One's True Loves Ends In Tragedy

Written By: Savannah Molly Oakland


Two young teens found dead next to each other in the beloved city of Verona. Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet were found next to each other late last night on a bed of rose pedals. It appears that the young man was poisoned and the young lady shot. Rumors say that it was a suicide on both parties. The cause of this unfortunate event is forbidden love. The Capulets and Montagues have had an ongoing feud that has lasted for many years now. It has recently gotten worse due to the constant physical fights and verbal arguments that have been witnessed by the public.

Romeo Montague, 16 years old, was an heir to the Montague name. He was convicted of murdering Tybalt Capulet after a violent feud claimed the life of his best friend Mercutio. Romeo & Mercutio, along with other Montague boys have been identified as the main group of people who have been attacking the Capulet boys and continuing this long and deadly feud. As punishment, he was given a lifetime ban from Verona and can no longer be an heir to the Montague fortune.

Juliet Capulet's life was cut short at the tender age of 13. She was the daughter of Lord Capulet and Lady Capulet. Although shielded from the feuding of the families, she has been recently been affected by the Capulet/Montague feud since the death of her late cousin, Tybalt. She has been linked to Paris, a blood relative to the Prince despite the age difference. She however was not interested in Paris but in the young and handsome Romeo. It has also been rumored that Romeo and Juliet were secretly married without the approval and knowledge of either families.

The death of the beautiful Juliet has devastated the Capulet family. Nurse Capulet who has been caring for Juliet since she was a child is "horrified and deeply saddened by this tragic event." "All they wanted was to be with each other. They loved each other. They were each other's soul mate. The hatred between the families kept them apart, so they resorted to risking their lives to meet with each other." Nurse Capulet explains. "Juliet was happy with him. I've never seen her that happy before. She felt like Romeo completed her and he was a good man. They both knew though, that introducing him to the family would put Romeo in harms way. Although, we are grief-stricken by this, I know that they can finally be together and be truly happy."

Everyone can guess that the Montagues are also mourning this horrifying ordeal. Benvolio, a close friend and cousin to the deceased Montague tells us, “Romeo was crazy about Juliet. He risked a lot to spend time with her. This whole thing is just horrible. Not only am I mourning for my friend but also mourning for Juliet, who was a part of our lives for a short period of time.” He also tells us, “Juliet was the best thing that has happened to Romeo recently. After the nasty breakup between him and his ex, he was so heartbroken. Then Juliet came along and brightened up his life. She gave him hope and the feeling that he can love again.”

The Prince of Verona is currently reviewing this case to see who is responsible for these deaths. Of course, both the Montague and Capulet families are partly responsible for this because of their ongoing feud. The question floating around is “who?” Everyone wants someone to blame this all on, including the Prince who lost one of his relatives due to the recent fighting. People have put the blame on Friar Lawrence who secretly married the two. He claims though that he thought his decision would bring the two families together. Another person people have put blame on is Nurse Capulet. She helped Juliet sneak out and keep the relationship low key. Nurse Capulet, along with the Friar were the only two who knew about their forbidden love. Close sources to the Prince say that he will most likely either banish the two families and no longer acknowledge them in the city of Verona. As for individuals, that will be decided late on. The Prince believes in that one old saying, “An eye for an eye.” That’s the only fair thing to do to get these teens some justice. That couple whose lives were cut short definitely deserve some peace and happiness once and for all and for their love to continue on without the struggles and strife that was cast upon them from their families.

My Views on Euthanasia

Some people think that euthanasia should be abolished because to them it's just another way to murder a helpless person but I think that euthanasia is a practical way to end someone's life if ever put into that situation. I don't agree with all the possible ways euthanasia can be done. The article I read about the family in Italy is acceptable to me because she's been in a state where the chances of her fully recovering and getting back to life are slim to none. Plus, she had already discussed with her family that if something were to happen, she would appreciate it if they would let her die peacefully. The father of the woman technically killed her by euthanasia but to me it's acceptable because it was inevitable that she was going to pass away because there was nothing else they could've done to help her get healthy and back to normal. However, I don't agree with the murder suicide the man in California did and calling it euthanasia. His reasons were valid reasons but not so much that it should lead to death. There are many other ways that man could've dealt with the loss of both him and his wife's jobs and the financial strain. Sure, it's overwhelming but killing your family and yourself to escape from those problems is a bit much. To me, there are many other ways he could've implemented his financial strain. Murdering other people especially children who could've had a bright and successful future shouldn't be put under the same category as a bed-ridden hospital patient who's been in a coma for 10 years and dying after the family decided to cut off his life support. It's simply not right. I also consider the situation with Lennie and George euthanasia because there really no way out for Lennie. If George could escape with Lennie, it would just be more stress and trouble for both of them. Curley and the rest of the gang would've tortured Lennie and then kill him. If they managed hold back Curley and his anger, then Lennie would've been thrown in jail. Conditions in jail are terrible, as Slim explained to George so it was out of the question. Lennie died a happy and peaceful death, because he died thinking about his lifelong dream and what he considered as "paradise". I wouldn't agree with the concept of euthanasia if it was a murder suicide and saying that there was no other option making it euthanasia. Another exception would be a mass murder spree where tons of people are killed and then killing yourself (Virginia Tech). To me those situations are just obscene and just plain, cold-hearted murder.

"Mercy" Killing

1a. I think George thought that what he did to Lennie was what was best for him. He didn't want Lennie to suffer in the conditions of jail and he didn't want to get tortured and beat up by Curley or any of them before he was killed. I think he wanted Lennie to die without suffering, so that's why he reminded Lennie of the house and the rabbits, so he can die peacefully and have his last thoughts of his dream and not the nightmare he caused.

1b. Yes I think that George's decision was the best thing for Lennie because if Curley or Slim or any of the men on the ranch killed him, he would've been beaten and tortured before killed. Lennie's last thoughts would've been, "Why are they doing this to me?, What did I do to deserve this?, This is terrible!". George made sure that Lennie died with a happy moment in his head. Killing him was best for Lennie because as Slim explained to George, Lennie would be strapped down and have horrible conditions if he was locked up and it wasn't even sure that he could get locked up because first they would have to restrain Curley and prevent him from hurting Lennie.

2a. "Late last year, 67-year-old Beppino Englaro, won an intense 10-year legal battle to allow his daughter's feeding tubes to be removed, saying that was her wish." This quote explains why the father removed her tubes and eventually letting her die. She had already told her before-hand that if something happened to her, she would like for her family to let her die naturally rather than to keep her alive with all the machines helping her live. It's not murder in the Englaro family's eyes because that was her wish. She wanted to die on her own because if she can't truly "live" then what's the point on spending time, money, and effort on someone who's chances on waking up and recovering is slim to none. The family just wants her to finally rest in peace.

b. The court accepted that before the accident, his daughter had expressed a preference for dying over being kept alive artificially." I think that it their decision was the best thing they could do for their daughter because it was her wish. She had already talked this over with her family before, basically saying that if something ever happens and I'm in a situation where there's nothing else they can do to save me except for life support, then I would like to be left alone and just die. They were just fulfilling and respecting their daughter's decisions before all this happened. They're just blaming the family for her decision because she can't make that critical decision herself.

c. I agree with what the father did because he was just listening to what his daughter told him to do a long time ago. I know that if my mom or other close family member were in the same situation as the daughter, I would respect every wish and decision they would like for themselves. They're already in a bad situation, why would I make it worse for them by ignoring their opinion. Who am I to take that away from them regardless of their physical and/or mental state or situation.

3a.

1. "How am I suppose to support my family now?"
2. " I'm a disappointment to my family for not stepping up and doing my role in the family which is to support them."
3. "My wife is telling me that death is our best and only option to be happy again."
4. "How am I going to pay all the bills and the children's expenses"
5. "Killing ourselves is the only way we can be happy in life with no worries,"
   

3b. Money isn't the only thing children need to succeed in life. I think that if you're living in financial problems, there are many other things that you can give your kids. Most important, give them love. Make them feel that they're loved. Spending time with them and giving him/her attention. Listening to them and knowing that you care. To me people who are successful in every aspect of their life, had a good childhood. They felt that their parents did everything they could to give them a good life. They learned the lessons of hard work and patience and determination. If your kids learn the key points in becoming successful, they will be successful. The best thing is, all these things are free. All you have to give is your time and your knowledge of the world. In the end, all kids really want from their parents is knowing that they care.

Lord of The Flies

1b. I think Shia LaBeouf should play Ralph. He always seems to be the leader in all his roles. He seems like the kind of guy who will be able to gather his thoughts together and start to plan to survive on the island. He's also been known to play characters stranded on islands and does a lot of stunts in his past movies. He also seems to be the kind of person that can think things rationally before doing them.









2b. This is Angelina Jolie. I think she should play Jack because she looks like "mean". Here face gives you a mean/evil kind of look. To me, she seems like the perfect actress to play the "bad guy". She always seems to play an intense action fighting character. She also seems like someone who would rebel and become a leader for a new group.






3b. This is Anne Hathaway. I think she should play Piggy because I think she would bring a lot of funniness to Piggy's character. I also think that in the course of the book, Piggy doesn't act so nerdy and dorky and just kind of transformed. Anne Hathaway can portray it very well. She can play a "nerd" but be personable and throughout the movie, just end up being loved by the audience. Getting good reactions from the audience makes a movie all the better!

4b.This is Daniel Radcliffe. I think he should play Simon because he looks like a quiet kind of guy. He looks like a curious kind of person. He would probably wander off in the forest just like the real Simon. Lastly, he looks like someone who couldn't handle himself in this kind of situation and just follow orders from someone in order to survive.

5b. Ed Westwick would play Roger because he seems to look like someone who could play a murderer without having any emotions afterwards. He also has a very serious look on his face just like Roger. He looks very mysterious and Roger is very mysterious because of his actions towards Piggy.

6. My "Beastie": Cousin It!

7b. I would change the role of the "beastie". I want it to be more present in the storyline. I would change the way they met and formed their group. I would also want to get to know the minor characters more.

8. I would keep the title the same because I want to respect the author and the book because it's based on the book and I don't wanna abandon that.