West Side Story

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Act I, Scenes 1-2

Reading Check

1. What does Anybodys want?

2. Who started the Jets?

3. Where does Riff live?

4. What literary device does the song “Something’s Coming” use?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Lieutenant Schrank tell the Jets to “make nice with them PRs”?

2. What is the message of the “Jet Song”?

3. How does Tony feel about the Jets?

Paired Resources

“The West Side's Story”

• Photos and explanatory captions provide a brief history of the neighborhood featured in West Side Story, from its settlement to the construction of the Lincoln Center, held by the Museum of the City of New York.
• Why are gang wars fought over territory?

“How Choreographer Justin Peck Helped Reimagine West Side Story for the 21st Century”

• Article that discusses changes to the original 1961 film’s choreography
• How do song and dance advance the story in a musical?

Act I, Scenes 3-5

Reading Check

1. What does Maria’s white dress symbolize?

2. Why did Bernardo bring his sister to America?

3. Who’s the “square”?

4. What do Riff and Bernardo agree to at the dance?

5. Where do Tony and Maria meet after the dance?

6. What is the message of the song “America”?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Maria feel it’s important for her to have a good time at the dance?

2. What is the point of the “two circles” dance, and how does it work out?

3. What happens when Tony and Maria see each other?

4. What does the song “Tonight” establish?

5. What does it signify when Bernardo calls Tony a “Polack” and Anita responds with “says the Spic”?

Paired Resource

“Romeo and Juliet, Full Scene Modern English, Act 2, Scene 2”

• The balcony scene translated into modern English
• Compare West Side Story's fire escape scene to Romeo and Juliet's balcony scene. What are some of the striking similarities and differences?

Act I, Scenes 6-9

Reading Check

1. What is Baby John doing before the War Council begins?

2. What is the purpose of the War Council?

3. What does the song “One Hand, One Heart” represent?

4. What is true for all the characters singing the “Tonight” medley?

5. What does Tony yell when he realizes both Bernardo and Riff are dead?

6. Who stays at the scene of the rumble to help Tony as the police approach?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What word does Doc say that angers Action?

2. What does Tony propose instead of fighting with weapons?

3. What is Schrank’s attitude toward the Sharks and the Jets?

4. Why do the Sharks rumble, according to Anita?

5. What does Maria insist that Tony do?

6. Who pulls a knife first at the rumble?

Act II, Scenes 1-2

Reading Check

1. What does Chino tell Maria?

2. Who tells the Jets that Chino is going after Tony?

Short Answer

1. Why is Maria so excited at the bridal shop?

2. Why does Tony go to Maria after killing her brother?

Paired Resources

“When Gangs Were White: Race, Rights, and Youth Crime in New York City, 1954–1964”

• Readable law journal article about the consternation of the authorities and public over violent white gang members in the 1950s and the efforts to unravel the root cause of their behavior (tie-in with “Officer Krupke” lyrics). This article contrasts the far less sympathetic response to similar violent behavior by Black gang members in the 1960s.
• In West Side Story, which gang is portrayed more sympathetically? Discuss how group identification affects attitudes toward violent behavior, tying in with the musical’s theme of Immigration, Xenophobia, and American National Identity.

Act II, Scenes 3-6

Reading Check

1. What does the “savage dance” at Doc’s symbolize?

2. Who carries Tony’s body away?

Short Answer

1. What do Maria and Anita agree about in “A Boy Like That/I Have a Love”?

2. Why does Maria ask Anita to go to Doc’s?

3. What message does Anita deliver?

4. How does Tony react when he finds out Chino shot Maria?

Recommended Next Reads 

When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago

• Memoir of the culture clashes a Puerto Rican girl experiences when her mother moves the family from their rural tropical island home to the New York barrio
• Shared themes include Immigration, Xenophobia, and American National Identity.
• When I was Puerto Rican on SuperSummary

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

• Two teens with cancer develop a friendship that flowers into love despite their terminal illnesses’ physical and emotional complications.
• Shared themes include Youth and Adulthood.
• The Fault in Our Stars on SuperSummary