West Side Story Essays -- English Literature

air jacket Side apologue1. Point out how the general setting of the play is established. lend at least two examples.The play West Side Story takes place in a suburb on the West Side of smart York City. We can conclude that we atomic number 18 talking about a soci all toldydisadvantaged suburb as the surrounding area is described with highbrick walls, non very attractive and by the presence of the two gangs the Jets and the Sharks.We are withal able to say in which time period the actions take place.As an index we are using the dance at the gym in stand for I,Scene 4,where Tony and Maria first sate. At this dance everyone is dancing thejitterbug just as the jive. Both were popular during the 1940s and1950s.We should also mention that it is summer. Otherwise regular(prenominal) autumn orwinter weather would have been mentioned and/or the gangs possiblywould non set the rumble outside.( 139 )2. Outline the typical features of the society depicted.First we meet the Jets. They a re a group of polish ancestry, all bornin the States therefore representing the american break off. The group itselfrepresents some kind of close belonging-together in which no outsideris allowed to enter. Even for Anybodys, who desperately wants to beaccepted inwardly the group, the chafe is somehow denied. This alsoshows some sort of power structure the Jets follow. Despite the hierarchythe members of the Jets behave more or less the same. They see thememebers as superior individuals peculiarly when comparing with theSharks or their own family. For example do they express themselves ontheir parents our mothers all are junkies, our fathers all aredrunks ( Act II, Scene 2).No issue what when it comes to the spics they feel the membershipto ... ...e and harmony without being threatenedshould not be left out from this list. Tony and Maria are obviouslynot able to do so. Also when Anita enters the shop to leave a messagefor Tony is she treated with disrespect. This, as well as bla mingMaria for not sticking with her own kind efficiency lead to her telling alie.One aspect going on with the preceding statements, being of greatimportance especially in this play, is the equality of all peopleliving in the United States. In no part of the play do the differentcultural groups seem to be equal unless in the end when Tony iskilled. Only because of her hate does Maria give the impression ofeveryone in the scene being equal. In all other scenes everyone istreated according to their descent. The Jets are treated differentlyby the police and as we are told within the society - as the Sharksare. West Side Story Essays -- English LiteratureWest Side Story1. Point out how the general setting of the play is established.Give at least two examples.The play West Side Story takes place in a suburb on the West Side ofNew York City. We can conclude that we are talking about a sociallydisadvantaged suburb as the surrounding area is described with highbrick walls, not very attractive and by the presence of the two gangs the Jets and the Sharks.We are also able to say in which time period the actions take place.As an indicator we are using the dance at the gym in Act I,Scene 4,where Tony and Maria first meet. At this dance everyone is dancing thejitterbug just as the jive. Both were popular during the 1940s and1950s.We should also mention that it is summer. Otherwise typical autumn orwinter weather would have been mentioned and/or the gangs possiblywould not set the rumble outside.( 139 )2. Outline the typical features of the society depicted.First we meet the Jets. They are a group of polish ancestry, all bornin America therefore representing the american part. The group itselfrepresents some kind of close belonging-together in which no outsideris allowed to enter. Even for Anybodys, who desperately wants to beaccepted within the group, the access is somehow denied. This alsoshows some sort of hierarchy the Jets follow. Despite the hierarchy the members of the Jets behave more or less the same. They see thememebers as superior individuals especially when comparing with theSharks or their own family. For example do they express themselves ontheir parents our mothers all are junkies, our fathers all aredrunks ( Act II, Scene 2).No matter what when it comes to the spics they feel the membershipto ... ...e and harmony without being threatenedshould not be left out from this list. Tony and Maria are obviouslynot able to do so. Also when Anita enters the shop to leave a messagefor Tony is she treated with disrespect. This, as well as blamingMaria for not sticking with her own kind might lead to her telling alie.One aspect going along with the preceding statements, being of greatimportance especially in this play, is the equality of all peopleliving in the United States. In no part of the play do the differentcultural groups seem to be equal unless in the end when Tony iskilled. Only because of her hate does Maria give the im pression ofeveryone in the scene being equal. In all other scenes everyone istreated according to their descent. The Jets are treated differentlyby the police and as we are told within the society - as the Sharksare.