Is Shylock A Villain Or A Victim
Is Shylock a Villain or a Victim?
In William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, Shylock, a Jewish money-lender, is portrayed as the cold-blooded, greedy antagonist of the story. Some people may see him as the villain of the story – and in some ways he is – but, really, this is a result of the stereotypes associated with Jews. He is quite a peculiar character and his role in the story is indefinite because he has traits of both a villain and a victim. A villain is ‘a wicked person or criminal’. Is Shylock a criminal? No, but is Shylock wicked? A bit. A victim, on the other hand, is ‘a person who is injured, killed or robbed as a result of a crime or misfortune’. Shylock wasn’t killed or injured, but he was robbed, of his faith and his dignity, but the only reason that happened was his own fault. To be the victim of a story, you don’t technically need to be good; if something bad happens to you, you’re a victim. So what does this make Shylock? This essay will explore this question, giving reasons which support him being the villain, and reasons which support him being the victim.
First of all, Jews at the time were very badly mistreated, especially in Venice. This was called anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism means prejudice against Jews. In Tudor Venice, Jews were differentiated from Christians. They lived in ghettos, which were locked and guarded at sunset, wore red hats and were not allowed to own any property. In addition to this, they were verbally, and sometimes physically, abused by Christians. During the play, Shylock was spat on and called names. ‘You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, and spet upon my Jewish gaberdine,’ Shylock said to Antonio. This shows how badly he was mistreated, and I’m sure he wasn’t the only Jew to be treated that way. To be spat on, in itself, is disgusting. To be spat on sacred, religious clothing insults both you and your entire religion. To then be told that everything you believe in is wrong... Well that’s probably one of the
In William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, Shylock, a Jewish money-lender, is portrayed as the cold-blooded, greedy antagonist of the story. Some people may see him as the villain of the story – and in some ways he is – but, really, this is a result of the stereotypes associated with Jews. He is quite a peculiar character and his role in the story is indefinite because he has traits of both a villain and a victim. A villain is ‘a wicked person or criminal’. Is Shylock a criminal? No, but is Shylock wicked? A bit. A victim, on the other hand, is ‘a person who is injured, killed or robbed as a result of a crime or misfortune’. Shylock wasn’t killed or injured, but he was robbed, of his faith and his dignity, but the only reason that happened was his own fault. To be the victim of a story, you don’t technically need to be good; if something bad happens to you, you’re a victim. So what does this make Shylock? This essay will explore this question, giving reasons which support him being the villain, and reasons which support him being the victim.
First of all, Jews at the time were very badly mistreated, especially in Venice. This was called anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism means prejudice against Jews. In Tudor Venice, Jews were differentiated from Christians. They lived in ghettos, which were locked and guarded at sunset, wore red hats and were not allowed to own any property. In addition to this, they were verbally, and sometimes physically, abused by Christians. During the play, Shylock was spat on and called names. ‘You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, and spet upon my Jewish gaberdine,’ Shylock said to Antonio. This shows how badly he was mistreated, and I’m sure he wasn’t the only Jew to be treated that way. To be spat on, in itself, is disgusting. To be spat on sacred, religious clothing insults both you and your entire religion. To then be told that everything you believe in is wrong... Well that’s probably one of the