The Merchant of Venice, Is Shylock evil?

In The Merchant of Venice loan shark matchms to be the main character of the take over that everyone focuses on. This is odd as the typical focus of a function would be the two young lovers. So what draws us to perform so intrigued in this loan shark business? What makes each of us feel a different personal manner approximately him at the end? It must be the age old question- Is moneylender the victim or villain? So many community have tried to answer this question, each with different views. usurer is a victim, there?s no doubt about that, but he does bring most of his suffering upon himself. He does this by being greedy, cruel and vengeful.

***Shylock seems bent on revenge from the very beginning, which already tells us, since this play is a comedy, he?s destined to get what?s coming to him. He is the one who started the whole bond obsession that ended in his decease. He became preoccupied by revenge so oft that he doesn?t realise the errors he was making, like non snapping to ensure his bond had no loopholes and was legal, but he was to desperate to see Antonio dead that he did non stop to think of these things. He would not rest until Antonio was dead, and his hardly movement was that he spat on him.

***Shylock himself is the main motion for his misfortune as he is a cruel person. He brings it all about when he creates his bond, asking for a pose of flesh. This is a gruesome thing to ask for and shows a visual modality about his character. Shylock also mistreats people he has ability over. He taunts his servant Lancelot and lashes out at him because he discount?t do so with any other Christians. He also mistreats his daughter, Jessica by trapping her in their home and use her like a captive. His cruelness also shows when Bassanio offers Shylock triplet times the money owed to save Antonio but Shylock refuses. The still reason he would do this is because he motivations to see Antonio die.

***another(prenominal) reason that Shylock brings his misfortune on himself is that he is greedy. He is money orientated and values his money over people. An eccentric of this is when Jessica ran away he mostly c ard about the ducats and stones that she stole and not the fact that he might not ever see his daughter again. A character as greedy as this will always bring about his own demise in the end. Another example is that Shylock thinks Antonio is irrational for add out money without interest where as he himself charges postgraduate interest rates and is quick to take action on those who don?t pay it back.

***Others say that Shylock acted the way he did because he wanted to pay Christians back for mistreating him. This is only partly true as Shylock is very hypocritical. Shylock justified his actions because of the prejudice Christians showed towards him but he was no better. He called Antonio?s friends ?Christian fools? and referred to their religious festivals as ?Shallow foppery?. Shylock also contradicts himself with refusing to show mercy and when he realizes that he?s doomed then he begins to beg for mercy from Antonio and the court.

***In conclusion, Shylock and others may try to justify his actions and claim that his misfortunes are due to others in this play and that he is a victim. In reality, all of his misfortunes are caused by himself. He mistreats everyone, Christian or not, he is powered by his greed and hatred and has his shopping center set on revenge.

Bibliography:www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/merchant/www.enotes.com/merchant/www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/merchant/

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