Connecting with Romeo and Juliet

After beginning Romeo and Juliet, I began to recognize certain characteristics in some of the characters, especially Benvolio. He is a very calm, peace-keeping, individual and friend of Romeo. In any of the scenes that include conflict, he suddenly appears, trying to convince his friend or ally to calm down and not to fight. I connected with him on a similar level of 'peace-making'. Out of my friends, I am the person who makes sure everyone and everything is all good; everyone happy, not mad because of some pointless drama. That is ideally what I want for all of my friends, that everyone gets a long and is content. Benvolio wants something very similar, but he interacts with his friends when things turn violent. Besides seeing Benvolio's character, I have also seen the conflict in Romeo and Juliet's romance. With the unreasonable conflict between their families, I see it almost impossible for them to be together. I know that they will some how find a way to solve their troubles, but I see it almost a mistake. If you are enemies with someone, would you not stay enemies and stay true to your family morals? This may just be the romance though, making them commit these foolish 'sins', but I would probably follow the same path as them if I were in their shoes. Even though it would be a dumb act because of love, I would only do the same as the desperate couple, because if the love is strong enough, then it would be the only option that I would see open. Also, with this 'forbidden romance' between Romeo and Juliet, I've noticed a very feminine side to Romeo. He does not relate to most boys of his age now, because he seems to be very vulnerable and very emotional. The guys now (at least in the freshmen class) are all emotional and hormonal like Romeo, but in a sense that does not let you see their 'soft side' very often.

I am really happy with the way we are reading Romeo and Juliet at home, because it gives us (especially myself) an extra opportunity to comprehend the play in a different way than any of the other novels we had read this year. With being able to annotate and read to myself at home, it gives me a better understanding when we are able to read outloud at school, as well as annotate because it gives you yet another way to interpret the text. Also, with the help of Ms. Smith, I definitely feel like I am able to reach my goal of understanding and actually enjoying the play. So thank you, I really love the way we are doing class right now.