Arthur Laurents Essays

  • Comparing Arthur Laurents' West Side Story and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

    2317 Words  | 5 Pages

    namely Riff, a combination of Benvolio and Mercutio, and Doc, who appears to fulfill the role of Friar Laurence (possessed somewhat of a peacekeeping nature: "You couldn't play basketball?", he asks, when informed of their upcoming "war council" [Laurents 57]) yet, at the same time, it is implied (in the film version, not the play) that he is a pharmacist, and there was, after all, an apothecary in Romeo and Juliet . The tomboyish Anybodys, a Jet wannabe, would best fit into the role of Balthasar

  • West Side Story The Musical

    508 Words  | 2 Pages

    the plot was very innovative, because even though it had been done before, it had never been done this well. Jerome Robbins had thought of an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet to a Broadway musical in 1949. He began discussions with librettist Arthur Laurents and composer Leonard Bernstein of a musical called East Side Story, with a plot concentrating on a Catholic girl and a Jewish boy. Other projects forced the work aside for six years, and when they returned to it, times had changed. Their idea

  • Contrast Of Romeo And Juliet and West Side Story

    1657 Words  | 4 Pages

    closely based on Arthur Brooke's tale, The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet. The language, attitudes, and customs detailed in the play are generally English, in spite of Brooke’s original Italian setting. In 1949, choreographer Jerome Robbins decided to retell Brooke and Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy using song and dance, elements of racism and nationalism, and a modern vernacular. Robbins called upon the musical talents of composer Leonard Bernstein and the words of Arthur Laurents for the script

  • Essay On West Side Story

    666 Words  | 2 Pages

    unchallenging themes, with romantic or comedic characters and lots of singing and dancing. But towards the end of it, the plots were sophisticated, serious with singing, dancing as well as dialogue. In this paper, I choose to elaborate more on the musical – Arthur Laurents’s West Side Story. In the first part of this paper, I discuss the plot, songs and other aspects of the musical such as the awards etc. Later on, I explain how this musical revolutionized the theatre and the cultural effects it had on Americans

  • Romeo And Juliet - Comparisson To West Side Story

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    The play West Side Story, by Arthur Laurents, is based upon the play Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare. Despite a few differences, both works, in essence, have the same plot. The source of violence in Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story is the ever-present hatred between families and between gangs, although, because of the "star-cross’d lovers" motif in Romeo and Juliet, the hatred plays a larger role in producing the ending of West Side Story than it does the ending of Romeo and

  • Prejudice In West Side Story

    506 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book West Side Story by Arthur Laurents there were many prejudices. Prejudice is a favoring or dislike of something without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge. There were prejudices in West Side Story that had to do with the types of people, their races and sex. Sometimes prejudice can be in small doses and can be meaningless, other times prejudice can be very serious and cause death. Prejudice was the theme of this story, there are many examples.For instance, an act of prejudice

  • Comparing the Characters in Laurents' West Side Story and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

    1794 Words  | 4 Pages

    Meshing Together of Characters in Arthur Laurents' West Side Story and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet The meshing of characters between Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Bernstein’s West Side Story formulate significant similarities between the two. In Romeo and Juliet the story of “Two households both alike in dignity,” (Montagues and Capulets) who have been feuding is parallel to the two gangs in West Side Story (Jets and Sharks). This grouping of loyalties keeps the segregation of the

  • Prejudices in "The West Side Story" by Arthur Laurents

    806 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book West Side Story written by Arthur Laurents is set in the mid 1950’s, created as modern version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. West Side Story is a romantic tragedy about two characters that are supposedly completely different and aren’t accepted when they fall in love. The “difference’s” between these characters is centered on the prejudice’s they had against each other. Prejudice is a harsh opinion or feeling formed previously without any knowledge or reason. The Jets and the Sharks

  • Comparing Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet versus Arthur Laurents West Side Story

    1057 Words  | 3 Pages

    Comparing Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet versus Arthur Laurents West Side Story In approximately 1594, William Shakespeare began to write one of the most well known tragedies in history, Romeo and Juliet. Arguably, no author to date has matched Shakespeare's skill and beauty in the creation of this work. However, authors have regurgitated and will continue to regurgitate the theme, "star-crossed lovers", for centuries. Martha Duffy remarks in "West Side Glory", "Slang may change and violence escalate

  • 7 Steps to Selecting a Continuing Education Class

    677 Words  | 2 Pages

    Executive Summary: It is never too late to learn, educate yourself and get a fancy new diploma. Some people need to advance their knowledge to improve and move forward at their workplaces, others need it as a fresh new start. Whatever may be the reason – we will give you some tips on what to look for when choosing your classes. Points of Interest: • Location, location, location • Flexibility and availability • Cost and reward? There is a certain way the adults connect education and future employment

  • American Sign Language: The Origin Of American Sign Language

    1048 Words  | 3 Pages

    neighbor daughter was deaf and he wanted to find ways to communicate with her. So in 1861, Gallaudet traveled to Europe, where many deaf school had been founded by graduates of l’Epee school. While in Europe Gallaudet he met a recent deaf graduate named Laurent Clerc. So Clerc taught Gallaudet about some deaf education methods and later he convinced Gallaudet to return with him to American later setting up American first deaf school. Over a period of time the sign and where used in school and the sign by

  • Sometimes A Shining Moment

    1422 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book Sometimes a Shining Moment: Eliot Wiginton had a student that talked about a teacher who takes time to recognize students as an individual and not just part of a group. The student went on to say “I had one particular teacher that I would never forget. Once when the teacher gave back an essay I found that she had complimented my essay, the topic, and even me.” I had a teacher that that was just like the teacher that one of the juniors or seniors had. The teacher that I remember

  • Small Group Reflection Paper

    2388 Words  | 5 Pages

    I really enjoyed the small group projects. I like that we got to discuss topics intimately. Small groups allow every individual the time and comfort to talk freely. This is important in classes like this because it allows ideas to flow freely, and group members can collectively build on each other’sthoughts. For example, when one of us had an idea about using artifacts in the exhibit, other people came up with ways that we could showcase them without using walls. We had a variety of ideas ranging

  • Technology In The Classroom Research Paper

    1229 Words  | 3 Pages

    Almost everyone attends a school at one time in their life whether the classroom includes technology or not. Research shows that technology isn’t used as often as one might think. The article, “High Access and Low use of technology in High School Classrooms” illustrates the use of technology by stating that only one in ten of elementary and middle school teachers are daily users of computers (Cuban, Kirkpatrick, Peck). Most schools now have classrooms that use technology throughout the entire class

  • Analysis Of More Testing More Learning

    1030 Words  | 3 Pages

    As a college student, is the idea of your final grade being based off of just a midterm and final very stressful? O 'Malley argues in his essay "More Testing, More Learning" that professors should give out more quizzes and assignments to reduce the stress and procrastination students face before midterms and finals. Although this might be helpful for a high school setting, it would not be completely efficient at a college level. This is because frequent testing takes up a significant amount of students

  • Laurent Clerc Pioneer Teacher

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    Laurent Clerc Pioneer Teacher 1785-1869 Laurent Clerc was born in LaBalme, France, on Dec. 26 1785. His father was Mayor of the town and the family could boast of a long line of magistrates in the Clerc lineage. At the age of one, the infant fell from a kitchen chair by accident into a nearby fireplace. He was burned on one side of his face and a fever left him totally deaf. He had uncle also named Laurent Clerc, who heard about the school for the deaf in Paris. When he was twelve years old,

  • Mackenzie King - Canadian Prime Minister

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    The greatest Prime Minister of Canada was? Mackenzie King our 10thPrime Minister of Canada and by far one of our greatest. William Lyon Mackenzie King accomplished a lot in his twenty-0ne years of ministering our Country Canada! "It is what we prevent, rather than what we do that counts most in Government." (Mackenzie King august 26, 1936) This statement sums up the best secrets of Mackenzie King's success as prime minister, and perhaps, the key to governing Canada effectively. King's record of

  • Biography of Mackenzie King, The Longest Serving Prime Minister of Canada

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mackenzie King was the longest serving Prime Minister of Canada (Neatby, 2005). For many King was a great and effective Prime Minister. But for others, he was ineffective due to his “5 cent speech”, racist behavior and lastly for his strong spiritual beliefs. Therefore this makes William Lyon Mackenzie King to be an ineffective Prime Minister of Canada from the years 1921-1929. King’s biggest act that clearly shows him to be an unfit and ineffective Prime Minister of Canada was his “5 cent speech”

  • John Diefenbaker: The Last "Old Tory"

    2220 Words  | 5 Pages

    British Commonwealth would not serve him well as Prime Minister of Canada. In 1958, Diefenbaker would win the largest majority government in Canadian history upsetting the new leader of the Liberal Party, Lester B. Pearson, who had taken over for St. Laurent. In the election Diefenbaker would win 208 seats out of a possible 265 seats. The Liberal Party, led by Pearson would only be able to obtain 48 seats making them the Official Opposition. Five years after this historic win, John Diefenbaker would

  • Lester B Pearson Essay

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lester Pearson is considered one of the best out of the 23 Canadian Prime Ministers. Why? Lester B Pearson is one of the best Prime Ministers in Canadian history. He was one of the two Prime Ministers who were active and served in war and is one of the three Prime Ministers who had an airport named after. Lester Bowles “Mike” Pearson had served from April 22, 1963, to April 20, 1968. The Pearson Airport was named in honor of Lester B. Pearson. He was a good Prime Minister because he contributed significantly