Cody's Depiction Of Death In Romeo And Juliet

Diablo Cody's screenplay Juno depicts death in a much different way than William Shakespeare's play Romeo & Juliet. Both Juno and Romeo & Juliet incorporates the theme of death. However, they depict it in two very different ways. In Romeo & Juliet, death is depicted in the conventional sense and is met with drama from the characters. On the other hand, Juno depicts death as a much more metaphorical event and is met with a lighthearted, comical atmosphere. Compared to the borderline boring depiction of death within Romeo & Juliet, Juno gives us a much more sophisticated and well-used depiction of death.
Depiction of Death in Juno (metaphorical and lighthearted) Through the use of Juno's script, Cody depicts death in more than the literal sense of the word; as well as giving death a comedic overtone. Firstly when narrating her relationship with her mother,
The "death" in this situation isn't that of literal death but of a figurative death as a parent. Both divorce and death involving someone very important being cut out of someone else's life; abandoning them in one way or another. It is also safe to assume that Juno's mother is "dead to her" due to her describing her mother's new children as "replacement kids" and her "cactus-grams" having a sting "worse than [her] abandonment", therefore furthering the metaphor of death in Juno's life. Secondly, when being seated at the abortion clinic, Juno is a witness to the cacophony of fingernails surrounding her: "Then she looks over and notices the [fingernails] of a nearby teen, who looks as nervous as she does... Suddenly, she sees fingernails [everywhere]."(Cody 20) The purpose of an abortion clinic is to extract the unborn fetuses of soon to be mothers who do not wish to give birth. The extraction causes the fetus to die. Most people who