Saturday, November 22, 2014

Who is the one with the most fault in Romeo and Juliet's deaths?

Pretty much every character contributed to Romeo and Juliet's deaths in one way or another. Many believe that Romeo and Juliet themselves are the most responsible for their deaths. They committed suicide, therefore they are to blame.
However, in my opinion, the answer is not so clear-cut. Romeo and Juliet were too young and too distraught to make rational decisions. Even though they ultimately committed suicide, their suicides were the result of a chain of very unfortunate events.
I think the biggest blame should fall on the two families and their feud. The rivalry, hate, and anger between these two families was what caused Romeo and Juliet to believe that they couldn't be together in the first place.
Also to blame are Mercutio and Tybalt. Their fight escalated an otherwise almost stable situation. Tybalt killed Mercutio while dueling with Benvolio, and Romeo then killed Tybalt. Romeo was banished as a result. This set off a chain of events which was too fast and unpredictable for Romeo and Juliet to fight or control.
Finally, timing, although not a character, is a huge contributing factor to Romeo and Juliet's deaths. A misunderstanding caused Romeo to think that Juliet was actually dead when in reality she was only unconscious from the Friar's potion. All Romeo needed was for Friar Laurence to contact Romeo earlier or for Juliet to wake up a few minutes before he took the poison.

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