Romeo and Juliet Symbol Analysis

In Mr. Stessman’s English class, Eleanor, Park, and their other classmates study Romeo and Juliet—one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. As Eleanor and Park’s obsessive, all-consuming love for one another takes root, their readings of the play come to symbolize their perspectives on love, longing, and faith in their newfound relationship. In class, the brash and impatient Eleanor is skeptical of the play, and cynically reads it as “Shakespeare making fun of love”—the shy, romantic Park, however, is taken by the drama, and asserts that people always “want to remember what it’s like to be young […] and in love.” As Eleanor and Park explore the depths of their devotion to one another, Park’s grand declarations of eternal love are often met by Eleanor’s resistance or uncertainty—she even occasionally mocks Park for acting like “Romeo, sweet Romeo.” Eleanor eventually drops many of her defenses, though, and comes to see that Park really does love her and want to be with her—and her snarky comments about the play’s sappy nature stop. As the novel continues to unfold, Romeo and Juliet recurs as a symbol of the ultimate love story—one in which the young lovers are kept apart by unfair social circumstances, just like Eleanor and Park often are—and comes to symbolize the fact that though young love is often hasty and ill-fated, its power can endure throughout the years.