Here Shakespeare is appealing to the Christian audience because he is portraying Shylock as a stereotypical Jew concerned only with money he is willing to lend Antonio money despite all the mean things that Antonio has done to him in the past He says “You called me a misbeliever a cut throat dog and spat on my Jewish gabardine” The audience would think this is amusing. A modern audience however thinks this is sad and mean and feel sorry for him. Shylock’s beliefs should not get him mistreated. Shylock is Jewish and most people around him are Christians this means that he gets abused. Antonio also leads money “gratis” so Shylock’s business suffers as a result.
Bassanio assures Shylock that Antonio will guarantee the loan, but Shylock is doubtful because Antonio's wealth ... ... middle of paper ... ...of this abuse, he is bitter and anxious to avenge himself for past wrongs, real or imagined. In contrast, Antonio is a wealthy merchant, rich and well known in Venice. He seems to be a loyal friend to Bassanio for whom he is willing to go against his principles and borrow money from a moneylender. But there is a darker side to him; he has racially abused the Jews simply because he can and his anti-Semitism makes him appear a bully who is willing to be led by the law, whether or not it is a bad law, rather than by his religion which preaches love thy neighbour. Bassanio is a bit of a 'good time guy' who has wasted his own money and is prepared to marry a rich heiress for her fortune.
This may be true, but there still seems no justification in killing a man for not paying back a debt. Shylock has gone too far in trying to avenge his servant, his daughter, his money and his dignity, so by the end of Act 4 more incomprehension than sympathy is felt towards Shylock. However, Shakespeare has created a character for whom the reader/viewer's feelings swing from one extreme to the other throughout the play, but whose actions nearly always have some justification, however questionable it may be. You cannot help but wonder if things might have been different for Shylock and Antonio in a predominantly Jewish city.
Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice Shylock has been very badly treated by certain Christians and he yearns for revenge. He goes too far when he seeks the life of his main persecutor, but he is essentially, an intelligent, dignified man who can no longer bear to be humiliated. Long before Shylock plotted against him, Antonio seemed to take a pride in spurning Shylock, treating him in public with rudeness and contempt. This type of behaviour appears to contradict with the rest of his character. You would imagine that such a man would instinctively shrink from insulting anybody so grossly, but Antonio seems proud of it and tells Shylock that he will probably abuse him again, 'spit on him again and spurn him, too'.
Shylock also showed how mercenary he was as when his daughter ran off, and he seemed to be more worried about his money than his daughter. However, Shylock might have been a flawed character, but did not deserve the punishment he received from Antonio. All in all, Shylock was very revengeful and sadistic but this was due to the treatment by Antonio and the other Christians but he has no excuse for being mercenary and putting his money before his daughter.
Launcelot thinks to himself, "Certainly the Jew is the very devil incarnation" (2.2.24). Eventually, he decides to run away from Shylock rather than continue working for a Jew. He then presents the argument, "I am a Jew if I serve the Jew any longer" (2.2.104) to his father. Before accepting the new job, Antonio discusses the matter with his father and reminds himself that Bassanio is much poorer than Shylock, but that he would much rather work for a Christian than a Jew. Lorenzo harshly insults Shylock when he tells Jessica that if her father ever makes it to heaven, it is only because Jessica converted to Christianity and that is portrayed through the line, "If e’er the Jew her father come to heaven, It will be for his gentle daughter’s sake" (2.4.36-7).
While Kastner portrays a good-natured journalist on the surface, he is highly controversial in the Jewish community based on his bias towards Jews that could afford to pay him the large sums of money for their freedom. His inability to think of others prior to himself adds to his repertoire of poor personality traits and greedy decisions. Rudolf Kastner exemplifies all of the characteristics of an insufficient leader due to his selfish tendencies, lack of concern for others, and arrogant personality. In 1906,
In the poem My Brother’s Voice Unsettles Me, the speaker has a conflict with her mother because her mother does not want her seeing another man of the village. This is clear when the speaker states that “[her brother] lives near [her] mother’s house but [she] cannot go to him.” The speaker cannot go to be with her brother because her mother has ordered her to stop seeing this man. The speaker agrees with her mother because her brother “may be crazy,” but she also states that she is crazy and that she longs to hold him. The speaker is at conflict with her mother because she loves a man, but her mother does not approve, and her mother also has good reason for not approving the relationship. The love that the speaker has for her brother is clearly causing a conflict between her mother and her.
Shylock’s misfortunes stem not from poor attributes or even a poor background; it stems from the fact he is Jewish, and what is more, he is impenitent of that distinction. If he had been more daunted by Christian influence, he might have been forgiven, as Jessica is subjectively exonerated. He is not contrite and it is believed that his appalling birth cannot be absolved (Bonnell). All of the characters are defined through Shylock. Launcelot Gobbo, Shylock’s servant, treats his father disrespectfully, but this disdain is not ill-received by the audience; like the other examples of inequity, Launcelot’s apathetic attitude toward his near-blind father is inexplicably tolerated by past and contemporary society (Picker).
Christians were resentful towards Jews as they were very successful with their businesses. Christians were prejudice because they didn’t want Jews to become wealthier in a Christian country. Therefore Jews had to live in enclosed and segregated areas called ghettos. This shows Shylock being victimised in the play, as all Jews were back in the sixteenth century Shylock first takes to the stage in Act I Scene iii. This scene shows Bassanio seeking Shylock in order for him to ask to borrow money in the name of Antonio.