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Shylock: Villain or Victim
Shylock: Villain or Victim
Anti-semitism in the merchants of Venice
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Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice "Shylock is a two dimensional villain who does not deserve our
sympathy"
The above statement makes two main assumptions about Shylock. One is
that Shylock is a two-dimensional villain, a man who is a
stereotypical, one-sided man with no true motive for his actions. This
assumption also implies that Shylock is extremely superficial, an
supposition that we strongly disagree. The second assumption is that
Shylock does not deserve our sympathy as although he is not
superficial, what he has done has outweighed all senses of morality.
In this, we agree to a certain extent only.
Pertaining to the first assumption, Shylock is not a one-sided,
superficial villain but has actually two sides: one of a comic villain
that invokes our dislike, and the other as the helpless victim of the
Christians. Most of the time, Shakespeare portrays Shylock as cruel
and mean, the most striking example being Shylock's reaction after his
discovery of Jessica's eloping with an enemy and the theft of his
belongings. His seemingly pure hatred of his daughter can be seen from
`"I would my daughter were dead at my foot and the jewels in her ear!"
Act 3, Scene 1. This portrayal of a Jew for Christians and readers to
rightfully ridicule and hate is further emphasized when Shylock
laments about his money along with his daughter, as can be seen from
`My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter! Fled with a Christian! O my
Christian ducats! Justice! The law! My duca...
... middle of paper ...
...ind, generous and follows
the Christian faith, Shylock's interpretation is one who has enough
money such that if the bond is forfeit, he would earn much in return.
This further emphasizes Shylock as a money-loving villain, who views
wealth above some of the more important parts of life.
Thus, pertaining to the second assumption, while Shylock deserves
sympathy as he is a victim of racism and marginalisation, his
unfounded and unneeded crimes must also be taken against him, and he
does not deserve too much pity.
Concluding this essay, we firmly believe that Shylock is a
three-dimensional character capable of deep emotions with more than
one side to him, and deserves pity as the victim of the
marginalisation by the Christians but not too much as he too committed
unspoken crimes that the Christians did not commit.
In Susan Pharr's "The Common Elements of Oppression", she defines "the other" as the outcast of society, the ones who stand up for what they believe in, no matter how `against the grain' it may be, the ones who try the hardest to earn acceptance, yet never receive it. In Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice", Shylock, the `villain' is portrayed as the other simply because of his faith, because he is Jewish in a predominantly Christian society.
Yet many critics and commentators on the play believe that this is not a plea for equality but to justify his imminent revenge. In conclusion, throughout this play we discover Shylock has as many faces and personas as a Mexican wrestler. We have quite literally seen the good, the bad and the ugly which makes this character so powerful and the focal point of the play.
‘villain’; he is a complex mix of both. In the first part of the play,
This shows that Shylock puts his money before his religion. He says he hates Antonio because he is a Christian (and so an immediate enemy of the devout Jew) but more than that he hates him because he lends out money for no fee and so takes business away from Shylock. He also puts his money before his daughter, Jessica. When she runs away with Lorenzo she takes some of her father’s money and we hear from Solanio and Salerio that Shylock runs out into the street shouting; “My daughter! O my ducats!” He repeats the two phrases until they become confused, and it is clear that the money is more important to him than Jessica. Shakespeare emphasises the confusion in Shylock’s mind between his ‘daughter’ and his ‘ducats’ by using alliteration. The only time when money...
as the play starts and as Shylock is introduced as a Jew it is certain
...killful writer rising a case that can be a subject for many interpretations and not necessarily revealing a specific view of its writer, however it aims to convey a certain moral to the readers. Therefore, the character of shylock, being stereotyped or not, with its controversy is a tool manipulated to convey a moral message: when people live in a society that is open to cultural diversity and that values the contributions of all society members - regardless of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, race, life styles, and belief – they will be one step closer to living in a civil society.
In looking at Shylock, the sixteenth-century audience would deduce all view except the greedy, selfish, manipulating, Jew. In accordance with the normative view, Jews were believed to be out of tune with the universe. This is re-enforce in act 2 scene 5 lines 27-30 when Shylock is comment...
to pay it back. We see Shylock as a Villain in this scene as he plans
This is where Shakespeare evokes our sympathy, by making us realise how Shylock has suffered because of the prejudices of the Christians around him. He explains his motives for revenge in a rational way, showing how his actions are no different from the Christians'. Look carefully at the language he uses, as well as the insulting and mocking language used by the other two. At the end of the scene, Shylock mourns the loss of his daughter, although our feelings towards him are a bit mixed, for he seems to care more about the money. He does give evidence, however, of his love for his wife, which again, creates sympathy.
I feel that shylock is both a villain and victim as we can see in the
In "The Merchant of Venice", the Jewish moneylender, Shylock (full character analysis here) seems to fit the stereotype common in Shakespeare’s time of the greedy and unfeeling Jew. Although we are not told ab...
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 by 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). Launcelot’s contempt is generally assumed to be a result of his underprivileged upbringing, if it is noted at all.
Shylock has the reader's sympathy. Still, their desire for revenge ruins them in the end. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The. The Merchant of Venice. 1967.
Shylock is a wealthy Jew who invests money into shipments and trades. When Shylock’s enemy, Antonio, requests a loan of 3000 ducats, “Shylock adopts this Christian model of "kind" lending in his bond with Antonio as a means for lawful revenge.” Shylock’s agreement is that if the ducats are not returned, Antonio must repay his loan in human flesh. This is a way for Shylock to either make money or kill a Christian, either will satisfy him. Lee describes Shylock’s feelings towards Christians, “Indeed, although Shylock will neither "eat," "drink," nor "pray" with the Christians, he is willing to "buy" and "sell" with them.” This is where Shakespeare first introduces the devil inside Shylock. Had Antonio been a Jew, there would not have been a payment of flesh. Shylock’s hatred propels the story from start to finish. His hatred causes him to lose his daughter, drives Portia to use her money and wit to save Antonio, and why he ends up losing
Shylock also seems to show little or no love towards his daughter, Jessica. He may have been hurt by his daughter running away with a large amount of his wealth and with a Christian lover (Lorenzo); this is a point where Shylock can be viewed as a victim in the story. This still does n...