There are many themes of morality displayed in Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. One of the prevalent ideas Shakespeare presents in his play is how revenge and long-standing grudges result in destruction. This is illustrated by the Montagues and Capulets’ grudge against each other. The two families despise each other for years and their grudge against each other continues to play out during the events of Romeo and Juliet. Therefore, this results in many terrible events occurring such as the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt. Tybalt had challenged Romeo to duel, but Mercutio fought him instead. This duel was fuelled by Tybalt’s grudge against Romeo who had attended a Capulet party, despite being a Montague. After Tybalt killed Mercutio, Romeo seeks revenge and kills Tybalt in retaliation. The deaths of these two characters cause grievance for everyone as well as increase the animosity between the two families. Another example of this theme would be the love between Romeo and Juliet. Due to their families’ rivalry, they aren’t allowed to be together which makes them hide their relationship. After Romeo is banished, this causes Juliet to create a plan to run away with her lover but instead, the plan fails and results in the lovers’ deaths. Because of the long-standing grudge, anguish and destruction were cast upon everyone as they grieved for Romeo and Juliet. If any of the characters were to let go of their grudges, the numerous amounts of deaths could have been avoided. This theme can apply in a real-life situation as it teaches me to let go of the grudges I have against people as holding onto insignificant matters can lead to problems. Hatred can rise from grudges which can affect the relationship between friends, family, and even strangers. Additionally, it is a lesson to society as if people seek out revenge, it will continue the continuous history of grudges and lead to more destruction. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet teaches us that we should let go of our grudges in order to steer away from unnecessary and trivial conflict. 
 

The topic of racism is a prevalent issue within Canadian society. Racism is a serious problem that affects the minorities living in the country. Within Canada, many minority groups, especially the Asian community, are affected by racism. A major reason for this derives from the racism emerging due to the pandemic outbreak. Because the coronavirus originated in China, the stereotypical belief is that all people who are Chinese or who appear to look Chinese carry the virus and are at fault for the pandemic. This is a serious issue as these harmful stereotypes are inaccurate and many people in Canada are continuing to support and contribute to these damaging beliefs. As a result of these prejudiced beliefs, minorities are getting attacked which is the reason racism is a significant issue in Canada. Throughout the pandemic, there have been an extensive amount of hate crimes occurring in the United States; however, these acts of aggression are not limited there as they have also been transpiring in Canada. Thousands of Asians, including myself, have been attacked by Canadians who are supposed to be allies, not aggressors. From my experience, a man has chased me and my sister off a Skytrain with vicious threats to beat and harm us. These kinds of situations are inexcusable as a country like Canada should not be dealing with hostile acts like those. Furthermore, in that situation no one stepped up to aid us and instead disregarded the situation, choosing ignorance instead of justice. Regarding the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, my opinion of racism has become more knowledgeable and clearer. Racism is a complicated topic, but it does not mean to avoid it. Similar to my experience, Helen Robinson was harassed by Mr. Ewell due to the man’s vengeful motives that are fuelled by racism. Although these situations are less severe than the other intense crimes people have done against minorities such as beating, kicking, or murdering, it is still part of the issue. Mr. Ewell is the paradigm of a racist and uneducated citizen. There are many citizens in Canada like Mr. Ewell who chose to use their perceived superiority over minorities, but society continues to ignore these issues. Racism has been illustrated in To Kill a Mockingbird and has affected my view on it and although it is something that is impossible to completely erase, Canadians should strive in creating a better society to live in.