The Merchant of Venice: Is Shylock a Villain or a Victim.
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?
Was Shylock a Victim or a Villain Essay Sample The Jews have unfairly endured extreme persecution for thousands of years, because of their strong beliefs. The Jews lost their own country to the Romans, and had to move out. They have not had an official country until recently, and had to settle down in tight-knit communities, in foreign countries.
In this essay I will try to discover is Shylock a villain or a victim, in the William Shakespeare play “The Merchant of Venice” It is difficult to say if Shylock is a complete villain or a victim, as his character is complex and ambiguous.
It hard to decide whether Shylock is a victim or villain when he is first introduced as we learn about what he has had to put up with, being called a “misbeliever”, “cut throat dog” and others spitting on his beard for the reason that he is a Jew.
There may be examples where Shylock is portrayed as a victim in this scene, but there are also numerous cases where Shylock is described as a villain. Although Antonio may have been abusing Shylock there are also numerous occurrences where Shylock is abusing Antonio. “ I hate him for he is a Christian.”.
In this essay I am going to look at the character of Shylock and I will discuss both sides of the argument of whether Shylock is a victim or a villain. During the play there are many times when he is clearly a villain but also many times where he can be seen as victim. The second setting is Belmont which is the site of Portia’s estate.
Writing about a 2010 production of the play starring Al Pacino as Shylock, critic Ben Brantley claimed Shylock “is neither merely the victim nor the villain of this piece; he is instead the very soul of the money-drunk society he serves and despises.”.
In The merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, shylock, the money lending Jew, is seen more like a villain then a victim. Shylock is a villain because he cares more about his money then he cares about his daughter, he is not merciful towards shylock and hewants a pound of flesh from Antonio for hi revenge.
Shylock the Victim essays Shylock the Victim essays In a movie, book, or play there is usually a victim and a villain. It is usually very easy to tell the two apart, the victim is the one that gets hurt physically or emotionally. Then the villain is causing problems and stands out as the mean character.
Shylock: Victim or Villain?.Throughout history, Jews have been criticised and ridiculed. The earliest Jews to settle in England came over with the Norman's in 1060's. In 1189 a fledgling community fell victim to the first of London's anti-Semitic pogroms (organised persecution and massacre, especially of Jews), Thirty Jews were killed.
Although there is a great amount of evidence from other characters accusing that Shylock is a villain there is a small amount that shows Shylock to be a perfect victim to severe racial abuse from most characters that are in the play, that even includes his daughter to some extent.
Shylock is merely a victim of anti-Semitism. Although victorious in his bond, Shylock was raped of his lands, his faith and his pride.
In some ways it becomes clear that Shylock is based on a stereotypical view of a Jew: that a Jew is obsessed with money. In addition the first scene is also one of the main scenes in which Shylock could be seen more as a victim. However Shylock doubts the security of Antonio’s ships, but he seems willing to lend the 3000 ducats.
