West Side Story :: essays research papers

The movie takes place in the West Side of New York, in the late 1950s.The Jets are a teenage gang of American boys determined not only to check but to destroy the growth of Puerto Rican population and influence on their block. They are opposed by a Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks, lead by Bernardo.In the entirely dance sene, the members of the two rival gangs provoke each other. A fight breaks out between them, but its broken up by the arrival of two cops. After the police has got rid of the Puerto Ricans, Riff, the leader of the Jets, informs his gang that he will challenge Bernardo to a decisive rumble that darkness at a dance. The Jets are convinced of their invincibility, they sing the Jet song.Riff tries to talk his friend Tony into being his lieutenant for the challenge. Tony, who is the co-founder of the Jets, has been growing away from the gang and is instantaneously working at Docs, the neighborhoods drugstore. Tony reluctantly agrees to meet Riff at the dance and sings ab out his feelings the song he sings is cal conduct somethings comming i think.The Jets, led by Riff and Graziella, and the Sharks, led by Bernardo and his girl Anita, meet at the dance in the neighborhoood gym, where in choreography their violent hostility to each other is reflected when they dance at the gym.During the frantic dancing, Tony meets the lovely Maria. She is Bernardos sister who has just arrived from Puerto Rico to marry Chino. To both Tony and Maria, its love at first sight. But Bernardo stops them from dancing together and insists that Chino takes Maria home. subsequently the challenge is made for a war council to decide on weapons for the rumble. Meanwhile, Tony walks through the streets, thinking only of his new love, Maria . On a tenement rooftop, Bernardo, his female child Anita and their friends joyfully sing about the relative quality of life among Puerto Ricans in New York. At midnight, the Sharks boys go off to the war council, much to Anitas annoyance at Be rnardo.Meanwhile, Tony finds the building where Maria lives and he climbs up her fire escape to meet her. They sing of their lovetonight. They plan to meet in the bridal shop where Maria is sedulous the next day.At Docs drugstore, Riff and the Jets are warned by Krupke, a cop, no to cause any trouble on the block.