The Truth Behind Ethicality in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet"

           Have you ever wanted to be the one? You know, the grand hero who saves the day, or the underdog who takes a stand? We’ve all been there, or at least in a situation where someone was desperately needed to take a stand. Now, travel back to the 16^th century to Elizabethan England in the time of the famous Shakespeare. Meet Friar Lawrence, a priest in the classic Shakespearian play, “Romeo and Juliet”. What if the only way you could save someone was to hurt another? Although Friar Lawrence’s decision to marry Juliet and Romeo wasn’t necessarily the best for them, it did however contribute to another bigger, and more immediate cause.

            To begin, Friar Lawrence didn’t actually think Romeo and Juliet’s love was true enough for them to be married. For example, Friar Lawrence says, “Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here! Is Rosaline, that thou didst love so dear so soon forgotten?” (2.3.69-70) This line shows how shocked he is that all of a sudden Romeo is happy, so much that it seems as if he had forgotten about Rosaline. Secondly, Friar says, “Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.”(2.3.101) Here, Friar provides Romeo and Juliet with the advice that true love is patient, and isn’t developed just in spite of someone else, like Rosaline for example. The faster you fall in love, the faster it will all fall apart. On the other hand, Friar can still be seen as the hero in this situation. Friar says, “In one respect I’ll your assistant be, for this alliance may no happy prove to turn your household’s rancor to pure love.” (2.3.98-99) Although Friar doesn’t believe Romeo and Juliet are truly in love, he reveals that he will marry them in attempt to end the mutiny between the Montague and Capulet’s. Therefore, what Friar Lawrence did was in a sense ethical, just not in the interest of Romeo and Juliet.           

Overall, Friar Lawrence married Romeo and Juliet to turn their rival family’s hate into love. He did what had to be done, even though Romeo and Juliet were not mature enough to marry each other. In this case, sometimes there isn’t a clear line that decides ethical or unethical. What we can learn from Friar Lawrence’s actions is that sometimes it’s the size of one problem that in the end outweighs another.

Actions & Relationships in Sold by Patricia McCormick

Each year, nearly half a million children are trafficked into the sex trade according to the U.S. State Department. To you and me, this number may just seem like a statistic, but after reading the groundbreaking story, Sold by Patricia McCormick, I became aware of the daily lives these children lead. Things like responsibility, hope, and trust, were all apart of the main character Lakshmi’s coming of age experience. Even before Lakshmi was sold into slavery, she was the victim of an abusive relationship. Negative actions towards the other person in a relationship can result in an abusive relationship no matter the situation.

To begin, it was Lakshmi’s stepfather that sold her into slavery in the first place. Back in Nepal, Lakshmi lived in a male dominant culture, and was used to giving up her power over the relationship to her stepfather. He would often gamble away all of the family’s money, even though they couldn’t afford to buy a proper roof for their house. Also, in the text it says, “My stepfather looks at me the same way he looks at the cucumbers I’m growing in front of our hut.” Trusting a foolish man with your financial situation is scary, but Lakshmi’s voice is useless compared to his. This caused their relationship to be unequal due to the lack of respect.

Similarly, as the head of a prostitution ring, Mumtaz used physical punishment against Lakshmi as her strategy to gain loyalty and obedience. She often beat her with a strap. In the book Lakshmi describes the experience saying, “Her strap has left raw sores on my back and neck, my arms and legs. So she hits me on the soles of my feet.” Mumtaz weakened Lakshmi, and stripped her of her once innocent childhood. This caused their relationship to be a battle over power, testing whether or not Lakshmi would give into Mumtaz’s harsh demands.

In conclusion, I realized in my own life, out of all of the relationships that I’ve had, the bad ones always ended for the same or similar reasons. When there is a struggle over power in a relationship, the balance between two people is broken, making respect harder to give and harder to receive. As humans, it is impossible to demand complete control over someone’s mind, since really our first priority in a relationship is to feel that we are the ones being satisfied first. As selfish as that may seem, a healthy relationship can only be maintained with the support of both people, no matter the time or place.

How Powerful is Putin? Upfront Article Response

From shirtless horse rides to posing with tigers, there is no doubt President Vladimir Putin’s masculine image has spread all over Russia, and other parts of the world. The article, “Czar Putin?” by Patricia Smith talks about how Putin’s aggressive leadership techniques have made Russia’s economy thrive and become a threat to other countries over the years. However, with the recent price of oil sinking at home, his leadership skills are put to the test. The Russian economic crisis will either make or break President Putin’s career.

Firstly, the ongoing economic crisis in Russia might potentially make Putin the imperial ruler he sought out to be. One strategy Putin uses to gain power over Russia is by silencing his opponents. According to the article he, “Jailed members of an all-female punk band for singing anti-Putin songs.” As you can see, destroying freedom of speech takes out anyone rebelling against him. But will this strategy continue to work with Russia’s sagging economy? In the article the author discusses how actually being more aggressively hostile of a ruler could actually benefit in drawing the attention away from the economy. Therefore,

On the other hand, Putin might potentially lose his powerful influence on Russia due to the crisis. When the economy was back on track and better than ever, it was easy for Putin to take away freedoms from Russians. The article states, “But as Russians begin to feel the pinch of the economic crisis, that could be harder.” Silencing opposing views is an important part of how Putin maintains his power; without that he cannot move forward with his policies. The article states, “The other question is whether Putin’s mounting problems at home will force him to tone down his aggression against the West.”

All in all, I realized after reading this article the power of freedom of speech. Putin, one of the most powerful leaders in the world, signed a bill criminalizing repeated street protests. Living in a democracy, it’s easy for me to take for granted the amount of freedom I have as a teenager to express my opinions and ideas. This makes me think about the rest of the world, where some teens my age don’t even have the right to an education. One voice can have a huge impact on what other people think, and to me, that is the greatest power one can possess.