Shylock in Merchant Of Venice Essay

In the thought provoking comedy The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare we are introduced to a Jewish money lender Shylock. Shylock helps build the main them of the play Prejudice and All is not what it seems. In this essay I will be analysing and observing Shylock to understand whether he is a victim of prejudice or villain who deserves his misfortune.

Antonio, a rich merchant, is, without any reason, depressed. His friends suggest he worried about his cargo ships, or he is in love. He dismisses both ideas. In the past Antonio has lent his friend, Bassanio money but has never received it back. This time Bassanio wants money to try for a rich heiress hand in marriage. In order for Antonio to lend Bassanio money he must go to Venice to take out a loan. Antonio goes to a Jewish money lender called Shylock, In the past Antonio has been racist and nasty towards Shylock and Shylock makes a bond with Antonio that if he doesnt pay the Three Thousand Ducats back within the three months of the loan, then Antonio must forfeit a pound of his flesh closest to his heart. Antonio is very confident that his ships will return and agrees to the bond and gets the money for Bassanio. Bassanio goes to Belmont, where Portia, the rich heiress lives. Bassanio chooses the right casket and he wins the right to marry Portia. Antonios ships get wrecked at sea so he is broke and cannot pay the three thousand ducats back to Shylock, so he must lose a pound of his flesh. Portia, Bassanios new wife, tells Bassanio to go to Venice and save his friend. Whilst this has gone on Shylocks daughter, Jessica has run away with Antonios friend Lorenzo and has taken all of Shylocks money with her. Shylock is very angry and is looking for revenge, so he decides that he doesnt want Antonios money anymore, he wants to take his flesh.

Shylock is introduced to us as a money lender and as someone who is both an unpleasant character but who has also been the victim of racism. Shylock is pleased to be asked for a loan by Antonio as he hates him and he knows that this will give him the upper hand. This is made clear in Act1, Scene 3 when Antonio comes to request a loan on behalf of his friend Bassanio, who needs the money to win the hand of Portia, A rich heiress from Belmont. When Shylock sees Antonio approaching he declares How like a fawning publican he looks.

I hate him for he is a Christian:

But more for that in low simplicity

He lends out money gratis

Shakespeares word choice of fawning and publican clearly show that Shylock despises Antonio and sees him as a two faced person who will lower his dignity to get what he wants from others. The use of the short simple sentence I hat him for he is a Christian gives power and impact to the statement emphasises the strength of Shylocks hatred. Later in the scene, when Antonio has asked for the money, Shylock reveals the extent of Antonios mistreatment of Shylock because he is a Jew and a money lender. He claims, You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog,

You spit upon my Jewish Gaberdine

I would be friends with you, and have your love,

Forget the shames that you have stained me with

Shakespeare uses a list to name the insults that Antonio

has used against him. This emphasises how many times and how deeply Antonio has been rude and hurtful towards Shylock. Shylock goes on to say that he wishes they could be friends. This gives us a glimpse into Shylocks character- he is giving Antonio the chance for friendship and respect, which Antonio rejects. We can imagine that this would wound Shylocks pride and refuel his hurt and hatred towards Antonio. Our first impressions of Shylock are very complex. He is very bitter and mean and forces Antonio into a horrible bond but we can imagine that he did not choose to be outcast and hated by the Christians and this is why he feels hatred towards Antonio.

Our views of whether Shylock is a villain or victim are strongly influenced by both his servant Launcelot and his Daughter Jessica but there may be more than one side to the story. When we are first introduced to Shylocks servant Launcelot he is having a moral dilemma about whether to run away from Shylock. He says Fiend, say I, you counsel well. To be ruled by my conscience, I should stay with the Jew my master, who- god bless the mark is a kind of Devil, and to run away from the Jew I shall be ruled by a fiend.

This means that either way a fiend or a devil will be ruling his life, and he isnt sure. The way he describes Shylock as a Devil shows the emphasis of Shylocks mistreatment and hatred towards Launcelot. This makes our opinions of Shylock change from a victim of racism treated badly by the Christians, to a villain who can give as good as he gets. We then meet Jessica and Launcelot together in Act2, Scene 3 where she is bidding farewell to him and he has decided to run away. Jessica is quite upset and understands his decision. She says to be ashamed to be my fathers child .

But though I am a daughter to his blood,

I am not to his manners. O Lorenzo

If thou keep promise, I shall end this strife,

Become a Christian and thy loving wife.

Jessica is sating that she is so disgusted at her fathers morals and the way he treats people that she is ashamed to be called his daughter and although she is his blood daughter, she wants nothing to do with him. She is also saying that things have gotten so bad at home that she is planning to run away with Lorenzo, convert to Christianity and marry him. We can imagine how bad things are to make her want to run away and convert religion. This, along with Launcelots views strongly influences our opinions of Shylock, but what we must remember is that there are always two sides to a story.

Shylocks daughter Jessica has run away with Shylocks money and valuable possessions, and as we can imagine, Shylock is very angry and upset. This makes us feel sorry for Shylock because if Jessica had run away because of his morals and anger then fair enough, but no one deserves to have their possessions stolen. When we see Shylock in Act3, Scene 1 Salerio and Solanio are making fun of him. Shylock gets angry and starts shouting at the two of them. This makes us see how much pain and mockery Shylock has gone through. Although we feel sympathy towards him, we start to see his greedy and revengeful side again when he declares I would my daughter were dead at my foot, and the jewels in her ears. Again our opinions of Shylock change as he is saying that the money and jewels are more important than his daughter and he wishes she was dead. When Shylock hears about the way Jessica is spending his money he is very upset. A good example of this is when a ring that was given to him from a past lover called Leah was traded for a monkey. Shylock is very hurt by this and says I would not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys this is when we see another part of Shylocks sentimental sides because the ring was so special to him, not just for the money value, but for the sentimental value as well. Jessica taking Shylocks money makes us feel more sympathy towards him and his feelings, which backs up the Victim of racism side of the story.