Conflict, Struggle, and Foils

In Act I, Scene V, conflicts are set into motion by fast-paced events.  Servants of Capulet and Montague fight in the street.  Each party thinks they work for a better master and because of the long standing feud between the two families they openly acknowledge this whenever possible. Although Prince Escalus eventually demands peace, these families are still restless and suspicious of one another.

Another conflict that appears in Act I, is the conflict between Tybalt and Romeo.  Tybalt is the first to recognize Romeo during the Capulet party that Romeo sneaked into.  Tybalt wishes to harm Romeo and although they engage in a heated argument he is prevented from doing so.

Finally, the last conflict presented is the challenge of Romeo, a Montague, falling in love with Juliet, a Capulet.  This is a problem because since they are from two feuding families marriages is virtually impossible.  This conflict is not yet resolved and will continue to occur throughout the book.

In Romeo and Juliet,  Mercuito is a foil, a character that has qualities in sharp contrast with another character, to Romeo.  Where Mercuito is outgoing and light-hearted, Romeo is burdened by love sickness
and is stuck with his head in the clouds.  As Romeo tells Mercuito, "I cannot leap even an inch above dull
sorrow.  I'm sinking under love's heavy burden." Mercuito on the other hand is filled with excitement for the party and carelessness for the situation at hand. These two contrasting characters, although different, complement each other by bring out the traits of the other.

Vocabulary:

ADVERSARY:  a person, group, or force that opposes or attacks; opponent, enemy

DISPARAGEMENT: something that derogates or casts in a bad light

PERNICIOUS: causing insidious harm or ruin; ruinous; injurious; hurtful

POSTERITY: all future generations

PROPAGATE: to cause to increase in number or amount

Fate: Can you change your destiny or is it set in stone forever?

Have you ever wanted to change the future? Or the past? Do you believe in fate? Fate has been argued over for centuries.  Some people say that your actions can change your future while others argue that your life is set in stone.  I think that fate may well exist but that you can change your fate.  I think that fate exists in the form that you can chose your own path to follow.  Fate reminds me of the roots of a tree in the sense that there are many paths to choose from and you can pick one of them to follow.  I think fate is how your actions lead you through your life and not a course of action to which you must stick to.



In the prologue of Romeo & Juliet, it suggests that the relationship between Romeo and Juliet is doomed from the start.  To me, that is like the doctor telling you that you're going to live for only three more months and you end of living for 3 more years.  So is that fate?  Maybe so, but even if it is you have altered your fate by living for 3 more years.  Since we know that Romeo and Juliet are from two feuding families, their relationship might seem impossible and unrealistic.  In the end, they both commit suicide for each other.  So some may say they were doomed and fate has acted.  But I might argue that fate had nothing to do with it and that committing suicide was the result of events that had taken place and not something that couldn't be avoided.

Fate is abstract.  We can't see it so therefore we will never be able to prove its existence or non-existence.  We will contine to debate this controversial topic for decades to come.