William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
The merchant of Venice was written by Willliam Shakespeare. It is a
play in which Shakespeare creates a range of emotions for his audience
to experience, through one of the characters Shylock.
The play is about Antonio, who is a Christian and Shylock, who is a
Jew. Shylock is overconfident and a careful money lender and Antonio
is the owner of the ships, which is where he gets his income. When
Antonio is short of money he goes to Shylock to borrow some until his
ships come in. As a result of Shylock being a Jew he suffers
enormously, by being discriminated against by Antonio, which is why
Shylock wants to get revenge. He does this by making a bond with
Antonio, in which he gets to cut off a pound of flesh from his body,
if he fails to pay him back.
At the beginning of the play Shakespeare portrays Shylock as a careful
businessman, by constantly repeating himself and taking his time, when
making decisions concerning business. However, he has one fatal flaw –
when dealing with business he lets too many of his feeling and
emotions show, by letting abhorrence rule his bond with Antonio. An
example of this is:
“If I can catch him once upon the hip,
I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.”
From this quotation Shakespeare also shows how much Shylock detests
Antonio, as a result of being discriminated against. This is exactly
the reason why Shylock made the bond with Antonio, knowing that he
possibly might not pay him back in time, which is when he could get
his vengeance. This creates a whole range of emotions for the audience
to experience, depending on their views of S...
... middle of paper ...
... is
when I began to commiserate with him.
My overall opinion of Shylock is very varied, and I felt that he had
been the most victimized character in the play. I thought all the
Christians in the play had played a significant part in the downfall
of Shylock. I felt that he often appeared to paint himself as a cruel
and evil character. Occasionally he had his human moments, which was
the overall highlight of his character. I felt it was extremely
arduous not to feel pity for him. He was such a poignant character. I
think in Shakespeare’s time there would be entirely different view
towards Shylock, as the result of the majority of the public having
some kind of prejudice against Jews. The audience’s reaction towards
Shylock and the way he was treated would be more subdued and they
would find it much more acceptable.
When Antonio first became homeless, an older man tried to steal one of his belongings, which was a simple hot plate. His first instinct was to attack the man and take back his property. While doing so, Antonio thought, “We have almost nothing, and this man wants to take it from us” (43). In addition, he mentions how, “It felt good to hit this man… For a moment, he felt strong and free; fury was a much better drug than self-pity.” (43). When Antonio discusses about the old man and his crimes, he may be alluding to Longoria and what he did to Antonio’s family. The man who tried to take away part of Antonio’s possessions is referring to Longoria and how he took away Antonio’s family. The act of beating the old man refers Antonio’s eventual act of revenge against Longoria and the satisfaction he experiences afterwards. Both acts demonstrate Antonio’s willingness to sacrifice and harm other in certain scenarios where it is necessary. The significant difference between Longoria and Antonio is the intention behind their actions. Longoria killed hundreds in cold blood for his own selfish desires and beliefs, while Antonio only harmed a total of two people to get revenge and to enforce justice in the only way he could. As mentioned before, Longoria’s actions are evil because he commits them for selfish reasons and without remorse. In contrast, Antonio’s actions are seen as necessary evils. A necessary evil is defined as an act of evil (as perceived by society) that is committed in a certain scenario where it follows a utilitarian approach; an approach in which the action does more good than harm. When Antonio beat up the old man, he was merely protecting his belongings and enforcing the law. More importantly, when Antonio killed Longoria, it was for his wife, his son, and the hundreds of other innocent lives that Longoria had claimed; Antonio did an act of
To Antonio, the Golden Carp provides its own brand of wisdom, comfort and moral guidance therefore it served Antonio as another milestone on finding himself. “This is what he had expected God to do at his first holy communion.” (Chapter 11, 114) Once Antonio finds the animal he explains about it. Antonio and the carp seemed to have a connection, but the Golden Carp saw him just as a friend. Antonio starts to visualize the beauty and understanding this Golden Carp was starting to become something meaningful to him at the same time it was bringing him closer to God and himself. Also, just like God the sea creature “vent (the people) a prophecy.” (Chapter 11 , 118) In other words, if the people would somehow have had disobeyed the carp then they would be punished. If the people of the city did not follow the prophecy than they would be swallowed up because of all their sins. To conclude Antonio’s Golden Carp symbolized to him as God, for this reason is why Antonio questions his religion. It played an important role in Antonio’s role shaping thus getting closer to all his
...is trying to mentor him so he can grow up to be what he wants. Antonio is smart and often appears to be more mature then his friends of the same age. Antonio is caught between the world of innocence that he has grown up in thus far, and the world of maturity hat is beginning to wind its way into his life. He is beginning to understand that growing up means losing some of that that innocence, and to question what was once just accepted. Even his once concrete notion of the Catholic faith was changed forever when he was introduced to a new religion in the form of the Golden Carp. All of these elements lead to the timeless tale of growing up and discovering one’s self. Antonio starts out his journey as a young boy, but all of his experiences and observations of the world around him along with the guidance of Ultima lead him to become a young man well beyond his years.
The next source of understanding for Antonio is the golden carp. When he first hears of the golden c...
Anaya uses extremely vivid imagery to show us that Antonio’s way of dealing with his conflicts is through his dreams were he settles the conflict between the Catholic God and the Golden Crap. “I held my bloodied hands out to touch [my brother’s foreheads],'; Antonio tries to save his brothers from hell because they had sinned at Rosies the “house of sinful women.'; With the words “Bloodied Hands,'; Anaya shows that Antonio is trying to sort out the conflict of Narciso’s death, while Narciso was trying to warn Ultima about Tenorio.
Through assisting her, he gains new experiences that contradict his traditional Christian teachings, which encourage him to be open-minded and bold as he challenges everything he believes. The Belly of the Whale demonstrates Antonio’s heroism by highlighting his courage to discover answers to his questions, even after he finds “only silence” (Anaya 233) at his first communion, as he realizes that he cannot find the peace in God that he had hoped for.
Duke of Venice: The official authority in Venice, the duke has great respect for Othello as a public and military servant. His primary role within the play is to reconcile Othello and Brabanzio in Act I, scene iii, and then to send Othello to Cyprus.
It is clear that the race of Othello is a factor in his downfall. A
say, “If I can catch once upon the hip I will feed fat the ancient
decapitated,force and exact precision were needed in order for it to be a success (Jonas L. Bulman). If the blade did not hit the exact spot on the neck it would become
In response to Sebastian’s question about whether his conscience would bother him after committing fratricide, Antonio replies, “Ay, sir, where lies that? If `twere a kibe / `Twould put me to my slipper…” meaning that if his conscience was a small sore on the heel of his foot (a kibe), it would drive him to wear comfortable shoes but it would certainly not disrupt his life or stop him from doing what he’s doing. This shows Antonio to be a cold-hearted man, one who is able to quiet that little voice inside his head and push it to the back of his brain and continue with his terrible acts. In the next thought, he says, “…but I feel not this deity in my bosom,” admitting he doesn’t feel the tug of a conscience in his heart.
The Merchant of Venice is a play set in a very male and Christian dominated society where other religions and women rights weren’t very well accepted by the community. However Portia, a rich woman who had previously been controlled by men, triumphs as she manipulates tricks and saves the lives of the men.
William Shakespeare attained literary immortality through his exposition of the many qualities of human nature in his works. One such work, The Merchant of Venice, revolves around the very human trait of deception. Fakes and frauds have been persistent throughout history, even to this day. Evidence of deception is all around us, whether it is in the products we purchase or the sales clerks' false smile as one debates the purchase of the illusory merchandise. We are engulfed by phonies, pretenders, and cheaters. Although most often associated with a heart of malice, imposture varies in its motives as much as it's practitioners, demonstrated in The Merchant of Venice by the obdurate characters of Shylock and Portia.
Characters and Relationships in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare The characters Antonio, the merchant of Venice, and Bassanio, his friend who lives beyond his means, have already been introduced by Shakespeare in the first scene. Here Bassanio has asked his friend to lend him money so that he might woo the rich and beautiful Portia. Antonio has expressed his willingness to lend the money, but, as his. trading ships are all away at sea, he does not have funds readily.
His final works contain a certain resolve, despite a lack of reason. His inhuman nature persists and he fully intends to take a pound of Antonio’s flesh.