Romeo and Juliet

Though the three books are set in completely different plots, Romeo and Juliet, the Sound of Waves, and West Side Story are very much alike. They all send out the same messages about love. This shows that no matter how different couples can be all around the world, there are many traits and themes they share. Although there are a multitude themes about young lovers, one really caught my eye. The people around those young and in love can cause extreme complications for the young lovers.
Romeo and Juliet is one of the best love stories ever performed. Although written so long ago, many lovers can relate to the themes and messages it reveals. In this story, there were many characters that caused extreme complications for Romeo and Juliet. For example, their family’s feud caused the couple to keep their love a secret in the first place. So to run away together, Juliet drank the drug to make her seem dead (and I think we know what happens from there!). If it was not for their relatives, they would not have had to keep their relationship a secret, and they would not have killed themselves. When Romeo and Juliet were expected to hate each other, they loved each other. “The end of the play sees the lovers dead and the feud over—but over only because none of the younger generation remains alive to continue it,” (John M. Lyon 1).
The Sound of Waves is known as the Japanese version of Romeo and Juliet. It has a very similar story, except this book has a happy ending. “The novel features Mishima's standard beautiful young hero but, unusually, does not end in either death or perversity.” (Sascha Talmor 1) Even so, the characters do face extreme complications caused by the people around them. For example, after hearing rumors about his daughter and Shinji, Uncle Teru banned Hatsue and Shinji from ever seeing each other again. This really disturbed the couple because they were madly in love. The character who started this vicious rumor, Chiyoko, really liked shinji so she intentionally sabotaged their love. So instead of having a normal relationship, “their meetings must be secret for serious obstacles of position bar their union,” (Edmund Fuller 1).
Lastly, West Side Story is known as the modern day Romeo and Juliet. The ending is a little different though. Only one of the lovers dies, while the other remains to live. Tony, the love of Maria, got shot by an opposing gang member. This is an example of the people around young lovers causing extreme complications. Let’s backtrack though. When the couple first fell in love, the people in their life already caused trouble for them. “Shakespeare's feuding families became gangs -- the American-born Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks.” (Stephen Sondheim 1). Tony was a member of the Jets, and Maria was a member of the Sharks. These gangs hated each other, so the couple could not even imagine what would have happened if any of their friends found out! Because of this, they kept their relationship a secret.
As told in all three stories, the people around those young and in love can cause extreme complications for the young lovers. Although Romeo and Juliet, The Sound of Waves, and West Side Story all occur in completely different cultures, the same theme is applied to all of them. Sometimes there can be a happy ending, like Hatsue and Shinji.

Other times a person could lose someone they love, like how Maria lost Tony. And once in a blue moon a couple could have a mix up, and it could end in suicide, like Romeo and Juliet. Yes, these scenarios may occur every once in a while, but they won’t always be so dramatic. Still, unfortunately, there are always people who cause extreme complications for young lovers.