Romeo and Juliet: Young Love

I have been reading the book "Romeo and Juliet" which is about two young lovers from rival families that try to keep thier love lasting. They go through many hardships to keep their relationship. But before they met, I noticed that love was being forced. I think the reoccurring theme was that love should not be forced. Juliet was being told who to marry at the age of 14, and Romeo was to find a new love when he has not gotten over his prior love, Rosaline.

In act 1, scene 4, line 103-105, Juliet explains to her mother that she will only marry Paris (capulet that she is set to marry) because her parents want her too. She will try to like him, but if she does not like him, she will  not go further than she has to with love. Juliet is only doing this because her parents want her to marry and girls in Verona, younger than her are already mothers. Juliet does not feel ready yet for love (until she meets Romeo). Juliet should not only be able to choose who she loves, but she should be able to decide when she is ready to truly fall in love and become a wife and mother. If Juliet does not feel the connection with Paris, why should she live the rest of her life thinking she could be with someone else and be happy.

A similar story happens with Romeo. In act 1, scene 4, Mercutio is talking to Romeo, who is still heartbroken from Rosaline, which he loves yet she does not love him back. Mercutio is trying to tell him that he needs to get over Rosaline and find a new lady. But Romeo is not quite ready. He does not want to go to the party and dance and have fun, he wants to sit out and watch. In this scence, I feel that Romeo is being pushed out of love. Although Juliet is being pushed into love, they are still being forced to do something they are not in for.

One similarity I noticed between Romeo and Juliet is that they like to take their time in life and not be rushed into things when they do not need to. The other characters in the book seem to think that love is something you can just get get into and come out of right away, but you have to take your time. A lot of people in middle school act like Romeo and Juliet in a way. Some kids push through relationships and don't want to take their time with thier relationships and learning their lessons on the way. I believe people will have better relatioships if they take thir time and not rush into anything if they do not have to.