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How do familial and societal ties affect a person's life?

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Published in 1597 by William Shakespeare

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"Romeo and Juliet" is a tragic story centered around the yearning for love. Romeo and Juliet have fallen in love but are not allowed to be together. Their families do not approve of this union, and neither does society. Romeo and Juliet do not care, and with help from Juliet's nurse, they are united in marriage the next day. Romeo and Juliet keep this a secret from everybody because of what it would cost them. Romeo ends up getting involved in a street fight which ends in the death of Juliet's cousin, Tybalt. Romeo is banished from the town and Juliet is in great despair. Juliet attempts to be reunited with Romeo, so she fakes her death. Romeo is given the wrong message and believes she has actually died. He kills himself to be reunited with her. Juliet awakes from her fake death and hears of Romeo's death. She then stabs herself in order to join him in death. At the end of the play, both families of Romeo and Juliet are so broken-hearted by their loss that they agree to make up and put aside their differences.

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This novel serves as a reinterpretation of Romeo and Juliet, where their divide is shown through their race. The novel centers around high school students Ellie and Miah, who must deal with both familial and societal pressures keeping them apart. Throughout the novel, Ellie is told by her family that she can not engage in an interracial relationship. When Ellie and Miah are together, they are also judged by society. They are constantly gazed upon and gawked at. Ellie is questioned about her safety due to being around Miah, who is black. Ellie meets Miah's family and is welcomed with such warmth, but fears her family would not reciprocate that for Miah. Miah never gets to meet Ellie's family because he is shot to death by a police officer. The story ends in this tragic conclusion.

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"Mother dear, may I go downtown

And march the streets of Birmingham

In a Freedom March today?"

"No, baby, no, you may not go,

For the dogs are fierce and wild,

And clubs and hoses, guns and jails

Aren't good for a little child."

"But, mother, I won't be alone.

Other children will go with me,

And march the streets of Birmingham

To make our country free."

"No, baby, no, you may not go,

For I fear those guns will fire.

But you may go to church instead

And sing in the children's choir."

She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair,

And bathed rose petal sweet,

And drawn white gloves on her small brown hands,

And white shoes on her feet.

The mother smiled to know her child

But that smile was the last smile

To come upon her face.

For when she heard the explosion,

Her eyes grew wet and wild.

She raced through the streets of Birmingham

Calling for her child.

She clawed through bits of glass and brick,

Then lifted out a shoe.

"O, here's the shoe my baby wore,

But, baby, where are you?"

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Ballad of Birmingham by Dudley Randall | Poetry Foundation

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What biases do I or my family still hold that I was otherwise unaware of till now?

What is love?

Police Brutality

Are interracial couples more predominant in America today?

What would Romeo and Juliet's life look like if there was no divide in their family?

Rethink this question for "If You Come Softly", would Miah be alive?

Dive into Ellie's faith. What does it mean to be Jewish? How does Ellie's religion affect the outcomes in the novel?

If Miah had met Eliie's parents, how would they have reacted?

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Lyric Analysis- "Love Story" by Taylor Swift

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Lyric Analysis- "Love Story" by Taylor Swift

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Love Story Lyrics: We were both young when I first saw you / I close my eyes and the flashback starts / I'm standing there / On a balcony in summer air / See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns

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TedTalk- Should You Care What Your Parents Think

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TedTalk- Should You Care What Your Parents Think

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TED-Ed: Should you care what your parents think?

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In 1972, psychologists at the University of Colorado surveyed 140 couples to determine whether a relationship facing parental disapproval was more likely to strengthen or crumble under the pressure. Can long-term success of a romantic relationship be predicted by the perceived approval or disapproval of the couple's friends and family?

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TedTalk- "Requiem For Alonzo: The Human Toll of Police Brutality"

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TedTalk- "Requiem For Alonzo: The Human Toll of Police Brutality"

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Theo E.J. Wilson: “Requiem For Alonzo: The Human Toll of Police Brutality” | TED Talk

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Alonzo Ashley was just 29 years old when he was killed at the hands of the Denver Police. In this heartwrenching tribute, poet Theo E.J. Wilson explores the meaning of Black Lives Matters & imagines another world -- one where the victims of police brutality live on.

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"Let American Be America Again"- Langston Hughes

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"Let American Be America Again"- Langston Hughes

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Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed-
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

O, let America be America again- And yet must be-the land where
The land that never has been yet-

every man is free. The land that's mine-the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME-
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose-
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain-
All, all the stretch of these great green states-
And make America again!

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Let America Be America Again - Let America be America again.

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Romeo + Juliet (1996) - Star-crossed Lovers Scene (2/5) | Movieclips

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Additional Texts Connection to Essential Question

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Additional Texts Connection to Essential Question

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I provided five additional texts that elaborate on the discussion questions: "How do familial and societal ties affect a person's life?". Only providing five was hard to do, but I think the five that I gave show a good glimpse into each section I want to talk about in this essential question. Starting with "Love Story" by Taylor Swift. This song is perfect in order to get students thinking critically about the text while still thinking about the themes present in the focal texts. "Love Story" is perfect for this first introduction because it recaptures the main essence of "Romeo and Juliet" but through song. Students will also be very familiar with this song, so that might entice them more to be present during the lesson and engage in the activity. I'm hoping this would be a perfect introduction to annotating a text and drawing conclusions from its work. Similar to this is the second text I gave. This is a TedTalk that talks about caring what your parents think. I think it's a great introduction to get students thinking about autonomy and how their parents are telling them things based on what they think is best for them. We can then talk about how that is represented in "Romeo and Juliet". The next text I gave was a TedTalk about police brutality. Now this would be in relation to "If You Come Softly", as the novel ends in police violence. This TedTalk will be a great introduction to a multi-day teaching on the impact of racism. Going along with that would be the fourth text, which is a poem by Langston Hughes. This poem talks about growing up in America, what freedom means, and who has it. This would be a text that I would also bring into the multi-day teach. While "Romeo and Juliet" may not specifically talk about racism, our companion text does. Our companion text is also completely centered on racism and how their family and society's view of race impacts their relationship. Similar to "Rome and Juliet", they, too, can not be together due to their family and society. The last text I gave was a clip from the movie "Rome and Juliet (1996)". I would probably plan to show more of the film in this unit, but the main idea would be to connect pieces of the film with the text and have student analyze differences as well as write about their emotions/reactions to hearing and watching it vs. reading it.