Romeo and Juliet

Over Thinking and Betrayal The word "adult" is usually thought of as a guardian or a matured person. They see an adult as someone who takes the responsibility of taking care of a child. However, not all the adults take care of the child even though it's their responsibility to do so. For the truth is, if adults abandon the child, he or she will eventually become a delinquent. In Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, adult interference is to be blamed for the deaths of secret lovers. In the play Friar Lawrence and the Nurse are to be blamed for Romeo and Juliet's death. Friar Lawrence, through his lack of good judgment, is largely responsible for the deaths of both Romeo and Juliet. Rather than being supportive of them and helping them disclose their loving situation, Friar Lawrence took the easy way out by getting them married. He succumbed to their desire to elope. Friar "incorporates" the lovers into "two in one" to end the feud between the two families (Shakespeare II.iv.35-37).The Friar's mistake of giving Juliet the "distilling liquor" also indirectly leads to their deaths (Shakespeare IV.i.96). Although people say that Romeo and Juliet's "foolishness" of getting married lead to their deaths, it was not, it was Friars failed plan that went wrong and lead to the death of the secret lovers (Kerschen). If he wasn't so engaged to stop the feud between the two families, this plan would never have occurred. By getting Romeo and Juliet married and giving Juliet the potion, Friar didn't know that it will eventually lead to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Juliet's surrogate mother, the nurse is also to be blamed for their death because of her betrayal against Juliet. The nurse tells Juliet to go "seek" for a man that will give her "happy days [and] nights" (Shakespeare I.iii.113). Later on the nurse thought, "it'd be best if [she] married the county" (Shakespeare III.v.218). This betrayal by the Nurse left Juliet alone. Juliet was left on her own to make some very important decisions. Even though the nurse betrayed Juliet, she thinks that "Romeo is a dishcloth compared to the [county]" (Shakespeare III.v.220). The nurse also "is too crude" to give Juliet good advice on love (Kerschen). Juliet has no one to turn to and ask for help. Her parents are rarely there for parental advice and fail to recognize when their daughter is in need of them. The nurse is supposedly Juliet's best friend yet betrays her. By showing these facts of what Friar and nurse did they should be pleaded guilty. Betrayal and over thinking of the Friar and the Nurse leads to the death of Romeo and Juliet. When an adult cannot give a proper advise to a teen, he or she is left to make decisions on their own. Experience alters their choices in how to act. Shakespeare's creation of the conflict in this play, between Juliet and the adults, demonstrates his understanding the young and old various views on topics and how this misunderstanding may result in betrayal and over thinking.