YadimarMarquez

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What Happens In Shakespeare
Comparing //What Happens In Vegas// the movie to the Shakespearean play //The Taming of the Shrew//.

The movie //What Happens In Vegas// and the Shakespearean play //The Taming of The Shrew// are very similar in multiple ways. One thing they both have in common is that they both have something to do with the hatred and intolerance of a couple turning into romance. Both stories teach a lesson about how disliking someone so much, but having to deal with them despite their differences can ultimately make the relationship of two people stronger and better.

In the play, one of the main characters, Petruchio is determined to make a woman named Katherina his wife no matter what it takes. Katherina however, does not want to marry him, or anyone for that matter. They eventually get married against Katherina's will and neither of them seem very happy together. After a long process of Petruchio attempting to "tame" Katherina, she falls in love with him and begins to value him more as her husband.

The movie, on the other hand, is about a young man named Jack and a young woman named Joy who get married in Vegas after a lot of partying and drinking, they get married unintentionally. After waking up with regrets the next morning, they both decide to go their separate ways, until, in the midst of an argument, Joy gives Jack a quarter in which he uses to put in a slot in the casino and wins a $3 million jackpot. They fight over who is entitled to the money, and take it to court back in their home town of New York, where they are ordered by a judge to remain married for 6 months and take marriage counseling. If they don't go through with the orders, the money will be tied up in litigation by the judge.

Both stories similarly are about couples who begin their relationship with plenty of animosity towards each other and end in both couples falling in love. However both stories also have many differences.

"I swear I’ll cuff you if you strike again." -Petruchio

(Act 2, Scene 1, 213)

Petruchio and Katherina's first time meeting didn't go too well. Both had a fairly bad attitude and there was a lot of speculation and an exchange of harsh words between the two. At first, Petruchio was trying to be a gentleman to Katherina in order to convince her to marry him, but after she smacked him, he stopped being so nice.



The first couple days of Jack and Joy's marriage were rocky and full of arguments and disagreements. Neither one of them liked the idea of having to deal with being married to each other. Similar to Petruchio and Katherina's relationship at the beginning, they weren't in love but they still had to deal with the drama that came along with their marriage. The only difference was that in the play, Petruchio had almost complete control over Katherina, which made the situation a little more serious than in the movie. Although Jack and Joy were married, they weren't so controlling over each other.

"Then tell me, if I get your daughter's love, what dowry shall I have with her to wife?" -Petruchio

"After my death, the one half of my lands and, in possession, twenty

thousand crowns." -Baptista (Katherina's father)

(Act 1, Scene 1, 112-115)

Before Petruchio and Katherina even meet, Katherina's father Baptista and Petruchio make a deal as shown in the quotes above. Similar but also very distinct from what happens in the movie....



In the screenshot shown from the beginning of the movie, Jack wins a $3 million jackpot. Similar to the play where Petruchio was only interested in what he could get out of the marriage, this photograph also shows that Jack was also a little "money hungry" in the marriage as well. Jack and Joy both want to get their hands on the money that was won in the casino, so in order to do this they act on their best behavior and try to tolerate eachother as much as possible until their "6 month sentencing" is over.

"Why, there's a wrench! Come on, and kiss me, Kate." -Petruchio (Act 5, Scene 2, 188)

Petruchio and Katherina finally fall in love.



So do Jack and Joy. =...And everyone lives happily ever after.=

In conclusion, both the play and the movie tell in perspective the way two people can be convinced to love each other and as I stated in the above paragraphs, how the intolerance of two people can ultimately be the driving force that allows them to understand, tolerate, and eventually love each other. At times, people have to see the ugly side of someone before they can love them. This is proved in both the play and the movie. Neither couple got along in the beginning, although there may have been few attempts from one party or the other to make things work. But in the end, it all worked out.