Shylock is a No Good, Bloodthirsty Villain
All stories have an array of characters, with usually at least one clear and evident villain. Shylock is undoubtedly one of the most memorable characters in the play, The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare. He is also the subject matter of the argument as to whether he is or is not a merciless villain. Shylock has the villainous qualities of being vengeful and merciless which are portrayed when he demands a pound of Antonio’s flesh, and when Antonio cannot pay the bond. Evidently, Shylock is also greedy and materialistic, and shows these qualities when he appears to care more about his ducats and jewels than his daughter, Jessica, who runs away to marry a Christian. Shylock also tends to obstruct true love by interfering with all three couples in the play. By examining story details, events, and important quotes from the play, it is clear that Shylock was a villain, even by Elizabethan era standards.
Shylock consistently shows what an appalling villain he is throughout the play. In Act I Scene III, after Shylock recognizes that it is Antonio who he will be distributing the loan to, he says, …show more content…
Qualities Shylock possesses, such as being overly materialistic and greedy, make him a selfish scoundrel. To begin with, Shylock makes a wealthy living off of people who have a desperate need for money, by giving them loans with very high interest rates. For this reason, Shylock fulfills the negative stereotypes set for the Jewish community. Seeing that Jessica is extremely unhappy, calling Shylock’s house “hell”, the assumption can be made that Shylock has not been too loving with his Jessica (Act II, Scene III, 2). His own daughter is so fed up with him that she steals his jewels and ducats and runs away to marry a Christian. Of course Shylock is not too happy about this, and rightfully so, but his anger is no excuse for what he
All stories have an array of characters, with usually at least one clear and evident villain. Shylock is undoubtedly one of the most memorable characters in the play, The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare. He is also the subject matter of the argument as to whether he is or is not a merciless villain. Shylock has the villainous qualities of being vengeful and merciless which are portrayed when he demands a pound of Antonio’s flesh, and when Antonio cannot pay the bond. Evidently, Shylock is also greedy and materialistic, and shows these qualities when he appears to care more about his ducats and jewels than his daughter, Jessica, who runs away to marry a Christian. Shylock also tends to obstruct true love by interfering with all three couples in the play. By examining story details, events, and important quotes from the play, it is clear that Shylock was a villain, even by Elizabethan era standards.
Shylock consistently shows what an appalling villain he is throughout the play. In Act I Scene III, after Shylock recognizes that it is Antonio who he will be distributing the loan to, he says, …show more content…
Qualities Shylock possesses, such as being overly materialistic and greedy, make him a selfish scoundrel. To begin with, Shylock makes a wealthy living off of people who have a desperate need for money, by giving them loans with very high interest rates. For this reason, Shylock fulfills the negative stereotypes set for the Jewish community. Seeing that Jessica is extremely unhappy, calling Shylock’s house “hell”, the assumption can be made that Shylock has not been too loving with his Jessica (Act II, Scene III, 2). His own daughter is so fed up with him that she steals his jewels and ducats and runs away to marry a Christian. Of course Shylock is not too happy about this, and rightfully so, but his anger is no excuse for what he