Babylon. It was seen as powerful, beautiful, and great, which was something I wanted to become a part, as everyone should have the experience to be in my presence under my rule. I conquered the Babylonians with a large army, which was ready to overpower any opposition to our success. When I defeated them, I was horrified knowing of the Jews who were held captive. After the battle of Lydia, my happiness felt short associated with the enslavement of the Jews, I released them and told them to go back home to Judea, and rebuild their house of god in Jerusalem. I made some practical changes for Babylon, and with the freeing of the Jews, I knew I have done something for the better, and my success in conquering it was not in vain. This was my most greatest victory, but I know that a ruler has to gather one's loyalty before they can actually rule as a respected king. It was inevitable that there would be some defiance in my new found rule, as unlike Media and Ansan, I was related to both kingdoms, and grew up with the people, here I could be seen as a tyrant or undeserving ruler who just had a lot of power. So in defense I created a cylinder, proclaiming my rightful rule over Babylon.
I came into Babylon with peace, I gave them nothing to fear of me, and my royal lineage gives me a right to rule. I did nothing wrong to Babylon, and I made it a better city as a whole, without the brutal enslavement of the Jews. I stated my rule that covers the 4 quarters of
the world. My royal lineage, peaceful invasion, and tolerant ruling, made me their legitimate ruler, and it is through this cylinder, if one should have any doubt about me, this would validate my legitimacy as their rightful king. The expedition of this great city took 14 years, and it was worth all the time and effort of making it mine, as it is because of here that my name will travel across the lands.
After so many years later, I could tell I was seen differently, and heard that the persians called me father, and the greeks were calling my law giver, and the long freed jews called me Anointed of the lord. I knew that I had made an impact on this world, and the people in it. I
made myself a being of higher statue, I even bet the gods would respect me on the same level, I am respected just like them, by others.
It was time for me to settle, and start a new destiny. I returned back to Media, where both my parents still lived, and I married my dear wife Cassandane.
We have many children together. I had two sons Cambyses II, and Smerdis, and two daughters Atrystone and Roxane. I will bequeath my empire to my son Cambyses II, and make my other son Symberdis Lieutenant of Media, Armena, and CAldusia. My line is of pure royalty, and I expect my children to continue legacies that rival mine. Otherwise, my proclamation for Baylon and how my royal lineage and peaceful prosperity make me a rightful ruler, will soon be questioned. I freed the Jews, gave mercy to my grandfather, and expanded my empire to cover parts of the world. My godlike, presence, is not a quality but an evolvement. I've given many to others, and helped them become part of an empire that will go down in history as a great one.
I don't have much time, as this is where I end my story. Right now I am about to go into war. I must invade the Scythians and their king Tomyris as my settlement in Media, is not myend, my kingship needs to cover more land, though just like the babylonians i will go in with peaceful goals, I will take this city and even more people shall praise me. When I conquere, I didn't just siege cities, and put my name on it to further my reputation, what I do, iss conquer the attention of people, I make them praise me like they do their own gods. I know I will be talked about for the rest of time, and that is something the Scythians or any one will never take away from me, even when I pass. All people will talk about is the greatness and success of my rule.
Long ago, Croesus told me that people will never know true happiness until they are faced with their death, but I already know what true happiness is, and it is me, Cyrus the Great, ruler and father to many.
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Linguistic Autobiography
I was born in Maywood, IL at Loyola Hospital and I was raised in Westchester, IL. My family's language background is English. However on my father's side I am Polish, yet I have never learned how to speak it or ever heard it from any of my family members on that side.
As a baby the first voice I recognized the most was my mothers'. I recognized my own name, so anytime someone called out my name I would pop my head up. Babbling and gibberish came first then around the time I was 1 ?? years old I said my first words, which were mama and couscous (this was my so called version of the word pretzels.)
Being the first born so I was around my parents and my grandparents more than anyone else. My mother always read to me, then once I began learning how to read she would listen to me to make sure I was reading fluently and pronouncing everything correctly. And of course there was the occasional baby talk that I went through as well. The constant look at the little baby, and look how cute you are was a language itself. Being around my grandparents they loved to sit down and conversations with me. So I was able to pick up on their words and comprehend their use of dialect.
Throughout middle school and high school grammar was hammered into the curriculum. Teachers put a strong emphasis on nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and almost everything else that could be categorized into the subject of grammar. I can recall one of my teachers who said Grammar is the backbone of your reading and listening comprehension. I didn't value grammar because I believed as long as you could talk you didn't need it. However I had it all wrong. Without grammar we would all be talking in the wrong tenses, using the incorrect words to describe people and places. Grammar is indeed the back of everything to do with not only with reading and listening but just simple communication.
When I was fully capable of understanding myself in terms of language and dialect I was able to understand the difference between the two. Almost everyone I knew spoke English, however some individuals had different dialects. For example my grandmother on my mom's side is from New York and she has an accent. Including my grandparent's on my dads' side who were from Tennessee. They are all fluent in English but they just sound different based on where they come from which I was able to notice right away.
When I entered high school was when I was faced with linguistic prejudice. For a majority of my classes we had essays, socratic seminars, group discussions, and class presentations: Some teachers were so surprised that I spoke properly and sounded intelligent and turned the remarks into compliments. However I was offended because it was perceived that I didn't have the ability to speak and present myself in such a high manor. Your looks shouldn't depict whether or not you can speak properly or sound intelligent. To add I do believe I am linguistically secure because I have strong confidence in the use of my own language.
I've been speaking English for years and I've grown to have a vast variety of vocabulary. Having linguistic security has a strong impact on my linguistic behavior because it makes it easier to speak and to understand language in the context of text. The only thing I can say dislike about linguistics is the process of learning another language. I strongly disliked taking Mandarin in high school during my sophomore year. It was nothing against the language it was just a complex subject. Not only did you have to know the characters, but the writing system which was Pinyin (Latin form) and the pronunciation was which a Beijing dialect.
Overall my relationship to language has changed in a way, however it is still progressing. As I advance in college there is no doubt it will get stronger. But as of now my relationship to language open and is ready for improvements to gain more knowledge.
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Literacy Autobiography
As a child one of my biggest accomplishments was learning how to read. I was in Pre-K when I was introduced to the fundamentals of reading. I remember constantly singing the alphabet song and going over vowels, which helped developed my reading skills. As I got older not only did my reading skills get stronger but so did my interest in reading.
You would think as a child I would want the latest toys and games but I was the complete opposite. For my birthday or Christmas I asked for books and movies. My collection of books was expanding so much that I had to get my very own bookshelf. When it came to the different genres of books I read almost everything. Fiction, non-fiction, science fiction, mystery, horror, action and adventure etc. If it was a genre, you can best believe I read it. One character I had a special connection with was Finn Garrett from a book titled The Last Invisible Boy. Finn lost his father and believed he was becoming invisible because a piece of him had died.
I was able to connect with this character because I lost my grandmother to lung cancer and I experienced some of the same things he went through. I also felt like a piece of me died when my grandmother passed away, in a way this character and book helped me cope. Furthermore I also developed a strong interest in comic books which was caused by my liking of superhero and action movies. In addition to my book collection my movie collection grew rapid to a point where I had to get dvd racks just to keep them organized. I watched movies more than tv which I still do to this day. I know all the words to multiple movies due to the fact that I've watched them numerous times. Just like with books, I've watched a wide variety of movies including comedy, action, horror, etc. Similarly my reading and movie interests come together and bounce off of each other.
As a result of my passion for reading, almost everyday after school I would walk to the library. Checking out multiple books and movies was a habit of mine. Many times I would read the book right away and come back the next day to check out another book. I also went to Borders and Barnes and Noble as reading outlets. I didn't start going to Barnes and Noble until Borders suddenly closed, however it still became a favorite spot to read. I remember getting my first magazine subscription after discovering Sports Illustrated for Kids. Overtime I was comfortable with reading almost everywhere. Reading was second nature to me, and my love for it only grew stronger.
My very first teacher Ms.Carson was the one who introduced me to reading . It may have just been the basics but it was the foundation of my experience with reading. As I got older and went to elementary and middle school my teachers expressed the importance of reading by assigning weekly reading logs for homework. Even though I hated the homework it didn't stop me from reading. To add, my mom and grandma had positive influences on my interests in reading. When I first began to read my mom would always listen to make sure I was reading fluently and pronouncing words correctly.
My grandmother was the one who took me to get my first library card and would take me to the bookstores. We would stay there for hours browsing through different books and magazines. I could honestly say the times we spent together at the bookstore has helped shaped our bond that is still strong today. Lastly my dad was someone who was a positive influence on my interests in movies. Every Tuesday he would go to the store to buy the newest movies that came out on dvd, hence the reason why I own so many movies. In addition, he would also take me to the movies a lot, which I still enjoy. I would go the movies at least three to four times a month with my girlfriend who loves movies just as much as I do.
Overall I can say reading was one of the things I enjoyed more than anything as a child. Ironically when I got to high school I began to dread reading. Whether it was a passage out of a textbook or a chapter from a book, I didn't want to read it. I had lost interest in something I loved. As of now I want to start reading for leisure again and not just because I have to. Other things began to interest me and I felt as if reading was not necessary anymore.
Teachers in high school didnt care if you read the chapters, they'll still quiz you. Whereas in middle school teachers would make you read in class and constantly remind you. Once I noticed the difference my attitude towards reading changed. However reading has brought me a long way and without it I wouldn't be as successful as I am today. Even though I'm not a huge fan of reading I'm still appreciative for learning how to do so and I hope to start reading for leisure once again.
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Literacy Autobiography. (2019, Mar 13).
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Gender Autobiography
From the moment I was born, the doctor exclaimed, Es ist eine Maedchen! This is German for, It's a girl and I had zero input on that statement. Although, society treated me according to my gender, I have always identified as feminine. Even though this is how I identify, I was never discouraged from doing anything that was considered masculine or not considered typical girl behavior. I believe that gender identity was always a non-issue in my life. I lived my life without perceiving any kind of judgment from my family or close community. I don't remember ever feeling societal pressure growing up either.
I had hoped and thought that everyone could live that way. I wouldn't say I was na??ve but I just didn't understand why anyone would have to conform to a way of life that wasn't a true representation of oneself. I read this assignment and brainstormed for a few days before realizing that I wouldn't have anything substantial to write about because I was always encouraged to play, behave and feel however I perceived when it comes to gender roles. Before I get into my own personal story, I would like to define both the terms; gender and sex. Throughout the rest of the paper, I will elaborate on my childhood experiences, share a story about a moment with a friend who felt societal and family pressure on his gender identity and how my experiences influenced how I am raising my own child.
According to Newman, gender as one's psychological identity, feminine and masculine, while sex is a biological assignment associated with chromosomes and genitals (Newman, 2018). I have always identified with both my gender and sex. I was born and raised in Heidelberg, Germany and I was very fortunate to live a life where no one cared if kids under the age of 12 ran around naked at the lake or little boys wore fleece tights in the winter to keep them nice and warm. So what if a little girl was playing with boy toys or a little boy was playing with baby dolls and a baby stroller? Looking back, I feel like no one, especially in my little world, felt that we, the children, were supposed to play or be a certain way. I was encouraged to have the best childhood. I realize as an adult now that many other people aren't that fortunate or privileged.
It wasn't until freshman year in college where I realized that some people were not able to live life as their truest self or identify differently than the social norm. It made me sad that they had to conform to society's or their family's idea of gender identity. When I started college in 2007, I temporarily moved to the middle of nowhere in Missouri.
After a less than two years I ended up moving back to Germany to be with my family. During my brief time in the United States, specifically, Missouri, I met a guy who was openly gay when he was with his friends, but had to live a separate life when he went home. He invited me to his parent's house one weekend when the dorms closed for the holiday weekend and during the entire 1.5-hour drive he briefed me on how I could never mention anything about him being gay. He even mentioned that he told his parent's I was an ex-girlfriend that they'd never met so it would be more believable. I was so incredibly sad that in 2007 he wasn't able to be himself 100%. In fact, as I am writing this paper, I decided to search for him on Facebook and found out that he no longer is in contact with his family but he did share with them that he is gay. He's married to a man he'd always hoped he'd end up with and has two dogs.
After I permanently moved to the United States in 2013, I still didn't quite understand the extreme influence society has on gender identity was until the very next year. In 2014, I fell into the pink and blue vortex when I found out I was pregnant. I did a bit of browsing for baby things early on and became ridiculously overwhelmed with how divided everything was. There was either pink or blue and maybe 1% was neutral. I was adamant about not wanting to find out the gender, because it's truly one of the few surprises in life people have left. Another reason I felt strongly about this is because the other side of the family would put a very pink or blue mold filled with expectations and behaviors around my baby before it was even born.
I have a history of miscarriages and had a scare in my second trimester and decided that if anything were to happen that I would want to know the gender. I found out I was having a little boy. Due to my womanly reproductive issues, I could honestly say 100% I didn't have a preference, I just was so excited to be a mother.
I've known friends that have been utterly disappointed when they were hoping for one sex and got the other and never understood why, especially because becoming a parent in the first place is the most amazing experience, at least to me. Anyways, sure enough, my instinct was right, the other side of the family gifted us with sports gear and name brand athletic wear, along with lots of blue everything and a dash of green. I was so scared that this was it, my son wouldn't have a choice in any other shades except for boy, dude and bro. I distinctly remember my mom purchasing a two-piece outfit with khaki shorts and a polo shirt. It was the cutest outfit and the best part about it was the polo shirt was pale pink.
When it finally fit my son, I paraded him around in it because the shade of pink really made his blue eyes pop and his strawberry blonde hair stand out. The cool pink and purples definitely complemented his skin and hair color just like his momma. I remember hearing a comment from the other side of the family saying that pink shirts are not for boys. I let the comment roll off my back because my little one was still an infant and he did not understand their ignorance. Another incident was during a visitation from his bio dad. I wasn't around but my mom mentioned it because she had to correct the statement and behavior. My son absolutely loves dramatic play. He loves to dress up as different people or animals and pretend play.
It's been the best moment of toddlerhood so far and we (my family and I) totally encourage it. During the supervised visitation with my parents, my son decided to put on my sister's floral kimono, grab her purse and pretend to be her, his aunt. My mom heard a comment, no, no, that's for a girl, Max, yuck boy's don't wear that. She chimed in and let Max know it was okay to play with it and let bio dad know in her counseling voice that we encourage dramatic play as it enhances brain development and if he had a question about Max's behavior or fashion choice to ask before making a statement like that.
Fortunately, that side of the family is no longer in the picture, so Max has the freedom to do whatever he chooses with full support and no pushback. I hope that he continues to live life the way he does now as fluid as he chooses. Just yesterday he put on my leopard print pumps and tried walking and then asked me to put them on and I did and pretended to be bad at walking in heels. We had a laugh and moved on to another game where we played in the mud and catching cicada bugs.
I feel very fortunate the way I grew up and only hope that I can create a similar environment for my own son. However, being exposed to the struggle that some people encounter opened my eyes to the difficulties some people have to face just to be accepted. I just never understood why families or society doesn't accept people who just wanted to live life as their truest self. Society often times wants to put people into boxes and even if you do happen to fit into one of the boxes, life can be difficult. I do believe that within the last century there has been much more acceptance toward sexuality and race. In my opinion people who live life in their truest form without having to pretend or hide who they are, will be able help perpetuate tolerance and acceptance and create a better, more accepting society for the future.
References
- Newman, T. (2018, February 07). Sex and gender: Meanings, definition, identity, and expression. Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232363.php
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Majority of People in America
Section 1
In the early 1730s, majority of people in America had very little or no means of reading books. Benjamin Franklin noticed the necessity to increase the reading of books and decided to open a public library. Benjamin reached out to some of his colleagues and they all agreed to bring forty shillings each for a start. They also agreed to increase the initial amount by 10 shillings each year for the next fifty years. This they concluded will provide and cater for the purchase of new books and also for the upkeep and maintenance of the public library. I drew up proposals, got them put into form by our great scrivener Brocken, and by the help of my friends in the Junto, procured fifty subscribers of forty shilling each to begin with, and ten shillings a year for fifty years, the term our company was to continue. (FRANKLIN, P.126).
They started by gathering all their available books and stocking them all in one room they rented with equal access to all the members. That way anyone of the members could borrow any book he whishes to read back to his home and return it to the library after reading it. The process was very successful and that made them draw up an Article of agreement they agreed to all contribute some form of initial payment to enable them purchase more books. They also agreed to maintain a payment annually for maintenance and more purchases of books. The public library idea was very successful and embraced by all the people in community and even spread out to neighboring towns. With very little alternative options for entertainment, most of the people decided to indulge in reading of books. This eventually brought them to a level of enlightenment and intelligence from reading all the different variety of books. As a result, most of the people in a America, including the traders and even farmers became well knowledgeable and educated. This of course also included Benjamin Franklin himself.
Section 2
Benjamin Franklin had always wanted to live a very virtuous life and to as much good as possible. I tried always to avoid the wrong things. (FRANKLIN, P.146). As a result of this godly nature he sought, Benjamin made a collection of thirteen principles, which he tried to abide by on a daily basis. HE felt that this would help him to achieve his aim of living a just life. He carried with him a small book where he wrote down all or any of the things he did in a day that was contrary to his thirteen principles. His plan entailed him carrying out one of the virtues per day and he even further broke it down to per hour in a day.
Thus for every hour he had a detail of what to do at that point.
It was not easy for Franklin to keep to his virtues but with much persistence, he eventually succeeded. This article therefore cost me so much painful attention, and my faults in it vexes me so much that I was almost ready to give up the attempt and content myself with faulty character in that respect. (FRANKLIN, P.146). Prior to Franklin writing up his virtues, he was already unconsciously practicing that life. There was an instance where he threw his friend Collins out of the boat they were inside. This was not because he was trying to be wicked; on the contrary it was because he was trying to avoid an argument that was building up between them. With this action, he was able to avoid and prevent him losing his temper and probably doing something he will regret eventually. He also knew that Collins was a very good swimmer and could easily swim to the shore. In his autobiography, Franklin used a speckled axe is best to explain on how to maintain and cultivate good virtues and also develop good habits. He was certain in his opinion that instead of being bad in this world and hurting others, it is much better and beneficial to be of good virtue and moral.
Section 3
It is very clear that Franklin was not a religious man. Despite the fact that his father was a clergy he had a Christian educational background, which did not make him religious in his daily practice. It is not to say that he did not believe in God not disrespect the church in his days. He just did not reconcile with their principles, doctrines and practices. And though some of the dogmas of that persuasion, such as the eternal decrees of God, election, reprobation, etc., appeared to me unintelligible, others doubtful. (FRANKLIN, P.126). Benjamin Franklin always tried to educate himself and learn new things whenever he had the opportunity to do so. And I early absented myself from public assemblies of the Sect, Sunday being my studying day. (FRANKLIN, P.126).
Benjamin Franklin strongly believed that the way of showing his obedience to God was by assisting the less privileged in the society and by living a good life himself. He believed that every action had a consequential result at the end. He did not give any preferential treatment to any religion. He noted them as all the same and treated the members with mutual recognition. However, he had different degrees of respect. He had very little respect for the religions that encouraged or promoted division among the people.
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Spiritual Autobiography
In the context of religion, faith means to have confidence or trust in a particular system of beliefs. It is having a secure belief in God and trusting God's will. For a Christian, this definition is not just words on a page it is a way of life. Faith is what we cannot see but feel deep inside of us. Faith is believing that one day we will stand before our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
For Christians, believing is not seeing. Our world is revolved around the fact that God came to earth, died on the cross, rose again on the third day, and then ascended back into heaven. As Christians, we naturally believe what the bible says. We were not there when he died on the cross, yet we believe. We were not there when Jesus rose again, yet we believe.
Ever since I can remember, I have gone to church every Sunday with my family. My siblings and I would go to Sunday school while my parents went to the church service or their adult group. For a couple years my parents even taught Sunday school. Sometimes I would go into their classroom when my class was over and help with crafts. I was very involved from an early age. I went to youth group activities, helped in the nursery, went to church camp, and was an acolyte for a couple years. An acolyte is anyone who performs ceremonial duties such as light candles and says a prayer. I was raised in a very religious family who always tried to practice what they preached.
My faith journey all started when I was a baby and they did a dedication at church for me. My parents dedicated that they would raise me in a Christian family. The church we went to at the time did not baptize babies. They wanted the family to dedicate to raise the child as a Christian and then you choose when you want to be baptized and follow Christ. A couple years later we switched to a Methodist church. Part of growing up in a Methodist church meant I would go through baptism and confirmation. I chose to be baptized when I was about 12 years old. My parents did not want to baptize me when I was young because they wanted me to remember that day.
They waited until I said I wanted to do it. My parents also wanted me to know and understand why I was being baptized and not just because my parents want me to but because I want to. After being baptized, I went through confirmation. Confirmation was for eighth graders only and it was basically like a Sunday school class. I went to this class every Sunday for a whole year. At the end of the year, they had a church service to confirm us in the church. This meant we were officially members of the Methodist church. This was a huge moment in my life because it was the first time I got the courage to pray out loud in front of people. It was the moment that I realized how connected I felt with the church and with God. I felt like my life was in such a good place.
From a young age, I experienced a sense of belonging and like I had a place in my church. I grew close to many people including kids my age and their families. I learned leadership skills and how to take on new tasks. I loved to learn and I absorbed everything I could. I remember when I was in fifth-grade Sunday school, we learned a song to remember all the books of the New Testament. I was beyond excited that I knew all the books. That was one of my goals when I was younger. Then, we stood in front of the whole church and sang it for them. Of course, I was a nervous wreck but I did it. One of my favorite things about the church, when I was younger, was learning different songs, hymns, and memorizing books and stories of the bible.
My parents felt very strongly about making sure their children had a relationship with the Lord. We would pray every night at the dinner table before we ate, and my mom would remind us to say our prayers before going to bed each night. They made sure that we accepted Jesus into our hearts at the right age. We were young, but not too young where we did not understand what it meant. I still remember the night I asked Jesus into my heart. I was sitting on my bed at night with my mom. She would say the words and I would repeat them after her. I remember feeling this calm throughout me like nothing was going on in the world. There was this sense of joy like Jesus was present in the room with us. It amazes me how I was so young, but I clearly remember that moment. It was such an important part of my life that I hope I never forget.
Then, my family went through a tough time when my Aunt Cheryl was diagnosed with Leukemia eight years ago. She battled for many years, but sadly she lost her life about two and a half years ago. She was always selfless like Jesus. She put everyone before herself even when she was fighting for her life. My mom would call her every time she was in the hospital to check in on her and see how she was doing. My Aunt Cheryl answered and said, Hi Kathy, how are you? and every time my mom would think It doesn't matter how I am. I want to know how you are and talk about you. That just shows how selfless and humble she is. Her faith has guided her and shaped her into whom she was even while battling cancer. She was the strongest person I knew.
My Aunt Cheryl never complained once when going through treatments and procedures. Anyone who has gone through a disease like that knows how mentally and physically tough it is. God gave her the willpower to keep fighting. She could have given up many years before she finally let go. The only reason she did was that she went through two bone marrow transplants that did not work and was in and out of remission twice. My Aunt Cheryl was getting signs from her body telling her she was slowly shutting down and she knew it was time. The most amazing part of her story was that she still prayed and stayed strong through every procedure.
This took a huge impact on my mom which had a major impact on me. For a couple years my mom could not even go to church. She would start to cry and could never sit through the whole service. My mom has always been mine and my families rock and support through everything. She made sure we went to church every Sunday. After my Aunt Cheryl passed away, it seemed like our faith slipped away as well. We would go to church every now and then over the span of two years, but we would never go regularly anymore. It got to a point where nobody recognized us from church anymore.
I felt like I did not really have a relationship with God anymore. I slowly started to get wrapped up in life and not pray anymore, not go to church, and not live through Jesus. In the article Jesus: The Ruler of the World states, Jesus rescues human beings in order that through them he may rule his world in the new way he always intended (61, N.T. Wright). N.T. Wright is saying that we make decisions and actions that show Jesus is working and living through us. My family would not make the right decisions for a while by not going to church and forgetting to pray. It became such a bad habit. There was no assuming or asking if we were going to go to church anymore. We just knew we were not going to go. Also, my mom would go to The Hospital University of Pennsylvania frequently to visit my Aunt Cheryl, so she would go on Sundays sometimes or she would be exhausted and not want to go to church the next day. I feel like no matter what it was we always came up with an excuse to not go to church.
Nobody deserves to go through what my Aunt Cheryl went through and that is what my mom struggled with the most. Especially towards the end, my mom was always by her side. She could see the pain and suffering my aunt was going through, and my mom just could not understand why God would let a sweet, humble, kind-hearted person suffer like that for many years. Seeing my mom go through this time was eye-opening for me. I personally witnessed suffering and how it could impact someone's faith. I always hear stories about how people either grow deeper in faith or lose their faith after a loss of someone very close and special. I was worried for a little that my mom was going to lose her faith because God took her sister from her. She struggled with not knowing why God would let her sister suffer and take away her life. In my mom's case, she lost her faith for a little but was able to bounce back.
With family support, my mom was able to get through it.
My Aunt Cheryl was the most generous, kind hearted, and loving person you would ever meet. While she was battling cancer, she could not work so they were slightly financially unstable. She and her husband lived a very plain life. They did not want or need many things in life to make them happy. I specifically remember on my sixteenth birthday my Aunt Cheryl was healthy and was out of the hospital. She came to my birthday party and discretely handed me fifty dollars. I was absolutely shocked. I never expected anything let alone fifty dollars from her. They were struggling to pay for the hospital bills, but she still gave me money on my birthday. She had faith in the Lord that even though she gave me a lot of money that should be going towards bills, she knew she would be rewarded in her afterlife and that is all that matters.
I never realized until recently how lucky I am to have grown up in such a faith-oriented family.
We definitely hit some tough times in our lives, but we figured it out together and with the help of God. If I have learned anything it is to never give up on God or turn your back even if you are going through a very tough time in your life. There is a reason God put you on this earth and he has a plan for you. James Choung states, Because no matter how the world came to be, the Christian story says that when we look at eucalyptus trees, windy rivers, majestic mountains, the shining sun, starfish, polar bears, Dungeness crabs, duck-billed platypuses, and (especially) you and me, you can see that all of it was designed for something.
All of it has a purpose (24, James Choung). It is easy to drift away from faith and the Lord, but always remember that he is there for you even when you do not think so. I had a very strong faith when I was younger and I thought that would never change. As I got older, I would focus on everything but Jesus. I got caught up in my dreams, goals, and problems in life and became distracted by what truly mattered which is following the Lord our Savior.
Going through the time in my life when I was separated from God really made me think about my faith. I recently started to question my faith and what I truly believe. This only helped me to grow closer to the Lord. I have learned that questioning my faith is the beginning to grow in my faith. I have felt that in the past month that I have been in college. Since I am so independent in college, I am learning how to create my own faith and what I believe in. I do not necessarily have to believe what my parents taught me growing up any more. I would not change anything that happened to my faith throughout my life because it brought me to a realization that I have my own faith to grow in now.
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Criminal Autobiography
According to Beirne and Messerschmidt (2015), Larceny is a crime in which property is taken from someone other than an employer through unlawful means. In this crime, the use of force and breaking and entering are not used. A subtype of larceny is shoplifting, where a perceived customer steals property from a retail store. There are two types of shoplifters. Boosters who sell the merchandise that they steal and snitches who steal merchandise for their own use (p. 248).
In the summer of 2007, I was eight years old. Every year it was an upstanding family tradition to go to Plymouth, Massachusetts for the Fourth of July. Like every year before, we packed the family car with sheets and a picnic dinner and headed to the waterfront at noon to beat the crowds and traffic. We put out our sheets in order to claim the optimal firework viewing spot on the hill. Plymouth is a quaint town filled with historic landmarks and little mom and pop shops. And naturally, due to the holiday, it was flooded with tourists. At about 3 o'clock the roads were closed off to all street traffic, so my cousins and I were given a free run of the waterfront of Plymouth until the warning shot for the fireworks went off.
Once released from parental supervision my cousins and I took to wandering through all of the shops along the main drag. These shops are the typical tourist traps filled with bright sweatshirts embroidered with Cape Cod and Plymouth, Mayflower memorabilia, and every lobster themed merchandise product imaginable. All these items bored me. I live about fifteen to 20 minutes away from Plymouth, so I already had my trademark sweatshirt and the Mayflower was nothing new to me. Going through the stores was a matter of tradition or habit not out of a true need for souvenirs.
The last store we went to before dark was the same as all the rest. Sweatshirts, cringy graphic tees, and salt water taffy. Then I saw it. Towards the back of the store, there was a display with silver charm bracelets. I remembered that all the popular girls in my class the previous year had one of these bracelets. I desperately wanted to fit in with these girls, I thought that perhaps this bracelet was my way into the friend group. They were $5.00. eight-year-old me did not have that kind of cash in her pocket so I moved on. I found my cousins on the other end of the store each with something cool in their hands. I thought back to the bracelet deciding that I'd really like to have it. I needed it. I went back to the bracelet display and slipped one of the shiny ones into my jean shorts pocket. After my cousins paid for their things, we left the store to meet back with my parents. I asked my older cousin to help me clasp the bracelet and she complimented my taste in jewelry. Later on, my parents asked when I got the bracelet. I lied and said it was from back home. At the end of this report, I have placed a picture of me from the following school year during a class play wearing the bracelet.
One criminological theory that can be used to explain why this crime was committed is the Strain Theory. Strain theory was developed by Robert Merton in 1938. He stated that strain is the lack of connection between culturally prescribed goals and the legitimate means of achieving them. He claimed that such strain arose from social fictions in society. Social fictions are concepts like the American Dream which are virtually unattainable for the majority of society. Merton asserted that social fictions led to strain which ultimately led to a person's involvement in deviant behavior.
Robert Agnew built upon Merton's theory by asserting the different ways that individuals respond to this concept of strain. These reactions are conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion (Beirne & Messerschmidt, 2015).
In the case of my shoplifting crime, in order to fit in with a particular group of girls, I needed to have a pretty bracelet. The goal was to get a bracelet, so I too could be popular, but I did not have the money to pay for the item. This mismatch is the strain of my situation. I responded to this strain through innovation. I accepted the goal of obtaining a bracelet in order to be accepted by a particular group of girls but was unable to accept the legitimate means of meeting this goal, paying for the bracelet, because I did not have enough money to buy it at the time. In order to still obtain my goal, I had to adopt innovative measures. I made the decision to steal the bracelet in order to ensure that I had it for the following school year. Although the action that I took was illegal, it resulted in the desolation of the strain in my situation.
According to 18 U.S.C.?§ 641, anyone who commits larceny willed be fined or imprisoned for not more than ten years or both. If the value of the stolen goods is less than or equal to $1000 then the defendant may be fined, imprisoned for not more than year or both.
Crime is breaking the social contract that people enter into with the state. People give up certain liberties in order for the government to lead more efficiently and protect its people. Giving up these individual rights in turn benefit and protect society. The government authority acts upon the behalf of its citizens to protect them and correct instances of wrongdoing. All punishments in the criminal justice system have an objective. Punishments of jail time and fines fall under the category of retribution.
The purpose of retribution is for the offender to receive a punishment proportionate to the crime that they committed. A system of measurement determines the magnitude of such punishment in order to have the punishment fit the crime committed. It is important for society to believe that an offender's punishment fits their crime because it will ideally prevent victims and society from taking punishment into their own hands which will disrupt the order of society.
When a crime is committed it is not guaranteed the perpetrator will be punished. Although I was not caught when I shoplifted, if I had been, it would not have been likely for me to receive a punishment through the criminal justice system. The value of the bracelet I stole was 5 dollars. Many stores have a minimum loss that needs to occur before they press charges due to the fees associated with the legal system. The cost bracelet probably would not have justified legal action. The prosecutor has the most discretion in the legal system. According to the American Bar Association, if the prosecutor who would be trying my case was overloaded, they may have viewed my crime as a low priority and dismissed the charges.
Another possible outcome would be for the prosecutor could have viewed me as a young girl who made a mistake due to lack of judgement. They could argue that they did not want this mistake to follow me through life. In addition, the owner of the shop could have asked for no charges to be brought against me. Although the prosecutor ultimately decides whether charges are brought up, if the victim refuses to cooperate the case would prove difficult, so most prosecutors would likely drop the case. An extreme reason for my lack of punishment would have been if the prosecutor wanted to use me as a defendant. Suppose the prosecutor was interested in bringing down the local hypothetical childhood shoplifting ring. The prosecutor could agree to drop charges against me if I agreed to help them bring their other suspects to justice (ABA, 2016).
Labeling theory asserts that a person only becomes deviant because they are labeled as such. Deviance is a behavior that must be learned. A person obtains a label based upon how others view their actions and behaviors. These labels can either be accepted or rejected but they are hard to disassociate from. Labels influence how the perceived offender is treated and how they think of themselves. Criminal is a label given to many different types of people. Through criminalization behavior and individuals are transformed into crime and criminals.
The label of criminal is both meaningful and meaningless.
Every member of society has broken a law at some point in their lives. From felonies to misdemeanors even if the person was not aware at the time. Despite this universal spread, only some people in society are labeled as criminals. Individuals get charged with everyday crimes such as drug offenses and spend the rest of their life in prison or discriminated against, while others who commit those same crimes are allowed to walk free. The matter of whether or not an individual has committed the crime or not become irrelevant, once labeled, the damage is done.
When people walk into a store, they are evaluated for their threat potential by the security guard at the door. Do they fit the profile of the usual person who is labeled criminal? Are they a threat to the store? When I walked into that corner souvenir shop, I had another label on me, only in this case my label worked in my favor. I was a sweet white blonde girl, sporting a fourth of July t-shirt, with her hair tied back in pigtails. I was not a criminal I was a young girl who came to watch the fireworks with her upstanding family. As I wandered around the store the guard's watchful eyes were not on me, they were on someone else who fit the criminal label a bit more obviously. This lapse in judgment caused him to miss a shoplifter who victimized the store that he was charged to protect.
There is not a concrete profile of a subject usually caught for committing the crime of larceny and specifically shoplifting. This is due to the fact that this is a crime capable of being committed by anyone. The National Association for Shoplifting Prevention estimates that there are approximately 27 million shoplifters in America today. (NASP, 2018). This works out to be about 1 in every 11 people in the United States having ever shoplifted (Blanco et al, 2008). In 2017 the Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime reports reported 5,519,107 larceny lefts nationwide. The crime of shoplifting specifically accounts for 20.8% of the reported figure (FBI, 2017). The majority of people who shoplift in the United States are categorized as nonprofessionals which means that they steal in response to social and personal pressures in life and not for economic gain (NASP, 2018).
According to the 2016 FBI UCR reports of the 833,558 people arrested for Larceny, 69% of the arrested were white and 27.7% were black or African American. 12.7% of those arrested were under the age of 18 (FBI, 2016). The majority of active shoplifters tend to be teenagers. Of the 17-year olds surveyed 39% of males and 23% of females admit to having shoplifted in the past year. This statistic has been shown to decline rapidly with age (Kivivuori, 2007; Klemke, 2001). When 4,422 adult shoplifters were surveyed In a United States National Survey it was revealed that gender split was about 60% men to 40% women offenders.
Through this survey, it was also determined that shoplifters can be from any economic group regardless of income. Of those surveyed 60% of offenders had some college, 56% were currently married or partaking in cohabitation living arrangements, 82% lived in urban environments, 78% were white and 9% were black (Blanco et al, 2008). Most importantly though 73% of shoplifters regardless of age do not plan to steal before they enter a store (NASP, 2018). This statistic reveals that shoplifting is a crime of opportunity the majority of the time.
This report was built on both official and unofficial data. Official Data is data from the government. The two types of official data utilized in this report are Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and Federal Regulatory Agency data. The UCR is a collection of 8 crimes compiled by the FBI based on crimes reported by law agencies. The benefit of this type of data is that society and law enforcement agencies can access the data once it is processed. This UCR has a large number of shortcomings though. First of all, only the most severe crime is used in the report. This means that of the crimes reported to the FBI only a select few are used to tabulate the UCR via the hierarchy rule. This often leads to a misrepresentation of the number of crimes being committed. Secondly, the UCR does not take into account the number of crimes the go unaccounted for each year.
This number is known as the dark figure. There are a number of reasons why crimes are not reported to the authorities. Variables such as race, gender, class, and relationship to the person all play a role in whether a crime will be reported or not. The five levels of subjectivity also need to be addressed in order for a crime to be reported. Someone needs to identify the incident as a crime. A person needs to choose to act and report the crime to the police. The police need to choose to show up at the scene of the crime. The police must choose to send a report of the crime to the UCR and the FBI must also choose to include the crime in the UCR. Another drawback to using UCR data is that the report relies on voluntary reporting. It is up to police officer's discretion as to whether a crimes information is sent to the FBI. The police department can choose to under-report in order to make their jurisdiction appear better than it actually is. The final problem with UCR data is that they are not federal crimes.
Another type of official that was used to build this report is Federal Regulatory Agency data. These organizations compile data sets that are specific to their cause. The National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, NASP, is a program that works with the court systems in order to educate the public and offenders about the consequences of shoplifting and offer programs in order to help reform those convicted. This type of data is beneficial because it is typically more descriptive than UCR data which is helpful when attempting to predict trends. This type of data does have shortcoming though.
These agencies all have a goal in mind. This prevention association's goal is to convince the public that shoplifting in a pressing problem in the United States to courts will start enforcing their programs. If the public, no longer believes there is a problem these people will be out of a job. This notion could lead to the association presenting bias statistics in order to make their case.
The other category of data is unofficial data. This is data that does not come from the government. The type of unofficial data utilized in this report was self-report data. In this type of data collection, surveys are conducted and offenders anonymously speak out about the offenses that they have committed. Using this type of data is beneficial because it gives insight into the dark figure. When offenders report anonymously, they are likely to be more truthful about the crimes that they committed which can help authorities gain insight into how many crimes are actually committed in a year. One drawback to using this type of data is that it can be under-representative. As with all surveys, it is impossible to reach all the members of the population that is trying to be defined. Since not all offenders or victims will be reached the true amount of shoplifting crime will not be known.
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Criminal Autobiography. (2019, Mar 13).
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