2002. Morally
ambiguous characters -- characters whose behavior discourages readers from
identifying them as purely evil or purely good -- are at the heart of many
works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous
character plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how
the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity
is significant to the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.
In Shakespeare’s Romeo and
Juliet, Mercutio demonstrates great moral ambiguity in the contrast between
his words and actions. From the beginning, Mercutio appears somewhat harsh as
he vocalizes a great cynicism regarding Romeo’s passion for Juliet, but
ultimately his sacrifice of his own life out of love for Romeo reveals him to
be far more complex than a mere cynic.
Mercutio witnesses the birth of
Romeo’s love for Juliet and immediately cautions Romeo from pursuing it any
further if he wants to avoid inciting great conflict between their two already
feuding families, the Capulets and the Montagues. Mercutio’s efforts to
convince Romeo to give up on this romantic venture seem harsh and cynical,
causing readers to perceive him as somewhat unfeeling, but other readers may
believe that Mercutio is doing Romeo a favor by telling him the harsh truth
that this marriage would never work out.
For example, when Romeo says that
he had a dream in Act 1, Scene 4, Mercutio interrupts him with the Queen Mab
speech. He appeals to Romeo’s romantic nature by telling him that dreams are
planted in the brains of people by a fairy called Queen Mab and are not to be
trusted. Romeo stops Mercutio in the middle of this speech so he cannot further
discourage him. On the surface, Mercutio appears to be a selfish friend to
Romeo by imposing his own cynical views of love upon Romeo against his will.
Some members of the audience may even believe his cautionary tales may be
motivated by a selfish desire to prevent his friend from pursing a happy
marriage to Juliet, but with further dissection readers may come to see that
Mercutio is more likely acting out of concern for Romeo’s emotional and
physical well-being by warning him against pursuing a hopeless cause.
By the final act, Mercutio has the
audience well-convinced that he is fully set against impassioned behavior, but
to everyone’s surprise, it is Mercutio who takes Romeo’s place when challenged
to a duel by Tybalt. Despite all his speeches against the danger of giving in
to one’s passions, Mercutio allows his own feelings to drive him to violence,
ultimately ending with his death. This pivotal scene can be interpreted many
ways, depending on if one views his decision to duel Tybalt as an impulsive
action made out of anger at Romeo’s cowardice or out of sacrificial love for
his friend. Either way, it reveals the truth of Mercutio’s words that disaster
is born of passion, making Mercutio a multi-layered character whose actions
contradict his own words.
This is good! But I think there maybe too much plot summary for what the question is asking. You begin to answer the prompt in the main body paragraphs, but it is hard to pick out because of all the plot summary. I find myself getting a little lost in all of the words. Perhaps you should add some more explanation? Because of the examples that you use, to me, Mercutio seems that he is truly against love and I don't seem to get the other viewpoint coming across as strongly. I would suggest adding another example to prove your point.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Gabriella. I felt as if it was a little wordy. Although it is a well-known story, many people do not know the ins-and-outs of Romeo and Juliet. This makes it hard because yes you need to somewhat summarize the plot to prove your point but you do not want to overload the reader with information. I think you had great points and although some were hidden after re-reading it I feel I was able to extract all the information. I think we all struggle with too much or too little plot summary. I hope it is a skill that comes with practice.
ReplyDelete