“Courage is measured by an
individual’s willingness to continue fighting even when the likelihood of
victory is small,” was written by an unknown author. The above quote means that a person’s
determination to not give up shows the amount of courage in them even
when the chances of succeeding are very slim. This quote is true because courage is
when someone is willing to chase after something such as a goal in life
and does their best to achieve it, no matter the odds of succeeding. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is
a novel that can be used to help prove this quote correct. Conflicts and characterizations can
both be pulled from this novel and can prove the quote correct.
Conflicts are one literary element that can prove
the quote about courage. One
example in the novel that relates to the quote is when Juliet is willing
to go against her parents’ judgement to be with Romeo, who is a
Montague. Young women, especially
14 year olds of that time did not dare disobey their father or
mother. The girls’ parents chose who they
married and Juliet fell so deeply in love with Romeo that she was willing
to kill herself for him. When
Juliet says, “I’ll look to like, if looking liking move,” she is telling
her parents that she is ready to get married as long as she can choose
herself, which for this day and age, was very bold to say. Romeo was also courageous in trying
to become part of Juliet.
Mercutio called Tybalt names such as “rat catcher” and “prince of
cats” and Tybalt then stabbed Mercutio under Romeo’s arm because Romeo
was trying to break up the fight which was a brave attempt to save his
friend and maybe show the Capulet family that he was a good person in
trying to stop the fight. Romeo
also manages to sneak into the Capulet’s orchard without being caught to
see Juliet which is very brave.
When the two lovers kill themselves because of the terrible
situation of not being able to be with each other, it shows that they
have a lot of courage to achieve an almost impossible goal. Romeo and Juliet both had a lot of
courage to be with each other even though the chances of them being
allowed to get married was slim to none.
Characterizations can also help prove the quote.
Another literary element that proves the quote
correct is characterizations.
Romeo and Juliet is a love story that ends up being a tragedy for
both Romeo and Juliet’s family.
Juliet is a shy character, because she is afraid to tell Romeo how
she feels towards him. When Juliet
says, “O Romeo Romeo where for art thou Romeo,” this shows that Juliet is
truly in love Romeo. Juliet also
says, “My only love came from my only hate,” which shows how Juliet
actually fell in love with Romeo who is a Montague and is hated by her
whole family. Juliet’s family
hates Romeos family, and when Romeo kills Tybalt, matters only get
worse. Juliet and Romeo end up
getting married in secrecy by Friar Laurence because neither of their
parents wanted them to get married.
Juliet is depressed because Romeo got in a sword fight with Tybalt
and killed him. Juliet loves Romeo
so much that after Juliet takes the potion and wakes up and she finds
Romeo dead by her casket she finds Romeo’s dagger and stabs herself in
her heart and dies. The reason she killed herself is because she loved
Romeo more than life itself.
“Courage is measured by an
individual’s willingness to continue fighting even when the likelihood of
victory is small,” was written by an unknown author. The quote means that Juliet wants to
be with Romeo but she can’t because their family’s hate each other. Juliet and Romeo both try their best to
succeed in being married to each other which shows a lot of courage. In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet,
the two literary elements that proved the above quote correct are conflicts
and characterizations.
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