West Side Story Quotes
Josephine Tschirhart
Mrs. Hughes
Advanced ELA
26 May 2016 Love and Fear A pair of star-crossed lovers. Two gangs who kill. Three young boys who die. In the musical West Side Story by Arthur Laurents, there are two gangs- the Jets and the Sharks, who are constantly brawling over a block in New York City. The leader of the Jets is Riff, and the leader of the Sharks is Bernardo. Bernardo’s sister, Maria, falls in love with Tony, who is from the opposite gang. The gangs eventually have a rumble over turf, and the rumble results in the death of Riff and Bernardo. Maria and Tony decide to run away and make a new life. Right before they can get away, Chino, a man who was promised to Maria, intercepts their getaway and kills Tony. Throughout …show more content…
the musical, we notice that fear has a large role in these tragic events. Therefore, fear in the disguise of prejudice and ignorance causes all three to die. Fear causes the gangs to hold on to the few things they have. In the musical, the Jets are afraid of losing their turf, so they set up a rumble with the Shark. Some readers don’t grasp why the gangs would be willing to die over territory, but to the gangs a small chunk of concrete is the world to them. This is clearly evident when Riff says,
“I say this turf is small, but it’s all we got” (1,1,16).
This quote demonstrates how fearful Riff is of losing his land. Another example is how fear causes them to hold tightly onto everything they have. “MARIA [touching his face] I see you. TONY See only me. MARIA [sings:] Only you, you’re the only thing I’ll see forever. In my eyes, in my words and in everything I do, Nothing else but you Ever!” (1,5,19-26).
This scene occurs after Tony and Maria meet. It talks about how they will never lose each other, and how they will never love someone as much as they already loved one another. These quotes shows that fear is kept at a distance by holding onto each other. Eventually, this fear leads to the death of others. Another example of how fear keeps the two sides apart is the following:
“Music starts as the two Jets and two Sharks lift up Tony’s body and starts to carry him out. The others, boys and girls, fall in behind to make a procession, the same procession they made in the dream ballet, as Baby John comes forward to pick up Maria's shawl and put it over
Her head” (2,6,10-16).
This quote illustrates how the gangs come together, by putting aside their differences.
In addition, fear influences the gang members, as it provokes and causes them to take drastic measures. For instance,
“I’ve got to give a friend of yours a message.
I’ve got to tell Tony-” (2,4,2-3).
When Anita, a member of the opposite gang, was attempting to help Tony and Maria, the Jets don’t want her anywhere near Tony.
As they are fearful that she would hurt him. Another strong piece of evidence is as follows. Right before this quote Anita tells Doc that Maria was killed. Afterwards, Doc reported it to Tony. Tony tremendously fears not being with Maria. He desperately shouts to Chino who wants to kill Tony. “Chino? Chino? Come and get me, too, Chino” (2,5,20). This definitely states that Tony’s fear of losing Maria causes him to take drastic measures.
Fear causes regret, in West Side Story Maria tells Tony to go stop the fight. This causes the stories’ chaotic rumble. “Listen and hear me. You must go and stop it” (1,7,2). This quote from Maria gives Tony a sense of urgency to go and stop the fist fight before Bernardo gets hurt. While Tony was trying to stop it, it just caused more chaos. This clearly shows how Maria fears for Bernardo. Without this fear there would not have been a knife fight that they will forever regret and causes two loved people to die.
The main tragic events in this musical West Side Story by Arthur Laurents fueled by fear. Fear causes the gangs to make drastic decisions, get involved in a epic fight, and lose the lives of their own gang members.The quote “money is the root of all evil” should be “fear is the root of all evil”.
Laurents, Arthur, Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim. West Side Story: A Musical. London: Chappell,
1958. Print
Mrs. Hughes
Advanced ELA
26 May 2016 Love and Fear A pair of star-crossed lovers. Two gangs who kill. Three young boys who die. In the musical West Side Story by Arthur Laurents, there are two gangs- the Jets and the Sharks, who are constantly brawling over a block in New York City. The leader of the Jets is Riff, and the leader of the Sharks is Bernardo. Bernardo’s sister, Maria, falls in love with Tony, who is from the opposite gang. The gangs eventually have a rumble over turf, and the rumble results in the death of Riff and Bernardo. Maria and Tony decide to run away and make a new life. Right before they can get away, Chino, a man who was promised to Maria, intercepts their getaway and kills Tony. Throughout …show more content…
the musical, we notice that fear has a large role in these tragic events. Therefore, fear in the disguise of prejudice and ignorance causes all three to die. Fear causes the gangs to hold on to the few things they have. In the musical, the Jets are afraid of losing their turf, so they set up a rumble with the Shark. Some readers don’t grasp why the gangs would be willing to die over territory, but to the gangs a small chunk of concrete is the world to them. This is clearly evident when Riff says,
“I say this turf is small, but it’s all we got” (1,1,16).
This quote demonstrates how fearful Riff is of losing his land. Another example is how fear causes them to hold tightly onto everything they have. “MARIA [touching his face] I see you. TONY See only me. MARIA [sings:] Only you, you’re the only thing I’ll see forever. In my eyes, in my words and in everything I do, Nothing else but you Ever!” (1,5,19-26).
This scene occurs after Tony and Maria meet. It talks about how they will never lose each other, and how they will never love someone as much as they already loved one another. These quotes shows that fear is kept at a distance by holding onto each other. Eventually, this fear leads to the death of others. Another example of how fear keeps the two sides apart is the following:
“Music starts as the two Jets and two Sharks lift up Tony’s body and starts to carry him out. The others, boys and girls, fall in behind to make a procession, the same procession they made in the dream ballet, as Baby John comes forward to pick up Maria's shawl and put it over
Her head” (2,6,10-16).
This quote illustrates how the gangs come together, by putting aside their differences.
In addition, fear influences the gang members, as it provokes and causes them to take drastic measures. For instance,
“I’ve got to give a friend of yours a message.
I’ve got to tell Tony-” (2,4,2-3).
When Anita, a member of the opposite gang, was attempting to help Tony and Maria, the Jets don’t want her anywhere near Tony.
As they are fearful that she would hurt him. Another strong piece of evidence is as follows. Right before this quote Anita tells Doc that Maria was killed. Afterwards, Doc reported it to Tony. Tony tremendously fears not being with Maria. He desperately shouts to Chino who wants to kill Tony. “Chino? Chino? Come and get me, too, Chino” (2,5,20). This definitely states that Tony’s fear of losing Maria causes him to take drastic measures.
Fear causes regret, in West Side Story Maria tells Tony to go stop the fight. This causes the stories’ chaotic rumble. “Listen and hear me. You must go and stop it” (1,7,2). This quote from Maria gives Tony a sense of urgency to go and stop the fist fight before Bernardo gets hurt. While Tony was trying to stop it, it just caused more chaos. This clearly shows how Maria fears for Bernardo. Without this fear there would not have been a knife fight that they will forever regret and causes two loved people to die.
The main tragic events in this musical West Side Story by Arthur Laurents fueled by fear. Fear causes the gangs to make drastic decisions, get involved in a epic fight, and lose the lives of their own gang members.The quote “money is the root of all evil” should be “fear is the root of all evil”.
Laurents, Arthur, Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim. West Side Story: A Musical. London: Chappell,
1958. Print