The underdevelopment of teenage brains gives teenagers an extreme level of impulsivity and immaturity. Romeo and Juliet is a perfect example of a story in which the idiosyncrasies of the teenage brain create plot conflicts in Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy by William Shakespeare, the main characters, Romeo and Juliet, tend to make very impulsive decisions. Throughout the play, Romeo and Juliet make decisions that are clearly damaging and not well considered. Romeo and Juliet make these decisions because of their teenage impulsivity as teenagers’ decisions-making skills are not fully developed yet. In addition, teenage brains have difficulties in processing emotions.
By studying their behaviors, future similar teenage tragedies can be prevented. Many of Romeo and Juliet’s actions can be attributed to hormones in their developing brain, which led them to emotional and impulsive behaviors. For example, Romeo quickly changed interests from Rosaline to Juliet. One moment he was focused on Rosaline and the next on Juliet. This shows that Romeo could not control his impulses.
The article, “Beautiful Brains” addresses studies and findings on how the development of the teenage brain correlates with impulsive behavior in teenagers stating, “We all like new and exciting things, but we never value them more highly than we do during adolescence. Here we hit a high in what behavioral scientists call sensation seeking: the hunt for the
One of the most famous plays in history, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, helps portray the idea that the impulsiveness of youth can have dire consequences. Romeo is probably the most impulsive character in the story. He fell in love with a woman named Rosaline (Shakespeare 813) who was a nun. The issue there is clear, but Romeo was still young and was blinded from seeing the obvious: that their love will never be. Maybe if Romeo had been older than 17, he wouldn’t have continually sobbed about a girl that would never be his.
At age 12, it is evident that the prefrontal cortex is severely underdeveloped which causes impairment in the decision-making skills and regulation skills (Scott & Grisso, 2004). In fact, the prefrontal cortex is responsible to elicit appropriate responses. These girls made a decision to murder the victim because they wanted to be with ‘Slender Man’. Research has indicated that youth are deemed neurologically immature due to their unstable brains during early to mid-adolescence (Scott & Grisso, 2004). Although they have planned different ways to kill the victim, these girls did not think about the possible consequences that their heinous actions would cost them.
First, Romeo acts on how he’s feeling at that moment. Then, Juliet is so self-conscious that she threatens to kill herself over a guy she barely knows and just met. Finally, they both take an irrational risk by going behind their parents backing by getting married, knowing the consequences. Adolescent brain development is explaining the way adolescents brains work and develop, “Romeo and Juliet” is just an example of how adolescent brain works and some of the things that it may
Conformity and reserved behavior was the norm in that time period. However the film goes a bit further to show the transition out of that period, and how teenagers became more adventurous and expressive. This issue of rebellious teenagers taking more freedom relates to the current events issue of teenagers and their freedom on the internet. In the film, because of the freedom and lack of supervision, some characters make stupid decisions that could potentially hurt them. For example, Rizzo has a pregnancy scare, and her friend Frenchie drops out of high school.
The undeveloped brain mainly uses the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for instinctual responses. In the play Romeo and Juliet get married after a day of knowing each other. Also when Romeo thought Juliet had died his first thought was that he should die with his love. This goes to show that teens
By making this plan he not only put Romeo and Juliet in danger but he also put himself in danger as well. In 4.1.55 Friar was too loyal when she threatened to kill herself because he came up with a plan. We can tell he was too loyal because he felt obligated to do something about her marrying Paris. He could've just gave her some advice and went along his day like he usually does, but he had to get involved which was not be right decision. All of this shows us that the theme of Being too loyal could come back to hurt you in the end.
Impulsiveness. As defined by Webster’s Dictionary, to be impulsive is to act or do something without forethought. In our society today, we see reckless teenagers and ignorant adults being impulsive, causing their lives to fall apart by making the wrong decisions. In the play Romeo and Juliet, we see how our main character, Romeo, has the tragic flaw of impulsiveness and ultimately causes the final tragedy of the play. His decisions guide him down a heedless path and we see how it affects the other characters in the book as well.
Age and gender are both individual characteristic that are considered strong risk factors. Young males are typically known to be at greater risk of substance use (name, date). That fact, however, may be changing as recent studies conducted show that girls are beginning to catch up and are becoming more likely to binge drink and use illicit drugs (name, date). Gender not only affects the risk of substance use but also how likely individuals are to receive help afterwards. Females are less likely to seek treatment than men and several factors may be contributing to this phenomenon, including stigma – as substance abuse problems are more socially acceptable by males – and family obligations (name, date).
In the article “The Teenage Brain”, Dr. Beatriz Luna says, “...the adolescent brain specifically evolved to respond to rewards so teens would leave behind the provided protection by their parents and start exploring their environment…” This quote means that a teenage brain has evolved to rebel against adults so that the adolescent can be prepared for the real world. In Lord of the Flies, the boys are thrown into the real world and forced to survive prematurely. Without adults they rebel against the only thing they can, the moral rules the adults set up for them. As you can see, while environment has a significant role in our behavior, the majority of our callousness comes from the way our brains work.
The only difference is that teens are more vulnerable, weaker, and less likely to defend themselves not because they do not want to but because they will eventually be overpowered. Why charge kids as adults? Kids are kids and they make bad decisions but so does everyone else. Mistakes should not be punished with an adult charge when there are thousands of programs to help teens make better choices. In conclusion, teens are not adults and should not be treated as such if they are not allowed to do the same legal things that an adult
"…When confronted with stressful or emotional decisions, [teenagers] are more likely to act impulsively, on instinct, without fully understanding or analyzing the consequences of their actions" (Dr. David Fassler). Teenagers, past and present, are known for making spontaneous and sometimes senseless decisions. Romeo from the play “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare is no different. Romeo is a teenager who makes numerous impulsive decisions that have disastrous consequences.
The article “Inside the Teen Brain: by Marty Wolner, states that research shows why Teens act like they do. During teen years the brain is under heavy construction and are dysfunctional. Teens brain is not capable of processing info that is necessary to make responsible decisions. That's why parents become exhausted and frustrated. Teen years can be creative and emotional.