Identity In Romeo And Juliet

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How much control do family, friends, acquaintances, or mentors actually have on the evolution of identity? The answer is as much power as they are allowed. The influence of outsiders can only infiltrate a person’s identity if access is permitted. For the protagonists in Ernest Hemingway’s parable, The Old Man and the Sea, and the tragic drama Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, there is a clear disparity between their internal identity and the identities others have created for them. Set in the 1590s, Romeo and Juliet follows two lovestruck teenagers living in Verona, Italy whose families create identities for them that ultimately result in their death. In The Old Man and the Sea, an old man Santiago, seemingly past his prime, leaves his …show more content…
The Capulet and Montague families had been part of an everlasting feud, resulting in obvious bad blood between all their members. The relationship of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet is a direct, and shocking, defiance of every plan created for them. Based solely on name, the two teenagers should hate each other, but instead, they fell in love. This is only possible because they both disagree with the idea that identity should be based on names. Alternately, the two believe in individuality and inner beauty. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other word would smell as sweet” (II.ii.46-47). Juliet clearly states that name has no true influence on identity and changing a name does not change a person or thing. This idea contradicts the aforementioned idea of family identity in a strong, undeniable way. In almost every situation, Tybalt finds a way to incorporate his instinctive hatred for the Montagues. Even when Benvolio is asking for help in stopping a fight, Tybalt states that he “...hate the word As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee” (I.i.72). Because their families remain stuck in their own ways, the love story of Romeo and Juliet is bound to go awry. It was impossible because no one was able to accept their new identities, constructed on an idea so foreign to both families. Had the …show more content…
The characters in The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway and Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare all learn the importance of establishing a true ipseity, as the identity someone else creates will never be as accurate. There is no set time or date one must have an identity formed. Identity is constantly changing; slight alterations are made with every interaction, conflict, or event faced by a person. Identity behaves in a way very similar to a river or the weather. It is always flowing and adjustable, never looking exactly the
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