English 9
1 June, 2023
How Familial Beliefs May Cause Issues, of Romeo and Juliet
Have you ever disagreed with your family? Or, maybe they wouldn’t allow you to do something
or date someone? Then, perhaps you may have something in common with the likes of Romeo and Juliet.
The Book, “Romeo and Juliet”, by William Shakespeare, portrays a classical and important case, wherein
the beliefs of two families cause the deaths of two star-crossed lovers. In this story, the author wishes to
impart to us the lesson, that familial beliefs oftentimes do more harm than good, even when upheld in
good faith. Familial beliefs have the potential to cause much damage, from being prejudiced for little to
no reason, or keeping someone from something that may help them, or make them happier, only in the
name of tradition or belief.
Familial beliefs have a significant impact on people’s health and daily lives, although you may
not notice it at first glance. Just like how the feud of two families in “Romeo and Juliet” cause the death
of multiple people, so too can modern familial beliefs cause death and harm. In the modern age, some
families believe that vaccinations do not work, and thus do not take them. The harm from this comes
when they push this belief upon their children and relatives, causing deaths that could have been easily
avoided. In one such case, an “Unvaccinated Boy, 6, Nearly Dies of Tetanus, but Parents Still Refuse to
Get Him Vaccinated”(Mazziota 1), where these parents refused to vaccinate their child at first, resulting in
him getting an easily preventable disease, and then after nearly dying, the parents still push the familial
beliefs and refuse to get him vaccinated.
Familial beliefs, as can be expected, have a large impact on home life, and a family’s lifestyle.
Different families have different familial beliefs, but there are a few that have harmful beliefs. Some
families, like the Capulets from “Romeo and Juliet” discriminate by gender, and this results in cases like
that of Juliet, where she is being forced to marry someone, “I will not marry yet, and, when I do, I swear
It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, Rather than Paris.”(p.165) This is because some familial
beliefs put women at a lower status than men, and this is an issue with all familial beliefs that put one sort
of person above another. Not only does this result in unhappy families and love lives, but this also results
in abuse and domestic violence in families. In some cases, these familial beliefs may also carry on to the
children, wherein these outdated and barbaric familial beliefs enable child abuse and mistreatment.
Familial beliefs may also cause harm to others outside the family, although perhaps not directly.
Many types of familial beliefs may affect outsiders, and some may affect other people positively, such as
a familial belief that you should be kind, but there are also those that harm outsiders. These types of
familial beliefs range from racism to family feuds and violent teachings at home. A good example of this
is shown in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, where, as a result of the family feud, Mercutio, a family
friend, challenges a family member to a duel, “Will you pluck your sword out of his pilcher by the ears?
Make haste, lest mine be about your ears ere it be out.”(p.121). This duel soon results in Mercutio’s death,
which is, of course, an extreme example, although adequate. These sorts of familial beliefs usually result
in the harming of a person or more, and only really become more harmful as older members of the family
force it upon the new ones, who will carry on the belief of racism or prejudice.
Familial beliefs may be harmless at times, or even beneficial, but oftentimes, when left to spread
across generations, they become harmful, either because they are now out of date, or because they have
become twisted by the times. Everything must change with time, and familial beliefs are no exception.
Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is a great example of what can happen when familial beliefs are left to
fester, it results in violence, domestic unrest, and misogyny, which are only a few effects of which
harmful familial beliefs may result in.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet from The Folger Shakespeare. Ed. Barbara
Mowat, Paul Werstine, Michael Poston, and Rebecca Niles. Folger Shakespeare
Library, [June 1, 2023]. https://folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/romeo-and-juliet/
Mazziotta, Julie. “Unvaccinated Boy, 6, Nearly Dies of Tetanus but Parents Still Refuse
to Get Him Vaccinated.” Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2019,
people.com/health/unvaccinated-boy-nearly-dies-tetanus/#:~:text=A%206%2Dyear%2D
old%2C,playing%20on%20his%20family’s%20farm.
Barni, Daniela, et al. “Gender Prejudice within the Family: The Relation between
Parents’ Sexism and Their Socialization Values.” Frontiers, 20 Jan. 2022,
www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.846016/full.
“Readers React: White Racism Gets Passed down through Generations. It’s up to
Individuals to Stop That.” Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2019,
www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-ol-le-racism-whites-green-book-20190305-stor
y.html.