Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet happens to be my favorite play. It's pure romance with hints of vengeance. I was 6 when I first heard the immortal words of Shakespeare. It was on Wishbone, the show about the dog that actually taught children about literature and summarized some of the most famous novels. I feel sorry for children these days. They missed out on some great programming, like Wishbone.

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is one of his more well known plays. The play is about two star-crossed lovers, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet in Verona, Italy. They are the children of two rivaling families. You don't know exactly how the feud started, but it dates back many generations. The play opens with a marketplace scene, and this is where the reader first sees the bloodshed by the rivalry of the two families. Servants of both family are in the marketplace and they decide to quarrel for no reason besides that one of them decides to "bite their thumb" at the other. Honestly, the feud really is stupid, but if there wasn't a feud then this story wouldn't be tragic. Anyway, Benvolio Montague and Tybalt Capulet arrive to the quarrel, but the Prince of Verona stops the quarrel before any real damage could be done.

During this time, Romeo is all moody because he loves this girl Rosaline, but she doesn't love him back. Benvolio is Romeo's cousin, and he tells him that he should forget about Rosaline. Romeo doesn't want to seek another girl and only wants Rosaline (or at least until he sees Juliet). Juliet, on the other hand, is being wooed by Paris who is related to the Prince.

Capulet holds a masquerade party that night, which Benvolio and Romeo decide to attend. When Romeo and Juliet meet at the party it's literally love at first sight. Romeo forgets about Rosaline and is immediately in love with Juliet. I found this to be silly and fickle. These are kids and after seeing each other they say that they love each other. After the party ends, Romeo sneaks back onto the grounds and professes his love to Juliet (need I remind you this is the same night). Then they decide to get married. Ridiculous. Things go wrong though. The two do get married by Friar Lawrence and they consummate the marriage.

The next day though, Tybalt challenges Romeo to a duel; one that Romeo doesn't wish to fight since they're related now. No one knows that Romeo and Juliet are married yet. Mercutio, Romeo's friend, decides to fight Tybalt. Tybalt kills Mercutio, and Romeo kills Tybalt. Romeo was then exiled to Mantua, a town outside of Verona.

Juliet finds out Romeo killed Tybalt, her cousin, and is totally ok with it. Ya that's crazy. If my husband killed my cousin I would be a little pissed off. Juliet then finds out her father plans to marry her to Paris in 3 days. Juliet of course can't do this since she is already married. Juliet then goes to Friar Lawrence for help. Friar Lawrence gives her a potion that will make her appear dead. She is to drink this before her wedding night.

So Juliet drinks it and appears dead to everyone. The potion even made her heart stop. Friar Lawrence sent a package to Romeo explaining the plan to him, but the message was lost in route and Romeo never heard of the Friar's plan. A message did get through to Romeo though. It was that Juliet died. So Romeo is all distraught now and upset. He sneaks back to Verona to see Juliet at the cemetery. Romeo sees Juliet's dead body and is overcome with anguish that he wants to kill himself. Earlier, Romeo bought a potion that would actually kill him for good. Just as Juliet is waking up, Romeo takes the potion. Romeo dies in Juliet's arms. Now Juliet is all upset so she decides she's going to kill herself. She takes Romeo's dagger and stabs herself.

The caretaker and family rush in right after Juliet stabs herself. So now both families lost their children.

Overall, there are some ridiculous parts to this play. It's Shakespeare though and it's a classic. The language is beautiful though. Luckily we actually don't speak like that today or else we would have to take like 30 minutes just to figure out what 5 minutes of conversation meant.

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a classic. It is set in the 1920s and showcases the fantastical life of the wealthy. I first read this novel when I was 15, and I thought it was wonderful. 6 years later, I decided to reread the famous novel. I don't know whether it's because I am older and it has been a while, but I found it to not be as enticing as when I was 15. Yes, Fitzgerald wrote it brilliantly, but maybe cause I knew what was coming next, I did not enjoy it as much the second time. The novel is almost like one huge soap opera.

The novel starts off with Nick Carraway who recently arrived to New York City. He moved from Minnesota to the "Big Apple" to learn about the bonds business. His parents and family weren't exactly too thrilled since they thought it was a wasted business. Maybe his family was right because it is hardly mentioned that Nick actually has a job. I understand that Nick having a job is hardly important to the plot, but it would have been nice to see the main characters actually making a living. Some characters, on the other hand, don't have a job. Jay Gatsby is one of the most important characters in this novel (hence the book being named after him) and he lives off money he made doing odd jobs throughout his life. Nick and Gatsby are neighbors living on West Egg; those who inhabit it are who is considered "new money." While Nick is an honorable character and the narrator, Gatsby is a little more shady. No one really knows for sure how Gatsby became wealthy or what his past was really like. Throughout the novel, the reader is given glimpses into Gatsby's past, but the characters are never certain on who this man really is. Gatsby throws elegant parties for what seems like every night. It is all elegant: food, music, clothes, and the people.

You also meet Daisy and Tom Buchanan. Daisy is Nick's cousin and Nick knows Tom from Yale. Daisy and Tom live on East Egg. Daisy also knows Gatsby as a past romance, and things start to heat up when she realizes Nick is Gatsby's new neighbor. So, once Daisy and Gatsby meet again, they start sneaking around and have and affair. Tom is also having an affair with a married woman named Myrtle (wife of Tom's mechanic, Wilson), and Daisy knows about this. Daisy comes off as flighty. I wanted to punch her from time to time. She knows her husband is having an affair, but does not dare say anything about it. She also has a nanny taking care of her child. I am not against nannies, but if you're home all day just lounging around, take care of your child. One of the things she says: "That's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool." Tom also gets annoying because he thinks he is indestructible, and he thinks he has Daisy fooled with his own affair. Although Gatsby is a gentleman, he is over swept with emotions for Daisy and does not think straight. Everything he does is for Daisy. Nick is surely the most noble, even though he keeps everyone's affairs a secret. 

The entire plot is basically a mixture of love triangles. Maybe this is why I don't find it as enticing as when I was younger. I don't have much patience or sympathy for those cheating on their loved ones (whether you're married or not).