In the play the ‘Merchant of Venice’ by William Shakespeare the antagonist Shylock is both the victim and the villain. Shylock is a Jewish moneylender and is initially portrayed as anger filled and bloodthirsty but as the play continues we begin to see him as more human and his emotions become more evident Even more evidence to why Shylock should be classified as a victim, not villain. In conclusion as we have discussed above, Shylock is indeed a victim on more than one blogger.comted Reading Time: 5 mins Mar 28, · Shylock is a very controversial character as he in cases is a villain in some cases a victim and even in some cases both. As we are focusing the point on whether Shylock is a victim or a villain, let’s see first why Shylock is a villain. There are quite a few reasons for Shylock being a villain in my opinion supported by text from the play
Merchant of Venice - Shylock: Villain or Victim Essay Essay on Victim, Villain
We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. In the Merchant of Venice Shylock is portrayed as both a victim and a villain. Shakespeare shows that he is firstly a villain as he is spoken about in a conversation between Salarnio and Salerio. Remembering in recent history is shylock a victim or a villain essay the Holocaust we sympathize with him.
When the time comes that Antonio asks a favour of Shylock he immediately seeks revenge. Shakespeare then makes us feel sorry for Shylock as his daughter Jessica runs away taking his ducats with her. O my ducats! At this we feel remorseful as it meant a lot to him and his daughter probably knew that, then buying an animal for her own amusement.
At this point we class Shylock to be a victim, is shylock a victim or a villain essay, left with no money, between lending to Antonio and his daughter thieving off him, he is ruined. Then whiles talking too Salarnio he asks what use to him is the pound of flesh? He then says that a Jew is a lot like a Christian they have the same hands, organs, dimensions as humans, eat the same food, feel the same pain, hurt with the same weapons and so on.
He justifies his intentions to have vent ion by saying that if a Jew was to wrong to wrong a Christian they would seek revenge and therefore if a Christian was to wrong a Jew he should do the same. We are then left to make our own opinions of Shylock. During the court scene Shylock refuses to show any sign of mercy towards Antonio. Because of that we get the overall impression that he is heartless, self-centred and cruel.
Also when he is given the option to have a surgeon at hand, is shylock a victim or a villain essay. He refuses, as it is not in the bond. Yet again showing no mercy as then no one can save Antonio from bleeding to death.
To his surprise the judge played by Portia found loop holes and shows no mercy just as he had done. His three penalties for attempted murder are to give half his fortune to the state, the other half to Shylocks daughter and son in law and lastly and most importantly to become a Christian.
At this point you do feel sorry for him as he is left with nothing not even the satisfaction of revenge, and also he is forced to become what he most hated, a Christian. He is also alone where as Antonio has his friends to see him through tough times. But then again you can also say that Shylock got what he deserved for being so cold-hearted. Shakespeare ends the play to make our own opinions of Shylock.
I think that even though a misunderstood character he is still a very cruel man. Poorly treated by Christians may had turned him bitter but being stripped of all his possessions I do feel sorry for him, is shylock a victim or a villain essay. Therefore in my opinion Shylock is a villain. I say this because he wanted revenge in one man for cultural reasons and religion for what had happened to him in the past. Not forgetting that he also showed no mercy and would had been heartless enough to kill Antonio.
I think that the role of Shylock remains a popular one because Shylocks character can be open to interpretation. He can be played as a merciless old miser or as a persecuted bitter old loner.
I don't think that I would class him as neither a villain nor a victim, as he is a Jackal and Hyde sort. Throughout the play we see various sides to Shylock. We see him as a greedy moneylender, is shylock a victim or a villain essay, a Jew who is suffering from anti-Semitism and we meet many other personalities of his. Many reasons that have led me to believe that Shylock is It is difficult to describe Shylock as a victim or a villain as there are many things that you can say for each.
At the end of the play some of the audience may felt strongly that Shylock is a victim. However if had been able to get what he wanted people may have felt that he was more of a villain, if he had been able to get his pound of flesh. Throughout the play he has been very much a victim, but has also been quite a villain in parts of the play, and to some of the Is shylock a victim or a villain essay play The Merchant Of Venice was written in a time of anti Semitism.
There was a great divide between the Jewish and Christian religion when Shakespeare wrote this play. He wanted to put these religions together and predict a miscellaneous ending. He does this by punishing Shylock for choosing law over love and mercy. There are two different ways of looking at this play. The modern audience would have different views and opinions of the play and it would have been acted is shylock a victim or a villain essay differently.
I am looking at a modern point of view, so Shylock is presented with a Shylock is one of the main protagonists in Shakespeare's 'The merchant of Venice'. He plays an important role in the story as it is he who first lends Antonio money and the story spiralled from there. Throughout the story there are many occasions where Shylocks actions make him seem to be a villain but there are also occasions where he seems to be a Victim. Shylocks character was wholly based upon a stereotypical Jew but this was not necessarily how Jews actually were.
In the times when Shakespeare wrote this play there were not many Jews in England. This meant These two sides, victim and villain of the play, present themselves frequently in the play. Although many Christians see him as a great evil, the audience is forced to feel some sort of sympathy towards him, due to the amount of prejudice shown towards him because of his Jewish religion. Throughout the play we are shown the two sides of Shylock's character.
It is full of contrasting characters In The Merchant of Venice, the part of Shylock, a money lending Jew, is one which carries many emotions, pain, joy, cruelty and loss. His character's contrary attributes mean that one moments sorrow for Shylock can turn to hate in the blink of an eye. In this essay, I must come to a conclusion on whether I see Shylock as a victim or a villain, using the metaphoric scales of judgement to outweigh the good with the bad, or visa versa.
The first scene where we see Shylock is when Antonio comes to borrow money for Bassanio. In this scene Described by many as the most complex character Shakespeare ever created, all view him as a greedy moneylender who cares little for his daughter and whose only concern is to receive his pound of flesh from a respectable merchant. Shylock is not just the stereotypical villain but in spite of this the audience might feel that Shylock is a dignified god fearing man who is driven to revenge by the callous acts of Christians and also the theft of his only child and earned money from a Christian.
Including when Shylock is shylock a victim or a villain essay to seek justice he is degraded and dehumanised Over hundreds of years, great men and women of English literature have spent countless hours debating one of the most simple yet controversial questions: What did Shakespeare mean by Shylock? When he created him Shakespeare could not have anticipated that Shylock would become the emblem around which so much contention would rage.
Shakespeare's money-lender is now the symbol for those who love and those who hate anti-Semitism. Whether to the individual spectator Shylock is a victim or a villain is a disputable affair, but how Shakespeare wanted to present this character is the key to unlocking the doors of the At the time this play was written anti-Semitism was very common in England, is shylock a victim or a villain essay.
Anti-Semitism is essentially anti Jewish feelings and prejudice towards them. It existed because the Jews were originally seen as 'Christ killers' so therefore the hatred between Christians and Jews has existed ever since then. Nowadays it is not as common as it was in the sixteenth century but it is still prevalent in many parts of the world.
Of is shylock a victim or a villain essay racism still exists but Anti-Semitism appears to have decreased in society as time has gone by. The last major case of anti-Semitism was during Hitler's reign as In the day of Shakespeare's plays going to the theatre to see a play was often a very popular source of entertainment. People would squash into the globe to see the performance, and feel part of the action; cheering and clapping away.
Also when they felt anger, it was seen as ok, is shylock a victim or a villain essay, to throw mouldy fruit or vegetables at the stage in disgust at the action taking place. The Merchant of Venice was 1st performed at the globe all those years ago and is still being performed today. It would have Hi there, would you like to get such an essay?
How about receiving a customized one? Check it out goo. Home Page Character Analysis Shylock Is Shylock a victim or a villain Essay. Is Shylock a victim or a villain Essay. READ: Is Shylock a Villain or a Victim that Deserves Our Sympathy Essay. Choose Type of service Writing Rewriting Editing.
Standard Standard quality. Bachelor's or higher degree. Master's or higher degree. Over 30 successfully finished orders. Page count 1 page words. Related Essays. Is Shylock a Villain or a Victim that Deserves Our Sympathy Essay Words 5 Pages I think that the role of Shylock remains a popular one because Shylocks character can be open to interpretation. Show More. Merchant of Venice Shylock - Victim or Villain Essay Words 6 Pages It is difficult to describe Shylock as a victim or a villain as there are many things that you can say for each.
With particular reference to Act 4 scene 1 how far is Shylock presented as a victim or a villain within the play Essay Words 5 Pages The play The Merchant Of Venice was written in a time of anti Semitism. How should Shylock be regarded: as a victim, a villain or something is shylock a victim or a villain essay Essay Words 7 Pages Shylock is one of the main protagonists in Shakespeare's 'The merchant of Venice'.
The Merchant of Venice, Shylock: Victim or Villain Essay Words 5 Pages In The Merchant of Venice, the part of Shylock, a money lending Jew, is one which carries many emotions, pain, joy, cruelty and loss. Shylock: Villain Or Victim Study Essay Words 9 Pages Described by many as the most complex character Shakespeare ever created, all view him as a greedy moneylender who cares little for his daughter and whose only concern is to receive his pound of flesh from a respectable merchant.
Lesson on The Merchant of Venice Week 8 Is Shylock a Victim or a Villain
, time: 45:15Shylock - Victim or Villain? | Examples & Papers
Apr 30, · In the Merchant of Venice, which is written by William Shakespeare, Shylock is presented in a variety of ways. For instance, some people regard Shylock as a villain, as he demands a pound of flesh. However, other people regard Shylock as a victim, as he loses everything (such as his ring, his daughter who ran away, and being made to convert to Christianity) Mar 28, · Shylock is a very controversial character as he in cases is a villain in some cases a victim and even in some cases both. As we are focusing the point on whether Shylock is a victim or a villain, let’s see first why Shylock is a villain. There are quite a few reasons for Shylock being a villain in my opinion supported by text from the play Shylock, with Antonio is the major character in the play, at times referred to as a villain and sometimes a victim. The dictionary defines a villain as “a cruelly malicious person” and a victim as “a person who is deceived or cheated”. However the question still remains: Shylock victim or villain?
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