killed by a rival gang member. The introduction to each character is drastically different too. Romeo is introduced to readers in a very depressed mood, yet Tony seems to be on top of the world. He is expecting great things to happen. Meeting Maria is essentially a fulfillment of those feelings. Romeo, on the other hand, meets Juliet, and that further deepens audience impression that Romeo is a possible Petrarchan lover that is more in love with the idea of love than anything else.

Romeo is far moodier and less of an ideal beau than Tony in West Side Story. At the beginning of the play, when Romeo comes upon the aftermath of the fight between the servants of the Capulet and Montague families, he asks briefly what happened and then says he doesn't want to know. He then proceeds to utter a number of oxymorons, or statements that contain contradictions, such as "O brawling love! O loving hate!" Still mooning over Rosaline, who does not return his love, Romeo is not the ideal boyfriend, but instead is moody and confused.

Romeo is also a more demanding boyfriend than Tony. Romeo overhears Juliet speaking about him at the beginning of the balcony scene in act 2, scene 2, and he embarrasses her by speaking. In West Side Story, Tony calls for Maria during the balcony scene on her fire escape, and he does not embarrass her. Later in the scene, Romeo asks Juliet "O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?" when she threatens to withdraw. However, Tony is far less demanding and sweeter than Romeo. He doesn't embarrass Maria or make demands of her. Instead, he is an ideal boyfriend and does not press Maria to reveal her innermost thoughts.

I think that the most striking similarity would be to analyze how both Romeo and Tony react to seeing the object of their infatuation.  When Romeo first sees Juliet, he describes her in a manner that captures a moment in time, and what pure beauty resembles:

He [Romeo] compares her [Juliet] beauty to the brightness of torches, a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear, and a snowy dove.

This is similar to how Tony describes his vision of Maria in the song, "Maria:"

The most beautiful sound I ever heard:
Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria . . .
All the beautiful sounds of the world in a single word...Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria . . .

In both descriptions, the beauty of Juliet and Maria are brought out in full detail, and to the extent that whatever injustices might exist in the world are rectified with the presence of this "other."  It is here where I think that some differences might exist.  When Romeo encounters Juliet, his love for her is prefaced by a melancholy over his failures with Rosaline.  Juliet becomes a great "rebound" for Rosaline.  Yet, for Tony, his feelings of melancholy do not arise from a failed love, but rather from a lack of direction.  Tony finds himself adrift of wondering where his direction in life is to be.  No longer with the Jets, working at Pop's store, and wondering if "Something's Coming," the preface to his seeing Maria is not a failure in love like Romeo, but rather a sincere questioning of identity and place in the world.  For both young men, the frustration of consciousness is replaced with love inspired by stunning beauty.

Some similarities between West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet include:  both include "weddings," despite characters knowing each other for a very short amount of time; relationship is forbidden; there are ongoing street fights; there is a dance/feast and there is someone trying to keep peace between the two groups.  Some differences include:  family feud v. gang feud;there are no parents involved and there is no religious personnel involved.  It is interesting to watch WSS a few times, as I see subtle differences/similarities each time I see it.

As has been said above, West Side Story was written as a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. With that being the intention, every effort was made to create characters that were as parallel as possible to those in the original work, given that adjustments were necessary to move the story from one period of time to another. Romeo and Tony were both head-strong young men, unafraid to break with upbringing and convention in order to pursue the forbidden "love" offered by Juliet and Maria.

Both Tony and Romeo tried to keep their love a secret from their family/gang. Also, both killed a member of their beloved's family. There is also, obviously an homage to Romeo and Juliet in the fire escape scene, which evokes the famous balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet. 

I think that you have a very strong topic with which to work.  There are three things I would keep in mind in writing the compare and contrast of Tony and Romeo.

1)  I think you need to identify where there are similar comparisons between both characters- I would not summarize the plot or rehash the story here.  Rather, I would focus on several things:

A)  How are their situations similar?  Examine their friendships, their associations, their feelings/ emotions, what they want, what they want to avoid.  Essentially, prior to their love interests, where are both of them in life? As they fall in love, how are their experiences similar?  What conflict must both of them face and how do they resolve it?  How do both feel after the resolution of this conflict?  How do both die?   Generally, in what do both believe?  How is that similar? In restating these questions as answers from the text, I think you have drawn some very strong connections between Tony and Romeo.

B)  How are the characters different?  I think you can approach this in a very obvious way.  Is the manner in which both of them speak similar?  How do both communicate their feelings to the audience?  Are the settings similar?  What are their "weapons of choice"?  What might be different in the way both of them die?

C)  The last point I would make is that any good compare/ contrast paper must include evidence.  This means that when you make your points on similarities or differences, do not forget to use lines from the texts to support your point of view.  For example. if you are talking about the difference in how Tony and Romeo communicate their feelings, don't be afraid to go back to each text and show the differences in communication.  If you are talking about how their friendships are similar, do not hesitate to identify with whom Romeo is friends and who Tony befriends.  Evidence from the text is the best way to prove a comparison and contrast in a valid manner.