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Racism in West Side Story (1961)

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Racism in West Side Story (1961)

Introduction

West Side Story” is an American musical that premiered in September 1957 in New York (Negrón-Muntaner, 83). The musical was based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and it was written by Arthur Laurents and Jerome Robbins. The Musical featured teenage street gangs, The Jets and the Sharks. The musical is filled with perfectly choreographed dance sequences, and some of the songs they dance to include “Tonight” and Maria and “Somewhere (Negrón-Muntaner, 83).”  However, besides the outstanding performances, racism is evident throughout the play. Racism is highlighted because it shows the conception of the Whites on Puerto Ricans and their culture.

Chino and Bernardo

Chino is one of Bernardo’s closest friends, and he is highlighted as one of the loyal members of The Sharks. Chino is portrayed as unforgiving after his plan to revenge Bernardo’s death after he was killed by Tony (Negrón-Muntaner, 90). It was clear that only forgiveness could end the grudge between the two gangs, and Maria had forgiven Tony after explaining what had happened. Maria forgave Tony, although he had killed his brother, and this was a move that could end the rivalry between the two gangs. However, besides Maria’s decision Chino was searching for Tony so that he could kill him, and this showed how much he hated Tony. Bernardo is depicted as violent and racist based on his decision to kill Riff after a confrontation. Bernardo also did not approve his sister’s relationship with Tony because he was a member of the White Jets, and he was a White.  For instance, Bernardo broke them up when they were dancing, and he demanded Maria to go home, a clear indication of his hatred. Bernardo had picked Chino to be Maria’s boyfriend, a clear indication that he could trust a fellow immigrant with his sister (Negrón-Muntaner, 100).

One of the songs “The Sharks” performed America showed how they enjoyed life in the country. In the song, it is clear life in America is better and different compared to Puerto Rico. In the song, Anita highlights the various challenges experienced on the island, and she describes it as an ugly island, the island of diseases, and other natural calamities. The island owes debts, insecurity, hurricanes, and this showed the differences in life in these countries (Negrón-Muntaner, 102). The gang, however, does not have a lot of songs to sing, and this creates a negative impression on the audience. The Jets, on the other hand, have a lot of songs to perform, and the audience could relate with most of their songs. The audience also sees the characters as inferior based on the challenges they experience in their country because American life is so different.

The Jets fought with other gangs, but they appear to be more determined to stop the Sharks. The Jets fear the Sharks because they feel they have a lot of power, and the fact that their population was higher also frightened them. On the other hand, The Sharks are jealous because they are immigrants, and they cannot achieve what the Jets had achieved in America (Negrón-Muntaner, 105). The racial differences between the two groups are a clear indication of the racisms that existed in the country during this period. It is clear that they were facing a lot of racial discrimination, and they could not prosper in the country.

 

Conclusions

Racial discriminations are evident in the West Side Story, and this explains why the Jets hated the Puerto Rican immigrants. They feared them because their population was higher, and this showed their fear was attributed to the fact that they belonged to a different race. The Sharks are also hated because there are a lot of challenges in Puerto Rico compared to America. Bernard hates Tony, and he cannot allow him to love his sister, and he prefers his fellow Puerto Rican. Lastly, Chino makes sure he kills Tony after killing Bernard without even thinking about Bernard had killed Riff. Most of the characters decisions are based on hatred for the other characters, which is driven by racism.

 

 

References

Negrón-Muntaner, Frances. “Feeling Pretty: West Side Story and Puerto Rican Identity Discourses.” Social Text 18.2 (2000): 83-106.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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