Aisa Radoncic

813

Due Date: May 16, 2014

Romeo and Juliet

The story of Romeo and Juliet is about a boy and a girl, one Capulet and one Montague, falling in love with each other. The story of Romeo and Juliet ended in tragic deaths. But who should we blame for these deaths? Of course there are many controversies on this. But I believe that the blame should be on Romeo because he acts before he thinks, he falls in love too quickly, and he is selfish.

For example, Romeo acts before he thinks. In Act 3 scene 1, when Tybalt kills Mercutio, and Romeo avenges his death by slaying Tybalt. You can tell that he acted before thinking because later on in line 142 (same scene) he says “O, I am Fortune’s fool!” Which shows that he knew what he did was wrong right after he did it. This relates to the death because when he found Juliet “dead” in 5.3, he immediately drinks the poison. He doesn’t even think about later on in life. He just immediately overreacts and drinks the poison, not thinking that maybe later on he could get over her like he got over Rosaline.

Another reason is that he falls in love too quickly.  For example, in the beginning of the story (1.1), he claimed that he had such a strong love for a woman named Rosaline. He even said “Tut, I have lost myself. I am not here. This is not Romeo. He’s some other where.” Saying that his love is so strong and the fact that she can never marry, is changing him into a new person. Then later in 1.5, he gets over Rosaline right when he sees Juliet. This relates to the death because if he didn’t fall in love so quickly and actually got to know her before “falling in love,” maybe they would’ve made smarter choices like not killing themselves for someone they met a couple of days ago.

Finally, he is selfish. For example, he kind of made Juliet fall in love with him. Like in the balcony scene, Juliet said that she thinks that it’s moving too quickly, but Romeo insisted that he needed her love. He was only thinking about what he wanted, not even taking Juliet’s feelings into consideration. Also, when he drank the poison, he was selfish and didn’t think about anyone else who would miss him when he died such as Friar Lawrence. He just thought that he couldn’t live his life without Juliet. Which is another example of overreacting and acting before he thinks.

As you can see, The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet had many people to blame. Like Juliet, Friar Lawrence, or pretty much any character in the whole script. But the person I believe caused it the most was much Romeo because he acts before he thinks, he is selfish, and he falls in love too quickly. As the Prince says “For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”

Sonnet

Aisa Radoncic

813

Sonnet

Shall I compare thee to a sunny sky?

No, thy eyes art bluer and more lovely

I shall dread the day we must say goodbye

For when I see you, my heart gets achy

When I look at that face, as white as clouds

Thy cheeks are as rosey as the sunset

I can spot that heavenly face in crowds

Size is pointless, no need for a corset

All thy makeup does is mask your beauty

I don’t need anything but that warm smile

Oh my honey, you are such a cutie

For thee I’d walk way more than a mile

Don't worry baby, when push comes to shove
Thou shall be the one I will always love!

Aisa Radoncic 813 Martin Espada Essay The poems, “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson,” “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School,” and “Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877” all show power. Mostly it would show how people take advantage of their power. Martin Espada’s work really reflects his views on racism, discrimination, and power. He feels as if the typical ‘white’ person acts as if other cultures don’t matter to them. For example, in “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson” he expresses his feelings on how he feels when someone mispronounces his name. He starts by describing the look of Che Guevara. As if he is some sort of sign of rebellion. He goes on talking about how he hijacks a busload of white Wisconsin tourists, forcing them to chant anti-American slogans. Later he tells that the bilingual SWAT team begs him to be reasonable. (Figuratively of course.) His power is taken away by the ‘bilingual SWAT team.’ It is as if they are taking his culture and beliefs away. In “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School” Martin Espada tells a story of how a English High School principal overhears 2 boys speaking Spanish in the bathroom, but the only word that he understood was his name. Later on, he banned Spanish in the bathroom. Martin now says sarcastically, “Now he can relax.” He is showing that the principal is both misusing and abusing his power. He shows this by saying that just because the principal heard his name in a conversation that he could not understand, he bans that whole language. Lastly, in “Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877” he tells about two Mexican people being hanged in front of forty white people. In the end he tells about how after they’ve been hung in front of the crowd, they all crowd together to take a photo with the hung bodies. This poem shows the Mexicans getting their power taken away by white people, or even the white people abusing their power. The Mexicans are getting their power taken away by the white people because they were captured and forced to be hung. The white people are abusing their power because they know that the Mexicans can’t fight back because there are two of them, and 40 white people. Also, not only do they completely disrespect them because of their culture, but they also take a photograph, showing that what they did was some sort of an accomplishment. As you can see, Martin Espada’s poems, “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson,” “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School,” and “Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877”, all show of people either misusing or abusing their power. He also talks a lot about discrimination and racism.