Prejudice In Romeo And Juliet Essay

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In the play, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare shows that unexamined prejudice is bound to inflict pain on many main characters in our play. The unreasonable family feud leads to lying, secret-keeping, and many deaths. Shakespeare wants the audience to understand the hazards that come with unexamined prejudice, and humanity’s tendency to judge others and hold grudges. We see this during a street fight that happens between the Montague and Capulet households. Then, it is shown again through the death of Tybalt and Mercutio, leading Romeo to be banned. Finally, it is seen at the end of both Romeo and Juliet’s lives, while their families were still trying to reconcile their relationship. Furthermore, unexamined prejudice as seen in Romeo and Juliet causes pain and sadness to everyone involved.
The fierce feud between the Capulets and the Montagues is seen continuously through the way they speak to one another. The Capulets and some Montagues get into a street fight, drawing lots of attention to themselves. Benvolio tries to step in and claim he only wants peace between them, but Tybalt has other ideas. “I hate the word [peace] As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee” (1.1.71-72). Tybalt has so much hate toward all Montagues that he cannot even fathom getting along or agreeing with them. He only hates them because of the ancient …show more content…
It is plain to see that unexamined prejudice is the cause of death for many main characters throughout the play. Everyone is affected by the obligation to dislike members of the opposing family, but neither side knows why they are supposed to have a distaste for the other family. This helps us understand that Shakespeare felt the grudges and judgement from the world, knowing that humans generally think poorly of one another. Through the reading of Romeo and Juliet, we discover the effects of unexamined prejudice and the tragedy caused throughout the
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