Comparing Romeo And Jerry In Shakespeare's 'Through The Tunnel'

Romeo and Jerry Everyone likes to believe that we are all our own individual people but Maya Angelou put it best when she says, “I note the obvious differences / between each sort and type, / but we are more alike, my friends / than we are unalike,” (Angelou “Human Family”). There are so many people out there it is hard to believe not one of us is like the other. This is also reflected in many characters in our literature. Take a look at the two works “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing and The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. The main characters Romeo and Jerry both display very similar qualities. When looking at their actions it is obvious that Romeo and Jerry are both incredibly passionate people. This can be seen …show more content…
Although they are passionate, they Romeo and Jerry tend to have issues with being mature. They often crave attention from those that are around them. The friar is Romeo’s confidant, but Romeo seems to take advantage of that. Once Romeo finds out that he is banished he is in Friar Laurence’s cell and rolling around on the ground while crying. Romeo has a right to be upset because he is banished from the only place he has ever known but, the uncontrollable crying is not necessary. After all the Prince did show Romeo mercy by not killing him, so why does he need to lay there crying like a three year old throwing a tantrum unless he wants attention. Jerry does not behave much better. Jerry at the time is trying to dive under the water to see where the tunnel is. Whenever he tries to open his eyes the salt water burns them so, Jerry makes the decision to get goggles. When asking for the goggles jerry’s immaturity really shines through, “He must have them this minute, and no other time. He nagged and pestered until she went with him to a shop. As soon as she had brought the goggles, he grabbed them from her hand as if she were going to claim them for herself,” (Lessing p.360). Like Romeo, Jerry is throwing a tantrum to get the attention of his mother. What is worse is that as soon as Jerry gets what he wants he runs away from her without saying thank you. Jerry and Romeo not only are immature for attention but they …show more content…
The impulsiveness starts along with their stories. Romeo goes from pinning over Rosaline to falling head over heels for Juliet. As soon as he sees Juliet, Rosaline is out of his mind in fact when he is asked about Rosaline by the Friar Romeo replies, “‘With Rosaline my ghostly father? No. / I have forgot that name, and that name’s woe,” (Shakespeare Act II Scene 3 L. 45-46). Romeo goes off of an impulse to be with the most beautiful girl and because of that he has fallen for his sworn enemy and dooms himself. Jerry makes the decision to go to the wild bay and swim so far out that his mother was a speck on the beach. He could have easily drowned there and no one would be around to help him. Jerry’s impulses almost had himself killed. When faced with a challenge Romeo and Jerry do not stop to evaluate the situation, they go with their first instincts. After Tybalt kills Mercutio in a duel Romeo’s first instinct is to go and fight Tybalt. Romeo could have taken a step back for a second and noticed that this fight could cause some problems but he didn’t. The fight then leads to Tybalt’s death and even more issues for Romeo. Like Romeo, Jerry didn’t step back and look at the impact his choices might make. Jerry repeated tries to go through the tunnel even though the health risks are high. In the end Jerry had lost a lot of blood and banged his head. The injuries were not as