Fisher.Response1.html
 
 

In Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, it is clear by the end that Juliet has transformed from a young girl into a mature woman, and thus has come of age. At the start of the play, before she has met Romeo, Juliet assumes the role of an innocent child. Without question she always obeys her parents and goes along with whatever her father’s wishes for her are. However, this begins to change as she finds love in Romeo.

She is now going against the wishes of her family by being involved in a secret relationship with an enemy of her family. Still, Romeo plays more of an active role in the relationship at the start by pursuing Juliet. He makes many speeches to her and about her on how strong his love is while she remains passive. By taking this position, Juliet shows that she still has not fully come of age. However, Juliet’s position soon heightens to one of passion and more desire. She starts making her own speeches of longing for Romeo just as he had done for her. Her maturity is demonstrated even more when she hears that Romeo has been banished. She does not see her situation with Romeo as fate; instead she feels that she can control it. Meanwhile, Romeo believes that fate and the will of God is in control. He becomes passive and helpless and at one point wants to take his own life. Romeo’s childish actions and his willingness to give up are a great contrast to Juliet’s strong will and desire to better the situation. some good ideas here, but they jump around a bit, and some of the sentences are a bit unclear.

Furthermore, Juliet also begins to further disobey the will of her parents. Her father wants her to marry Paris, but she refuses. She is no longer willing to take the little girl’s role and accept whatever her father tells her to do. This disobedience shows Juliet’s courage and that she is not afraid of her powerful father. In addition, near the end of the play when it is time for Juliet to marry Paris, she shows how she is indisputably the most courageous character in the play. She does this by taking a poison from the Friar causing her to seem dead just before the marriage. This desperate attempt to stay with Romeo eventually results in tragedy, and the death of both lovers, showing that Juliet is brave enough to risk her life to be with Romeo.

As Juliet comes of age, she also loses her innocence. By defying her parents and having a secret love hidden in the dark of the night, Juliet is no longer daddy’s little sweet heart. Along with this defiance and resistance to her families wishes, Juliet also defies the expectations of society for women. Because she does not do what is expected of her, and goes against the mainstream, she falls victim to the harsh world. Her actions are not acceptable in the world she lives in, and therefore tragedy results.
This is a suggestive and thoughtful response.  It's rather unfocused, and the ideas do leap from here to there, but there are consistent themes.  I like the focus on J's courage, and on her efforts to resist fate.  The writing is solid, but you need to work on a more concise sentence.  Overall this is coming along well.  8.5