Maggie Loutzenheiser, James DiGiovanni, Anthony Payne

Mr. King

Honors English 1

11/24/2015

Hollywood, War, Style, sounds exciting, well it is. The 40s is a time of entertainment, and
excitement. From Monroe to Sinatra, whats not to love? The 40s wasnt all fun and games,
devastating wars ( WWII) , the nation trying to recover and cope from the Great Depression,
both happened in the 40s along with many more horrible things. Pearl Harbor would be an
example, attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941, this surprise attack shook America, as FDR
once said, It is the day that will live in infamy Many people struggled with breaking out of the
cultural jail of the 40s. Much like, how Juliet struggled with breaking away from her own
cultural ways, marrying a Montague and going against everything shes ever known.

During the time of Romeo and Juliet, there were some beliefs that would be strange to the people
of the 40s. One would be that Juliet's father thinks he had the liberty to decide his daughter's
husband, he thus that pressured (Act 5, Scene 3) causing her to kill herself. Another would be
that the church was so big, if you were married already, and were being planned to marry again,
it is a big sin. If you were involved in that affair, you were also banned from the church (Act 5,
Scene 3). The church was also big in the 40s, especially in the south. During the 40s, the
daughters picked who the married.

Walt Disney is a very well-known and creative individual. Everyone knows his movies and
stories, but what most people dont know is why he was so remarkably incredible. Walt Disney
was one of the first in his time to create a motion picture (justdisney.com). In the 40s nobody
really went outside of the box and expressed themselves, Disney was not one of these followers.
Disney flourished in this business, it was a second nature to him. He broke out of the
stereotypical identity and went with his passion and where his heart was. In Romeo and Juliet
thats exactly what they both did. Everyone knows Romeo and Juliet are not supposed to be in
love (Act 5 Scene 3) but yet they break the stereotypical identities of the Capulets and
Montagues. But in the end Romeo and Juliet ending up crashing and burning while Disney
succeed tremendously. In addition to Walt Disneys rollercoaster life, Judy Garland also shows
how mentally hard it was to live in the 40s.

Judy Garland, an accomplished actress in the Golden Era of Hollywood. Born in Grand Rapids
Minnesota, her yellow brick road journey started on her birthday, June 10, 1922. She has starred
in many famous movies, including The Wizard of Oz. She was known as One of the brightest,
most tragic movie stars of Hollywood's Golden Era Although, Judy had a lot of stress and
internal conflicts, just like Juliet when she was being forced to marry, even though, she was
already a wife. Throughout Garlands life, she had tried to commit suicide multiple times due to
her hate of Hollywood, she was always so stressed over her schedule. Sadly, Mrs. Garland had
died at the age of 47 in London on June 22 1969 due to overdose of sleeping pills. Due to
Hollywood, she was so stressed about her schedule, thus her death. Even though the 40s was

very much distant from the time of Romeo and Juliet, there are many similarities between the
times. "Judy Garland." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2015
Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2015.

Jackie Robinson, The first African American to play in the major leagues. Although Jackie
Robinson was one of the best players in the league at the time, it was not easy for him to
accomplish his dreams. In comparison to Romeo and Juliet, the environment and culture of
decade that Jackie grew up in caused major problems and many obstacles for him to face. Jackie
had often received death threats and racial slurs before and after games, even on his home field.
It was hard for Jackie to comprehend how he could be such a good player, but at the same time
be so hated. This is similar to how Juliet was forced to follow through with a planned marriage
just to hide the fact that she was in love with Romeo. This created many obstacles for Romeo and
Juliet and ultimately led up to their fate, death.

The 1940s, the decade that brought the devastating WWII, but also brought along the rise of pop
culture. Although WWII grasped the attention of many it wasnt the only problem of the 1940s.
Racism was still a major problem and it was a huge factor that decided the fate of many African
Americans. Similar to how Juliets fate was decided due to the fact that during that time period it
was okay for a grown man to marry a teenage girl. This was a key factor that ultimately decided
the fate of Romeo and Juliet, death. Culture of the mind must be subservient to the heart.Mahatma Gandhi, (Proverbia.net)this quote relates to Romeo and Juliet because it is saying that
even though your mind may be telling you one thing, do what your heart tells you.

Love, despair, sorrow, and creativity, one might think how in the world can all of these words
be connected? Romeo and Juliet have so many ups and downs during their tragic love story, just
like the 1940s. This era involved the wonderful and amazing Walt Disney but also contained the
horrifying World War II. People in this decade were imprisoned in identity and cultural jails. You
could only do this one thing if it was lady like, or you could only do this to an extent because
youre black. In Romeo and Juliet their identities, being a Montague and a Capulet, restrict them
from showing their affection for each other in public. Also their culture, was embedded in their
brains to hate each others, which in the end determined their ultimate fate, death. Culture
includes- way of thinking, way of life and way of worship - Pandurang Shastri Vaijnath
Athavale, (finestquotes.com) this quote explains how identity is so closely tied with culture and
why they both define fate.