As we all know, William Shakespeare wrote the tragic play called Romeo and Juliet. It is said that this play was written between 1591 and 1595, so for us it would be really hard to understand a tragedy that happened 420 years ago because we are in different century and we are living under a different way of thinking and understanding life and relationships.
But Can you believe that still in our days an old tragedy like Romeo and Juliet is happening?
So, Let me tell you that this kind of tragedy is happening in our days, also let me tell you that we have Romeos and Juliets living in our century, suffering just like the old Romeo and Juliet who had to face a drama full of anger between the Montague and Capulet's families.
In 2011, two Iranian lovers were described as the modern day Romeo and Juliet in the Daily Mail newspaper because they were driven to commit suicide by their country's regime.
Nahal Sahabi, 28 years old, and her boyfriend Behnam Ganji, 22 years old, were imprisoned by the Iranian regime because both of them were friend with a human activist.
Also in 2013, another couple was related to William Shakespeare's tragedy. The story started 3 years ago when Huda walked into a mobile phone shop in her home village in Saudi Arabia. She met Arafat, a Yemeni migrant worker from a much poorer family. The problem started when Arafat approached Huda's parents to ask for her hand, Huda's parents refused because they wanted Huda to marry another guy. Huda decided to escape with Arafat, the love of her life, instead of marrying an unknown man. (BBC, 2013)
These tragedies make us remember the concept of love that William Shakespeare gave us in his tragic novel.
When we love someone we have to fight against the rules and the roles gave by a patriarchal society. We have to stand up and fight for what we want and what we desire. Love should not mean forget who you are, love means take all your history and mix it with the one of your one and only.
Sometimes I think that we need more love, we need to start fighting for what we really want, and not for what society makes us want.
I assure you that having the most expensive cellphone won't make you happy, but having the company and the love of someone will make you feel that life is worth trying, even if you
Sometimes I think that we need more love, we need to start fighting for what we really want, and not for what society makes us want.
I assure you that having the most expensive cellphone won't make you happy, but having the company and the love of someone will make you feel that life is worth trying, even if you
have to die for what you think and want.
References:
A modern-day tale of Romeo and Juliet (2013, November 23).
Retrieved from BBC. http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-25058575
Tragedy of modern day Romeo and Juliet (2012, October 2).
Retrieved from Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2044057/Tragedy-modern-day-Romeo-Juliet-The-lovers-driven-suicide-Iranian-regime.html
Hi Elizabeth!
ResponderEliminarI would never imagined that stories like Romeo and Juliet's still happen today. That times seem so far away, that is very difficult to imagine that someone has the power to tell you who you should marry, date or just be friend with.
I noticed that the people you mentioned are from countries where years seems not to have passed on. As we talked about in English lesson with Miss Fonseca, there cultures and beliefs are stuck in time, I think that is why they still think that they can impose someone what to do. It is sad, and at the same time is very inspirational that there are people that fight for their feelings even if it means dying. Maybe one day these cases of "rebellions" would make other people to understand that when it comes to love there is nothing to do against it; it has the power to move mountains.
Hi Elizabeth!
ResponderEliminarI must say that maybe is good that stories like Romeo and Juliet still happen in our days. And why is it good? Of course the part in which they died is not good at all, but sometimes when there is a deep meaning on what we believe is the right thing to do, taking a life-changing decision is completely necessary. Society may have changed from what it was in the Elizabethan era (now we have more technologies, more access to education, and more "freedom"), but if we think carefully, we are still slaves of what other people think and say. We base our decisions on what our families, friends, and random people advise us, but do we really do what we, from the bottom of our hearts, want to do?
If we take the stories you presented, as well as Romeo and Juliet's story, we can have their protagonists as examples of brave people that have fought for what they wanted to get. And as I see it, there is nothing more significant that knowing that you did everything you could to achieve your goals or make your dreams come true.
We need more contemporary Romeos and Juliets, determined to fight for defending their love and dreams at any cost!
Hi!
ResponderEliminarI really liked the fact that you talked about how the story of Romeo & Juliet can still be as true as it was then. Like Paulina said, it is true that society has gone through a lot of changes, and that nowadays there are a lot of things that have improved with time, but we still don't know what freedom really is. You might think that with something as personal as love, such an individual thing, there's really not much other people can do to make you think differently, but the fact is that dependending on the culture, even with love, you can never have peace.
I still remember the case of the Sudanese woman that was sentenced to death for apostasy (or renuncing to Islam) and marrying a Christian man. This woman was pregnant, yet in that country, what's more important is someone's faith.
Can you imagine how it must feel to be told you cannot love someone because of your faith?
Can you imagine what is like to be told you can't love someone of the same sex?
These times need people who dare to say something. These times need people who are willing to sacrifice everything to make a change.
Not everything has to end in death, but it is always good to see that grand gesture.