The Novel End of Summer - Book Report/Review Example

End of summer End of Summer The novel is a narration of two teenagers, Imelda, and Rogelio, who fall in love at a tender age and fight for it until the demise of Rogelio. Throughout the story, the reader gets the impression that it is structured in the style that Shakespeare structured the novel, Romeo, and Juliet. The novel by Eric Moberg has a vast array of similarities with William Shakespeare’s story, and this is clearly evident in the lives of Imelda and Rogelio. Although there are significant contrasts in the two books, it remains true that they are modeled on the same structural designs. It can be argued that Shakespeare’s work was a foundation stone for many other books, including the end of summer. The book, ‘End of Summer’ borrows much of its storyline from Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The play of Romeo and Juliet is widely watched and read over overlapping generations. Even those who have not watched it have probably watched another play modeled after William Shakespeare’s archetype. The tale is a timeless narration of two people who fall in love at first sight and go against the world in their fight to strengthen their love. It is bound by the open defiance of the wishes of their parents and elders, something that is characteristic of modern relationships. The teenagers believed that they knew what was best for themselves and could take charge of their love life without third party interventions. Although modern times have changed the way people act and even dress, the issues that Shakespeare tackles in the novel are still prevalent in modern relationships, especially where young people are involved. Both plays, despite the generational differences in which they were scripted, tackle similar issues in teenage relationships. They are both vivid narrations of ‘what was’ and ‘what will be’. In fact, both are both partial projections of what to expect in modern relationships. Throughout both stories, two young people go extra miles in keeping their love afloat. The challenges that the couples face are almost identical in both books and the reactions are somewhat similar. Another significant similarity is the fact that both stories are based on love at first sight in which the attraction between two people of the opposite sex fall for each other. A striking difference is that Rogelio and Imelda, unlike Romeo and Juliet, do not come from harsh families. What this means is that their love is not restricted, and they can express it in the way that they deem fit. This particular difference is one of the signals showing that the modern times have changed and that young people are now allowed to make far-reaching decisions on their own. Regardless of this difference, both stories are based on the same archetype in that they begin with two young people looking for love. Although the primary affection portrayed in the two plays is between two people of opposite sex, the same is true for same-sex relationships in the modern day world. Eric, (2014) says that Imelda’s brother run away from home in an attempt to live a judgment-free lifestyle. The brother to Imelda is portrayed as a gay man who was tired of being judged for his ‘abnormal’ behaviors. In the two stories, both are willing to go as far as they possibly can for the happiness of their partners. The reason for this urge to fight for the happiness of the other person is most likely motivated by the parental issues that they both face. In effect, both couples in the two stories are keen on defying their parents’ wishes concerning their love life. The very many challenges that the two couples face is evidence that they are keen on making their relationships work. In many instances, they end up solving these challenges in ways that would amaze even the strongest of persons. In the play, End of Summer, the reader/viewer is not shown much about how Imelda and Rogelio met in the first place. However, it is quite evident that the two are on the very extreme poles of life in terms of their differences. In fact, it appears like the two cannot bond well in situations that are not life-threatening. Eric, (2014) depicts Rogelio as a cunning man because he spent the first night with Imelda when he had another girlfriend. Moreover, they go downtown together at night on their very first day of meeting. In this regard, they are portrayed as two young adolescents who rush things based on their emotions and desire for each other. The book draws parallels with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in the decisions that the two couples make regarding their love life. For example, after their first night, Imelda convinced Rogelio to help her go out to look for her brother in Santa Barbara, miles away from San Francisco. The brother had run away from them leaving her family clueless and worried. This scenario is quite similar to the balcony incident where Romeo and Juliet spent their night together. The similarity is further expounded by the risk that the two situations pose to the two couples. The passion they had for each other would not let them wait for the morning for them to go looking out for her brother. In fact, the book says that it is on this night that they began to explore intimacy. The two couples fail to talk to their parents about their relationships, opting to work things out without the blessings of their parents. Shakespeare, (2002) asserts that Romeo’s parents are ardent that he should leave Juliet and marry a girl of their choice; a suggestion that he openly objects. Imelda and Rogelio are a bit lucky because their parents have no issue with them marrying each other. However, they still fail to let them know of their brewing relationship and do things in their way. The haphazard way in which both Romeo and Juliet, and Imelda and Rogelio handle their relationship is not a case in isolation. The same thing happens in the contemporary modern world. In their search for Imelda’s brother, they came across a mature woman who had two children. One of the children, Martin, grew to like both Imelda and Rogelio so much that he asked his mother to invite them again during their train ride. The story of this woman is similar to the story of Romeo and Juliet because she had raised her child without the input of the father. In fact, the lady was so understanding of the two love bird’s predicament that she offered them a place to stay for the night. The story is unpredictable in the way it unfolds because while it portrays Rogelio as cunning in one instance, it shows him as selfless in the other. This was the same for Romeo, who died for his lover Juliet (Shakespeare, 2005). The next day, after spending the night at the lady’s house, Rogelio woke up at the crack of dawn and went in search of Imelda’s brother without the knowledge of the others. Rogelio was so keen on proving his love for Imelda that he ended up trying too hard. The fact that he woke up alone to go look for her brother is proof enough that he wanted Imelda to see that he loved her. In actual sense, however, Rogelio’s motivation was driven by the desire for self-gratification and to feel like a hero. Just like Romeo, Rogelio was also adamant that his love was only meant for one woman, Juliet, and Imelda respectively. In one instance while they were out looking for Imelda’s brother, Martin’s sister had professed her love to Rogelio. Rogelio was, however, quick enough to let her know that his love was only for Imelda’s offing. This scenario has similarities with the many scenes in which Romeo was also persuaded to consider his feelings toward Juliet, but he stuck with her throughout (Shakespeare, 2002). The mistakes that Rogelio made can be equated to the ones that Romeo made too. In one instance, he drove with flip flops, and they ended up making him cause an accident when they broke on him. This mistake was, however, suppressed when they ended up meeting another boy who had a medical condition. The story of Romeo and Juliet had similar mistakes but most of the time, the mistakes were paid for in one way or the other. Both books have particular relevance in today’s world, where young people end up making mistakes that they would have otherwise prevented, were it not for the rush decisions. During the time that Rogelio was out driving with the other people, Imelda was spent the time with martin’s mother. The knowledge that Rogelio was hurting in hospital after the accident made Imelda sorrowful. Amidst the trying ordeal, she became so close to martin’s mother that she told her life story. The story of martin’s mother was very much similar to that of Romeo and Juliet in that they both lost their first lovers at a young age. Juliet had lost Romeo at a time when their love was so strong, and Martin’s mother had also lost the father to her child. After the accident, Rogelio ended up hospitalized, and this was one of the trying times in their relationship. The book says that while in the hospital, they both could not stop thinking about each other. The accident caused both Imelda and Martin’s mother emotional pain because both of their loved ones were in the hospital. The love that Imelda had for Rogelio was similar to the one that Romeo and Juliet shared and not even hospitalization could bring it down. The resolve with which both couples fought to maintain their love is identical. Both stories are proof that we cannot always be at the top of situations in our lives. Imelda and Rogelio thought that they had their entire lives figured out just like Romeo and Juliet did. The scene at the hospital taught them a different script however because they realized the fragility of life. It was evident to them, more than ever, that their lives depended not on their wishes and goals alone but many other factors. The same is true for the story of Romeo and Juliet because it ended with death creeping up on them. Both stories are manifestations that life can take a sudden and instant change when least is expected. The story, End of Summer, ends with the death of Martin from the accident that Rogelio caused while driving. This was an unfortunate tragedy for martin’s mother who had also lost her lover some years ago. Perhaps this shows the cruelty of life because it does not share out tragedies equitably among many people. The whole day was filled with events that were different from the events in Romeo and Juliet. Emotionally, however, a lot of similar things happened to the two different couples. One of the major differences in the two plays is the fact that while Romeo and Juliet died, Rogelio and Imelda ended up alive. Within the last day, however, they all experienced the disappearance of their lovers. While Juliet witnessed the permanent departure of Romeo, Imelda was faced with the prospect of losing her lover when Rogelio left in the morning without telling her. Moreover, Rogelio had his love for Imelda questioned when martin’s sister made approaches to him. This was similar to when Romeo’s friends and family persuaded him not to marry Juliet. Both the challenges were however faced in the same way because both Romeo and Rogelio ended up fighting for their partner’s love. In the two books, both couples experienced the loss of people that they deeply loved. In the first book, Romeo and Juliet both died therefore losing each other. Moreover, they also lost many family members during their stay together. In the second book, Imelda and Rogelio lost Martin although they were not related by blood. The loss was similar to the one that Romeo and Juliet felt because they had created a close relationship with him within the limited time they knew each other. In the two scenarios, the two couples were faced with the challenges of having to lose the persons that they so much loved. The two books portray scenarios in which the couples faced challenges from family members. For example, when Rogelio was in the hospital, both families were against the idea of Imelda visiting her lover in his hospital bed. The book does not however state the reasons why the family objected Imelda’s visit to the hospital. It could be that they did not want her to get emotional and make Rogelio feel pitiful thereby aggravating the ailment. The same thing happened in the story of Romeo and Juliet because the family of Romeo did not want him to pursue his love for Juliet. It is surprising that despite these challenges, the couples still managed to fight the challenges off and maintain their love for each other. Although Imelda was kept away from seeing Rogelio, she did not care and waited for her chance to come. When it eventually did, she made her way into Rogelio’s room, and they were both happy to see each other. Moreover, Rogelio was still in love with Imelda, even though, his mother had told him not to talk to her. The book says that he hesitated not in talking with her when she eventually came into his room. In the first days of her school life, Imelda was involved in an altercation with a female who wanted to take Rogelio away from her. She was bold enough to fight for the love of Rogelio. In fact, in one class, she proudly announced to her teacher that Rogelio was her fiancé. This scene is resonant with the story of Romeo and Juliet because Juliet had always wanted to tell the whole world that Romeo was her man. However, that chance had not come for Juliet and was, therefore, unable to do it. The resolve with which both ladies protected their love from aggression is similar to how young people behave when they are in love with each other. The two books, Romeo and Juliet and The End of Summer portray the leading female actors as strong women who give their all to ensure that their dreams of maintain their love are met. Both Juliet and Imelda are very young at the time of their first love encounters, and this goes to show how strong women can be even at a tender age. Both women face experiences that are life changing at very young ages but still manage to come out victorious. In one instance, Imelda faces with rape at a tender age and manages to stab the man killing him instantly. The killing of the man shows how Imelda is wounded on the inside and perhaps explains her fighting spirit and her desire to keep her love for Rogelio afloat amidst all the challenges. In another instance in school, Imelda engaged in a fight with Consuelo and ended up abusing her orally. Imelda is reported as having told Consuelo: get out of my way, bison-bitch, so I can go to history class and learn about how the Cherokee hunted and skinned your ancestors to make teepees out of their stinky hides (Eric, 2014). That instance shows the anger that had built up in her heart over the years and was channeling it towards Consuelo. She went ahead to bash Consuelo in front of the whole school. In the end, the books are different because while Romeo and Juliet chose their own path, Imelda and Rogelio had their paths defined by fate. The story of Romeo and Juliet also ended up sadly because it resulted in death. This was not the same for Imelda and Rogelio, who lived past the story of their love life. However, there are parallels to be drawn because, even they lost someone they both loved. More sad, perhaps is the fact that Martin died because of the mistake of Rogelio. As sorrowful as it might be, Rogelio cannot be blamed for the death of Martin because he just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. The two books are filled with many similar incidents facing the two sets of couples. The manner in which the events unfold is also surprisingly similar leading to an assumption that they borrow their theories from each other. Nevertheless, there are also countless differences in the two books as shown in this essay. However, much of the differences enhance the very notion that they are meant to dissuade. The differences are more of similarities in the archetype structure they are modeled in than they are differences. For example, the fact that Juliet and Romeo ended up facing death and Imelda and Rogelio survived does not necessarily show differences in the two books. This is because, even though, neither Imelda nor Rogelio died, they all lost someone they dearly loved in Martin. Moreover, the challenges that they faced are ideally similar both in context and the approach they bused in solving them. Despite the generational differences in which the two books were written, they still strike the same chord in terms of their storyline. The fact that William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was written ages ago can only mean that it laid the foundation for the work of Eric Moberg. While this may be logically correct, it cannot just be assumed that the second book was structured based on the first book. The reality of life can explain this disparity because the circumstances back then were the same as they are today. References Eric, M. M. (2014), End of summer, Academy Press Group. Shakespeare, W. (2002). Romeo & Juliet. Hauppauge, N.Y: Barrons. Shakespeare, W. (2005). Four great tragedies: Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, and Romeo and Juliet. Read More