At the surface, The Merchant of Venice and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone may seem like to completely unrelated works. The Merchant of Venice was written in the late 16th century and explores the role of antisemitism while Joe Turner’s Come and Gone was written in 1987 and portrays the life of characters living during the great migration. However, William Shakespeare and August Wilson both intentionally incorporate contrasting characters within their work. The contrasting characters have a surprisingly strong effect on the overall impact of both plays. The relationship between Herald and Martha, in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, and Shylock and Antonio, in The Merchant of Venice, helps the playwrights convey their overarching messages, develop the
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Shakespeare and Wilson both use this convention to establish their contrasting characters. In The Merchant of Venice, Antonio is often seen as the character with a kinder disposition. In the first scent of act one, Antonio expresses to Bassanio that he would be glad to give a generous donation to help Bassanio marry Portia. Shylock’s dialogues with other characters are often marked with an undertone of aggression and hate. Shakespeare uses dialogue to perpetuate the differing personalities because the audience becomes aware of the toll that life has on each character. Antonio is rich and elite, living in a society that praises men like him so he rarely has a reason to be upset. Shylock is constantly degraded by society so he has a tremendous amount of internalized anger that is reflected through his language. August Wilson uses a similar technique as Shakespeare. Just like Shylock, a lot of Herald’s language tends to be aggressive. Seth questions “what [the holy ghost] gonna do”, as he attempts to stop his neighbors from doing “the Juba” (52). Herald no longer trusts in God after being captured by Joe Turner and living a life where he regularly experiences racism. Martha’s language is almost the polar opposite of Herald’s. She speaks a message of love and acceptance through Christ but her dialogue also lacks the emotion and meaning that Herald’s language contains. In act two scene five there is an evident language barrier between Martha and Herald. Martha does not understand Herald’s struggle and Herald avidly rejects Martha’s plea for him to join the church. This distinction allows August Wilson to portray the different outlook that both characters have on life and their futures. Martha intends to stay in the church but Herald has a desire to break free of his
Shakespeare and Wilson both use this convention to establish their contrasting characters. In The Merchant of Venice, Antonio is often seen as the character with a kinder disposition. In the first scent of act one, Antonio expresses to Bassanio that he would be glad to give a generous donation to help Bassanio marry Portia. Shylock’s dialogues with other characters are often marked with an undertone of aggression and hate. Shakespeare uses dialogue to perpetuate the differing personalities because the audience becomes aware of the toll that life has on each character. Antonio is rich and elite, living in a society that praises men like him so he rarely has a reason to be upset. Shylock is constantly degraded by society so he has a tremendous amount of internalized anger that is reflected through his language. August Wilson uses a similar technique as Shakespeare. Just like Shylock, a lot of Herald’s language tends to be aggressive. Seth questions “what [the holy ghost] gonna do”, as he attempts to stop his neighbors from doing “the Juba” (52). Herald no longer trusts in God after being captured by Joe Turner and living a life where he regularly experiences racism. Martha’s language is almost the polar opposite of Herald’s. She speaks a message of love and acceptance through Christ but her dialogue also lacks the emotion and meaning that Herald’s language contains. In act two scene five there is an evident language barrier between Martha and Herald. Martha does not understand Herald’s struggle and Herald avidly rejects Martha’s plea for him to join the church. This distinction allows August Wilson to portray the different outlook that both characters have on life and their futures. Martha intends to stay in the church but Herald has a desire to break free of his