The playwrights of Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story, even though are separated by centuries, are very similar. In both plays there is love between two enemies. At the end, there is a tragic fate that tears apart the lovers forever. The only character difference between the plays, is the lover's reaction to the other lover's death. Both plays are considers great works of writing.

In both of the plays, a member of one family, or gang, falls in love with another member of an enemy family. In the play West Side Story, Maria, a member of the Sharks, and Tony, a member of a rival gang called the Jets; fall in love at a dance. It was during a mambo that Tony and Maria see each other and begin to dance. This doesn't last long before Maria's brother, Bernardo, breaks them up. They meet afterward in an alleyway where Tony says, "I love you"(163), to Maria. Maria then tells Tony that, "All the world is only you and me"(161). They are then determined to find a way to move beyond the rivalry between gangs to be with each other. This is the same situation that Romeo and Juliet met in. Romeo and some other members of the Montague family attended a party thrown by an enemy family,

The reaction to their lover's death differs drastically between the plays. When Juliet finds Romeo dead, she decides to take her own life. Juliet wakes in the Capulet tomb to find Romeo's lifeless body on the ground beside her. She notices the small bottle of poison in his hand, and then says to him, "Oh churl, drunk all; and left no friendly drop to help me after?"(126). After Friar Lawrence leaves the tomb in fear, Juliet grabs Romeo's dagger, and says, "This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die"(126), she then stabs herself to take her own life. Maria's reaction to Tony's death is particularly different than this. When Tony hears the false news about Maria's death, he goes out to try and find Chino. While looking for Chino, he sees Maria, in amazement they run towards each other. Before they can reach each other Chino steps forward and fires his gun. Tony was struck in the chest, he falls, and Maria kneels besides him. They sing together, but Tony slowly passes away. At this sight the gangs start to approach each other to fight, with a sharp voice Maria says, "Stay back"(223). She then stands up and faces the gangs and yells, "We all killed him!"(223). Instead of taking her own

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Approximate Word count = 804
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)