Monday, March 1, 2010
Romeo and Juliet Act III: question 2
2. When Juliet first hears of Tybalt's death at the hands of Romeo, she seems torn about where to direct her anger and sorrow. She is sad Tybalt is dead but sorrier that Romeo is banished. She finally decides that Romeo is not at any fault. Do you feel her decision is appropriate? Why or why not? How would you feel in this situation? Due Wednesday 3/3/2010 by midnight.
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I agree that your loyalty should be with your spouse, through thick and thin. However, I would also agree that killing someone is a big enough action to question that loyalty. Juliet was told that Tybalt was dead and Romeo was the slayer directly after the incident. If this was the only information that I knew at the time, I would think that my husband was insane and suggest some professional help. However, if I was told that it was out of self defense, I would have acted more like Juliet and decided that Romeo was not at fault. But that was not the case. Juliet took Romeo’s side, her two day long relationship, instead of her cousin’s, whom she had known for all her life. By that information, she should have been devastated by her cousin’s death and apprehensive about her clandestine marriage. Even if she loved Romeo more than anything else in the world, she still did not have any knowledge of his track record to say that he had always been a nice guy or that he never would have killed her cousin unless Tybalt brought it upon himself. In fact, Juliet knew nothing about Romeo’s past or what he was capable of doing, and to me that sounds very naive. If I was in Juliet’s position, I would really be questioning whether or not Romeo is someone I want to be married to.
I do not believe Juliet had any trouble deciding where her loyalty lies at all. Although she is sad about her cousin's death, Juliet's feelings toward Romeo are much stronger. The bond between husband and wife is much stronger than between that of two cousins. Also, because Juliet and Romeo were just wed that day, she was probably still feeling so amorous towards Romeo and made the decision based of those feelings. So maybe in the end, even though her decision was a little foolish, I think it was appropriate. If I were in the same situation, I would stand by my husband. I would definitely still be angry with Romeo for killing Tybalt, especially when it was not a good thing to do because of the secretive nature of our relationship.
I think that the decision Juliet made was probably the best. She demonstrates the true love that she has for Romeo. However I do not agree with the betrayal of her family member, Tybalt. She doesn’t seem to care much that her cousin has been killed by the love of her life. She has only known Romeo for slightly more than a day, yet Tybalt was her cousin, a lifelong member of her family. His life was brought abruptly to a halt when Romeo started a duel with him after he had taken the life of Mercutio. Romeo tries to make peace with Tybalt, knowing that he is now family. This attempt obviously fails. When Juliet hears that her husband, her true love, has slain one of her own, it is questionable of whom she should weep. She cries for Romeo, because he can no longer be on the inside walls of Verona, yet her dear cousin lost his life! Romeo knows that Tybalt brought the duel upon himself, after what he did to Mercutio, but only Romeo knows that for a fact. Having no knowledge of this Juliet still cries over Romeo being exiled, this, in my opinion, shows her true devotion to her husband. I think that Juliet made a choice in her life, and though some people may question he judgment, she did what she thought was right. She weeps for her dear Romeo, instead of her cousin. I think if I were placed in this situation I would be torn in two extremely different directions. On one hand, I would want to be loyal to my husband, but on the other, I love all of my cousins dearly, and don’t want anything to happen to them. I would sob if I had to go through what Juliet is going through. Though I question how true Juliet and Romeos love for each other is, the love for a family member should be unconditional. It takes a strong person to go through what Juliet is going through; personally I can’t even fathom it.
Personally, I would have originally stood with my relative, but maybe that’s because I’ve never actually loved anyone besides friends and family. My experiences would have me stand with my brother over his murderer, even if we happened to be married. I kind of understand the reasoning behind her decision, but I don’t agree. She’s only known him for a day, and however in love they were, she should still grieve for Tybalt, not just cast him aside. He was like an older brother to her, even if he made some mistakes and had a bit of a temper, she grew up with him. But I’m also partially glad that she knows where her loyalties lie, considering that’s what you do with a spouse, but I really have no room to talk, considering I’ve never actually had to deal with her problem in real life.
Juliet feels sorrow for Tybalt’s death and Romeo being banished. She eventually directs the majority of her emotions towards Romeo. I believe Juliet made the appropriate decision. Romeo, being her husband, should be Juliet’s concern. In reality, Romeo was not at fault and should not have been banished. Juliet realizes this and becomes overwhelmed emotionally. Romeo was not at fault because Tybalt had killed Mercutio, Romeo’s friend, provoking Romeo’s anger towards revenge. Even though I personally do not agree with this marriage, they are still husband and wife. I believe spouses should be supportive and loyal to each other through better and worse.
If I was Romeo, I would hope that my wife would understand the situation. I would hope that she would conclude that there was more to the entire story than what she was told. The emotional connection between husband and wife should be more than words. I would understand the emotional feelings of Juliet. However, I would hope that my wife would do more than cry, and instead find some way to help me. This is part of the immaturity of Juliet. Immaturity is another reason why you should not marry too young.
I don’t think Juliet’s decision is completely appropriate. Romeo killed Tybalt, and his actions should not be completely ignored by Juliet. She seemed to dismiss the murder fairly quickly, especially since Tybalt was one of her close relatives. Juliet only knew Romeo for such a short time, and he already killed someone in her family. Juliet should not take the murder so lightly, particularly when she is committed to Romeo. She should be concerned with the kind of person Romeo truly is. Does she want to be with a man who is so quick to kill out of rage? I can somewhat understand why Juliet feels this way because she loves Romeo so deeply. She won’t let anything get in the way of their relationship. But, I don’t think Juliet should be so trusting of Romeo, since they have spent such a small amount of time together. She should be considering what Romeo’s actions reveal about his nature and personality. I think she is naïve to ignore the fact that Romeo killed Tybalt. I understand that she is feels the need to be loyal to her spouse, but she barely knows anything about Romeo. If I were in Juliet’s position, I would be very concerned about the future marriage with him.
I think Juliet has done the right thing and sided with Romeo. She knows he did it out of revenge for his friends. Romeo is her husband so to side with him is just right. Plus its pretty hard to side with someone who is dead. If I was faced with this situation I would probably be so mad the first day that any decisions would be in radical, but I feel under qualified for this question because I'm not married. My best choose would be to side with my spouse because the deads dead might as well continue to live and enjoy the rest of your life.
I consider the actions Juliet took to be definitely sensible. It had only been a couple of hours that she was married to Romeo. If Juliet would have taken the side of Romeo she would have defied her love for her husband. Between a wedded couple nothing should be more meaningful than their love for each other. Juliet has made a life long commitment with Romeo and has the obligation to stand by his side no matter the circumstances. In fact when you are standing on the altar being married the Priest asks you if you will care for each other in sickness and in poor, in good times and in bad, etc. Juliet stuck to the promise she made to Romeo and it was unquestionably the right course of actions.
Another reason her decision is justified is because Tybalt is responsible for initially starting the fray even though he may not attacked Romeo. Tybalt stirred up some great rage between himself Romeo after he had stabbed Mercutio who eventually died of that wound. He started the fight and it was not as much Romeo’s fault as it was Tybalt’s. There is nothing wrong with Juliet feeling grief for her close cousin, but her husband is now a higher priority than Tybalt. I think Juliet’s reaction tells a lot about her love for Romeo. She only knew him for a few days and yet she trusted that he was not enough at fault to be blamed for this misfortune.
If I were Juliet I certainly would have chosen her path. Loyalty to your spouse should be above anything. I have not a doubt in my mind that it would be very hard to do this. If my wife killed my cousin out of defense of herself and of her close friend it would be very hard for me to face my family. They would probably all mourn for my cousin and think my wife is a murderer who should be punished. Juliet had a good reason to lament for the ceasing of Tybalt, but rightfully as she did she was responsible to take her husbands side.
I feel that Juliet is right in being more sad for Romeo's banishment than Tybalt's death. Even if Romeo hsd not killed Tybalt himself, the Prince would have had him killed anyway, so I think it is ok that Romeo killed Tybalt. Juliet has the right to her own opinion as well, and she doesn't seem very close to him in the first place. Also, I believe that more people would choose their spouse over a cousin. Romeo and Juliet have promised to love each other no matter what. Tybalt had killed one of Romeo's best friends so Romeo retaliated as anyone would have in their day. If I was put in the situation I would feel the same as Juliet. My spouse would always come before a cousin especially in these circumstances.
I think that Juliet made a good decision. If I were in her shoes I would have stood by my spouse over my cousin. If I were closer to my cousins it may be a different decision. My cousins live in Chile and I have only met them twice in my lifetime, so I have a bond with them but not as close as normal people have with their cousins. Only half of my family lives in the states so it would be a totally different decision for me if my whole family was involved, because I don’t think that I would stand for the half of my family that is up here. That excludes my siblings and parents though. I think though that either way I would stand by my husband. Him and I choose each other and had a say in who we were to spend the rest of our lives with. My family, who I love very much, I am stuck with no matter what. I think that it was wise of her to stand with her significant other as they are married. It shows her loyalty to him. Also I think that he is at fault. If he expects her to be loyal to him, he should not go around killing her family. He was not doing it for self defense; he is doing it out of rage. Even though I would have to say that if I were in his position I would do every part of what he did. I have a temper and if you go around killing my friends, you better plan for revenge. I see both sides of what was done. She could have just gone and said goodbye to Romeo as he killed a relative, or stood by him. And I respect her decision to stand by him as they took each other’s hands in marriage.
I think that Juliet made a good decision. If I were in her shoes I would have stood by my spouse over my cousin. If I were closer to my cousins it may be a different decision. My cousins live in Chile and I have only met them twice in my lifetime, so I have a bond with them but not as close as normal people have with their cousins. Only half of my family lives in the states so it would be a totally different decision for me if my whole family was involved, because I don’t think that I would stand for the half of my family that is up here. That excludes my siblings and parents though. I think though that either way I would stand by my husband. Him and I choose each other and had a say in who we were to spend the rest of our lives with. My family, who I love very much, I am stuck with no matter what. I think that it was wise of her to stand with her significant other as they are married. It shows her loyalty to him. Also I think that he is at fault. If he expects her to be loyal to him, he should not go around killing her family. He was not doing it for self defense; he is doing it out of rage. Even though I would have to say that if I were in his position I would do every part of what he did. I have a temper and if you go around killing my friends, you better plan for revenge. I see both sides of what was done. She could have just gone and said goodbye to Romeo as he killed a relative, or stood by him. And I respect her decision to stand by him as they took each other’s hands in marriage.
While I can understand Juliet’s reasoning behind her decision that Romeo is not at fault, I cannot help but to feel that she is making the wrong one. Now, it’s true that one should be more committed to standing by his or her spouse than his or her cousin, but this is a very extreme case. If Romeo and Tybalt had simply been in a heated argument or a fist fight, the fact that Juliet’s loyalties should lie with Romeo would be less debatable. But killing a member of one’s family is an extremely big deal, and should be dealt with as such. In addition, Juliet had known Romeo for literally two days, which is hardly long enough to construct a realistic knowledge of what a person is like. While Romeo appears to be a kind and chivalrous person, he could be hiding a serious anger management problem, for all she knows. We can assume that Juliet has known Tybalt for the majority of her life, and therefore her loyalties, in my opinion, should lie with him. This decision that Juliet makes is a clear indicator of how blinding love can be to someone.
I'm not absolutely sure where I stand with this subject, but I think it's ridiculous that Juliet mourns for Romeo's banishment over Tybalt's death. I believe that family should always come first, and Romeo and Juliet don't have a strong enough relationship to justify Juliet's reaction. At this point, Juliet has only known Romeo for a very short period of time, and they've had very few conversations. This proves that Juliet is also an outrageously hormonal teenager that lets infatuation get the best of her. In any case, Romeo is a murderer and his actions would have lead him to death if the Prince hadn't cut him some slack. If anything, Juliet should be rejoicing for Romeo's banishment, but instead she weeps about it. Juliet is insane to think that Tybalt's death isn't Romeo's fault. Mercutio was the cause of the dual because he instigated Tybalt. However, after Tybalt killed Mercutio, Romeo couldn't control his rage and executed Tybalt even though he would've been sentenced to death. This shows that Romeo is unable to control his emotions and not yet ready for adulthood. I think that Romeo is in the wrong, and that he's just lucky he wasn't executed for disobeying the law. If I were in this situation, given the circumstances, I would be upset with Romeo for his wrong doings, and I would grieve the loss of my cousin.
"Love can make a person do crazy things". This is a very common quotation that I will be using as the basis for my arguement. In my opinion, I believe that Juliet is so “blinded” by her love for Romeo that she is failing to see the big picture in this situation. Romeo killed her cousin Tybalt, with his only reason being revenge for Tybalt’s killing of Mercutio. However, Juliet is choosing to completely look past this and direct all her worry towards Romeo’s banishment. While I do respect the fact that she cares enough about Romeo to overlook Tybalt’s death, her lack of any concern for her cousin’s murder is a decision that I think is incredibly poor and inappropriate. Again, I am choosing to look at the big picture to formulate a reason why. First of all, Romeo KILLED A MAN! Not only was it just any man, but it was Juliet’s cousin. To me, any normal wife would have to at least second guess the nature of her husband and what’s going on in his mind if he committed an act such as this. Yet Juliet refuses to do this. She firmly believes that Romeo had a good reason to kill Tybalt and the fact that he murdered her cousin does not sway her love. Also, she has been married to Romeo (let alone known him) for only a very short period of time, yet she has lived and grown up with Tybalt. I know that she is madly in love with Romeo, but to throw away all the family ties with Tybalt in order to support a person who, regardless of all the love, she has only knows for a week seems more than a little asinine. It is shocking to me that she doesn’t grieve one bit for Tybalt. Juliet is choosing to look past some monumentally awful things that Romeo has done after only knowing him for only a few days, and to me, this seems quite irrational.
If I were in Juliet’s spot, I would most definitely do the opposite of what she did. I would choose to side with my family members. My family and I have shared a lot of memories with each other. My sister, my cousins, and I are especially close as well. If my lover committed any act of harm on any of my family members, I would undoubtedly come to the aid of my family. The bond I share with my family is just too strong for me to resist it, and I would not be swayed by the love for my spouse. After all, my family has contributed to more of what I am today (whether that be good or bad) more so than any lover I will ever be with.
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