Were Romeo and Juliet in Love?

For years Romeo and Juliet has been viewed as a role model love story. Growing up little girls fantasize about falling in love like Juliet did with Romeo, but little do they know that this supposed “love” ends in both of their deaths. As you get older and you examine the text you may start to wonder if Romeo and Juliet were ever truly in love. And it turns out that they really weren’t.

Romeo and Juliet thought they were in love due to their young souls and rashness. For example, even when Romeo says he has a feeling that going to the party will end in this death he goes anyway. This alone shows that Romeo makes decisions that are not wise. To make the situation worse he falls in love with Juliet and continues to chase after her even after he finds out that they come from rival families. This also shows how Romeo makes immature decisions and doesn’t think. Romeo didn’t put together the pieces that the thing that would cause his death is Juliet, which shows another level or immaturity. Additionally Romeo is just looking for a distraction from is heartbreak brought on by Rosaline, after he sees Juliet he says “With Rosaline? NO. I have forgot that name and that name’s woe.” This shows how immature he is because just an hour ago Romeo was saying that he would never get over Rosaline. This also shows that Romeo based his love for Juliet off of looks, because Romeo didn’t know Juliet and he kisses her after only a moment of knowing her.

Overall, I do think young love does exist, it just takes a while to form. Teenagers aren’t old enough to know all of the elements of a true good relationship. This does not mean that they can’t be in love, it’s just not the type of love that lasts forever. When adults find love they consider things besides their feelings because they have other things to worry about. But all in all, true love exists, it just might take a while to find it.

"Where She Went" Reading Response

In the book “Where She Went” by Gale Foreman, Adam’s relationships are heavily impacted by his actions. For example when he demands Kim to talk about Mia and he doesn’t, he blows up and ruins his relationship with her. This can also effect his relationship with Mia, the person he cares most about. Throughout the book Adam shows a habit of blowing up and getting upset because people bring up Mia. Another example of this is when Adam is at an interview and the reporter keeps bombarding him with questions and asking about Mia, that;s when he snaps. He starts to throw things and becomes panicked. This puts a lot of stress on his relationship with Aldous, because he has to deal with the publicity this story gets.
But all in all, every single mistake Adam has made since Mia left lead him back to her. With her help maybe Adam can heal and become who he was before.

"Cross-Dressers of the Civil War"

During the civil war over 600,000 men were killed, and even more were injured. the article “Cross-Dressers of the Civil war” by Veronica Majerol  is about the lives that weren’t counted. Throughout the Civil War many women dressed like men just to be in the army. There were many reasons for this, according to the article many women wanted love, freedom, or money. Back in the 1860’s, when the Civil War was going on, and long after that women didn’t get basic rights. Not only couldn’t women fight in the army, but they couldn’t vote, and were treated as “second-class citizens”. 

The reason women were once not allowed to fight in the army remains a mystery to me, one reason for that is “14 percent of women soldiers were promoted compared with 10 percent of men.” This shows what genuine hard workers women soldiers were. The article also discusses how “The army was no harder than the life they were already living,” Many women couldn’t make much money doing the jobs that they could actually get, when they were in the army they could earn more money. Now, women are allowed to be soldiers since the combat ban was lifted in 2013. It’s two years later and women fighting in combat is common, but unfortunately women have more battles for their rights to fight.

This article made me think about all of the right women have had to fight and how many more they need to. The author really makes you think about how lucky we are to have the rights we have today. Though women are looked at as equals now, we still aren’t treated like it. It’s hard for me to believe that there was once a time where women couldn’t vote, that makes it seem like a women’s voice isn’t as important as a mans. Luckily women have fought and earned the freedoms men were handed at birth. 

"The Vampire Diaries" response

The book “The Vampire Diaries” by L.J. Smith is about a teenage girl named Elena who gets swept up in a whirlwind of supernatural drama surrounding her vampire boyfriend, Stefan, and his evil brother Damon. Through out the story Elena is sent on an emotional roller coaster that changes who she is and what she believes in.

First, Elena begins to break when she becomes overwhelmed by the secrets she is keeping from her friends. “Elena felt her own eyes fill and her stern expression crumple...Elena found she couldn’t help the tears that slid down her face.” This shows that Elena’s walls are crumbling and that she is weak and needs her friends. She          also changes when her aunt tells her to stay away from Stefan because she, along with all of Elena’s high school, thinks Stefan killed their teacher. “Anger was a welcome release, and the words crowded in Elena’s throat, all trying to get out at once.” This shows that Elena is tired of people accusing Stefan and telling her what to do. Overall Elena is stressed and overwhelmed by everything going on in her life. 

All in all, I feel sorry for Elena. She seems torn between Stefan, her friends, and her family. I think Elena should think about herself for once and do what is best for her, and if that is telling her friends all of the secrets she has been hiding, then i think she should.

"The Complete Persepolis" Reading Response

The graphic novel “The Complete Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi is an autobiography that tracks her life from the time she is a young girl to the time she is a grown, married adult. In the story she struggles with war, growing up, falling in love, and finding a way in life. The events, things, and people that surround Marjane change who she is and force her to grow up.

As a child Marjane is changed by the war surrounding her, it forces her to grow up. For example after her neighbors house was destroyed and she saw her friends wrist with her bracelet on covered in rubble “No scream in the world could have relived my suffering and my anger.” she says. This shows that she was heavily affected by what she saw, she was horrified. I think this is when it struck her that she was in a lot of danger. She is also forced to grow up when the war starts to get really bad. Marjane decides to smoke to prove she was a grown up. She says “With this first cigarette, I kiss childhood goodbye .” I think this shows that with all the things going on that she couldn’t control, Marjane wanted to be able to control the fact she was an adult and smoking was a choice she made. 

Overall Marjane has to deal with hard things and be exposed to hard things and she has no control over that.

"No Job? Get Lost!" response

Unemployment. A problem so many people around the world have to face. Without a steady job it’s almost impossible to make money. But, in one part of Norway unemployment isn’t a problem. The article “No Job? Get Lost!” from Upfront magizine talks about a town where not having a job isn’t allowed.

“If you don’t have a job, you can’t live here” Odd Olsen Ingero, the govenor states. But why? Not having a job doesn’t make you a bad person, or dangerous, it just makes you unemployed. In this town unemployment isn’t just frowned upon, it’s illegal! Police will deport anyone without a job. It’s simply unfair that you will be banned from living somewhere just because you don’t have a job. What if you got layed off, or fired? That’s not your fault. According to the article “Homelessness is also banned” which is also extremely unfair and upsetting. Since I live in New York I see homeless people everyday who are suffering . Not everyone can get a job, or even get an education. Being punished for that is just wrong.

Overall the article showed me that unemployment is a huge problem, and no one should be punished for that. Though that almost crime-free town in Norway may seem like a desirable place to live for some, I don’t think I will be moving there any time soon.

Should Teens Be Able to Read What They Want? Not According to Some. By Clare Topping

The article “Darkness Too Visible” by Megan Cox Gurdon, published on Wall Street Journal in June of 2011 is about young adult books and why teens shouldn’t read many of them because they are too dark. The author talks about the gory covers and the, in her opinion, inappropriate and sometimes depressing content. Megan Cox Gurdon thinks that some young adult novels should not be available to teens. This article sparked something in many people. A flood of responses were published talking about it. While some agreed, some didn’t. People argued Megan Cox Gurdon’s points and said that teens should be able to read young adult novels.

Through out the article the author gives evidence on why certain books are bad such as “Scars”. Ms.Gurdon only includes evidence to support her semi-obvious bias that many young adult novels aren’t good for the targeted audience. She also includes an example of how the books affect regular people when she talks about a mother trying to find a book for her teen daughter “Amy Freeman, a 46-year-old mother of three, stood recently in the young adult section of her local Barns & Noble, in Bethesda, Md., feeling thwarted and disheartened.” she goes on to say “She left the store empty-handed.” Since this article was published on The Wall Street Journal, it mainly targets adults. Giving a real life example that many readers can relate to helps them see things from Amy Freeman’s perspective. The author builds her argument well, but doesn’t give examples to show the other side of the story.

Personally I don’t agree with the points are opinions of the author. You can’t say how books affect teens if you aren’t a teen! We should be able to read what we want. Most young adult books deal with a main character going through a struggle. Every teen goes through struggles and hardships and reading about heros that overcome those things is encouraging. If parents want to hold their child back from reading about things that happen in the real world, then it’s going to be a shock when they need to be independent and be on their own. Shielding teens from the real world will only hurt us in the long run. Overall teens should be able to read whatever young adult novel they want, because it’s their choice.