Defining Shylock from William Shakespeares The Merchant...

Defining Shylock from William Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice For hundreds of years, the Jews had lived in their ancestral home- Palestine- but when they were exiled in about the year 400AD, they scattered throughout Europe and formed a Diaspora: a community of exiled people. When the Roman Empire deteriorated, many of the Jews returned to Palestine, and were ruled by the Turks, then the British, eventually got their own state in 1946. In 1066, when Jews came over to Britain with William the conqueror, they had to wear yellow bands to distinguish them: this was highly discriminating and many Jews were even blamed in murder cases where Christian children were involved, meaning that many Jews†¦show more content†¦The overall mistreatment of Shylock and other Jews throughout the play is quite evident. When Shylock is talking to Antonio, he says: â€Å"†¦Suff’rance is the badge of all our tribe; you call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, and spit upon my Jewish gabardine† Also, in the courtroom scene, even the judge, who is supposed to represent justice and fairness, is biased against him-he says to Antonio, â€Å"I feel sorry for thee; thou art come to answer a stony adversary†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This shows the magnitude of the prejudice against Jews at the time in Venice. Shylock’s attitude to money is one of greed. He obsesses about the amount of money he has, and seems to place it as a top priority, even above his family. He may react this way to money because he is only allowed to do one job, and therefore will gladly charge Christians high interest because of the way that they have treated him, apparently without guilt. When Shylock enters into the bond with Antonio, he agrees with Antonio to â€Å"†¦lend†¦money†¦not as to thy friends†¦but†¦to thine enemy, who if he break thou may with better face exact the penalty†. This would explain why Shylock is so determined to receive his bond; he hates Antonio with a vengeance, and has agreed the bond over one of the most precious things in his life: his money. I think that thisShow MoreRelatedEssay about Shakespeares Bias on Religon in The Merchant of Venice1017 Words   |  5 PagesIn Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice there is a palpable hatred between the Jewish moneylender Shylock and the privileged prodigal Christians Bassanio, Lorenzo, Antonio, Gratiano and Portia. History shows that Jews have long been persecuted and despised for not accepting Christianity, Islam or other religions of the majority as their own. Yet choice of religion is not the cause for the two cultures abhorrence. Their detestation is much more deep-rooted; it stems from their antithetical culturalRead MoreThe Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare Essay examples2198 Words   |  9 PagesThe Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare was written between 1594-1596.It is classified as a comedy; it is also a work of good triumphs over evil, but serious themes are examined and some issues remain unresolved. In the play Shakespeare has woven together plots from different books. Shakespeare gets the bond storyRead MoreInfluential Fathers2006 Words   |  9 Pagessuch a close bond with their father that they have trouble letting go. There are many different qualities or personality traits that can make a dad a â€Å"bad father† or prevent him from truly understanding and appreciating his children. Both Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart and Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice give impeccable examples of fathers failing to know their children.   In these literary selections, the  three things that interfere with  the  fathers relationships with their childrenRead MoreEssay on A Feminist Perspective of William Shakespeare1506 Words   |  7 PagesA Feminist Perspective of Shakespeare   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although William Shakespeare reflects and at times supports the English Renaissance stereotypes of women and men and their various roles and responsibilities in society, he is also a writer who questions, challenges, and modifies those representations. His stories afford opportunities not only to understand Renaissance culture better but also to confront our own contemporary generalizations about gender, especially what it means to be female. In his