Friday, February 26, 2016

February 26-Finish Romeo and Juliet paper

Today was our last day to work on our Romeo and Juliet paper. I let kids know that I will be grading the papers tomorrow night, so they should make sure to finish before then.

I also gave them an example of what a good paper should look like. Here it is:


In the movie, Warm Bodies, Julie is a young woman who lives in a city surrounded by a concrete wall. The wall is there to protect humans from zombies. R, on the other hand, lives outside the wall: he’s a zombie. One day, Julie is sent out on a mission along with a group of friends to find medicine for the community. There, she bumps into R and his group of friends who are hungrily looking for food. As soon as R lays eyes on Julie, he falls in love instantly. From there, R makes it his mission to protect and be with Julie. In the play Romeo and Juliet, Romeo falls in love with Juliet after seeing her at a party he intruded into. From there they make it their mission to be together. Unfortunately their families hate each other, but Romeo and Juliet are willing to do anything to be together. Although Warm Bodies and  Romeo and Juliet have similar themes and characters, they portray the scenes differently.
The theme from Warm Bodies and Romeo and Juliet is freakishly alike. For example, in Romeo and Juliet there are two families who hate each other. We know this because it tells us that, “Ancient grudge break to new mutiny.” In Warm Bodies on the other hand, there are two species of people; one dead, and one alive, that hate each other as well. Also, in both texts, the theme of mismatched lovers is identical; Romeo and Juliet, and R and Julie. They are kept apart because of the hatred from their “families.”
The city where Warm Bodies takes place, is never truly revealed, but many people claim it takes place in Montreal, Canada. That is one of the big differences between both texts because, Romeo and Juliet takes place in Verona, Italy. Another big difference is that Warm Bodies is set in the future. I know that because in the movie they show a few sets of technology that we do not have to this day. Finally, one major similarity is that in both Romeo and Juliet and Warm Bodies, there is a balcony scene. The balcony scene is portrayed differently though. For example, in Warm Bodies, R stands outside Julie’s house and waits for her to come out to the balcony. There, he is introduced to Julie’s best friend, Nora, and gets invited in to their home. In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo stands outside Juliet’s balcony and listens to her for a while before he makes himself known.
The characters in both texts are extremely similar, as well as their names. In Warm Bodies, R only remembers the first letter of his name, which leads to his nickname “R”. Note how Romeo starts with the letter “R.” Julie, could also be short for Juliet. Also, in both texts, there is some type of manly figure in both Juliet and Julie’s life, who are a barrier between them and their “true love.” In Romeo and Juliet, that person is Count Paris, who ends up killed by Romeo. In Warm Bodies that person is Perry who also ends up getting killed by R. Once again, note how both their names start with the letter “p.” Another similarity is R’s best friend, M. M could easily stand for Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet. Both characters are the light of the stage. Finally, the Nurse from Romeo and Juliet is similar to Julie’s best friend, Nora. In Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse protects Juliet from many things and people. In Warm Bodies, Nora, supports and helps Julie through rough times as well.  
As you can see, Warm Bodies and Romeo and Juliet have quite a bit in common. You wouldn’t think that a movie about the living dead would be so similar to one of the greatest plays written of all time, would you?


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