Merchant Taylors' School

Shakespeare’s play Othello touches upon the main themes of betrayal, sex, and racism. During the Elizabethan era these themes were used frequently by Shakespeare to hook his audience. Many would say that Shakespeare was attempting to either create a strong bond between the audience and the character, or was trying to spark his audience’s interest. Desdemona the main character’s wife was created in an attempt to compare her to an idealistic Elizabethan woman. An idealistic woman of Desdemona’s…

Racism is something that has been something occurring in the world for a very long time. The novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad represents the time period of imperialism; when Belgium colonized the Congo. Conrad depicts the racism that occured in the Congo of Africa because of the Europeans colonization. The main protagonist named Marlow, a European sailor, goes on an adventure with his crew through his perspective going up the Congo River with the goal of meeting an idealistic man, Kurtz.…

Portia in ‘Merchant of Venice one of the strongest and wisest characters found in William Shakespeare’s play. In this tragic comedy, Portia uses her creativity and wit to save the life of her husband’s best friend, Antonio. Portia’s father has passed, leaving her with a stunning inheritance. This beautiful, wealthy bachelorette is now the sought-after prize for many a young suitor. In fact, young, eligible suitors travel from other countries to win her hand in marriage. Portia knows who she…

humanity. He undoubtedly thought Shylock was being cruel after his many recent losses, and that he would eventually forgive Antonio. Out of love, Shylock should forgive Antonio for some of the things that he had done. He had even sent the greatest merchant out of business, which is something to be proud of. I agree with the Duke, and I feel like Antonio should have been forgiven. It was ridiculous to cut a pound…

Throughout History, some of the greatest stories and tales have an underlying theme of friendship. Chaim Potok’s book, The Chosen, is one of these books. During this time period, two groups known as the Orthodox Jews and the Hasidic Jews disagree with each other on most things. However, this fact does not prevent the two main characters Reuven Malter, an Orthodox Jew, and Danny Saunders, a Hasidic Jew, from becoming friends. In Danny Saunders’ case, his father, Reb Saunders is the leader of the…

similarities between the plays The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe and The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. Marlowe is thought to have been a contemporary of Shakespeare and he would have looked towards Shakespeare and his famous comedy for inspiration for his own work. One of the most significant similarities between the two plays is their Jewish characters, Barabas from The Jew of Malta and Shylock from The Merchant of Venice. However, it is said that Barabas is the more extreme…

I’ve chosen scene 1 and 3 of Act 3 to focus on how my understanding has deepened about Shylock. In scene 1, Shylock expresses his extreme hatred towards Antonio, his pitiful plight due to the racist stereotypes and ostracization on Jews and his anger and agony in losing his daughter, Jessica. From lines 40-68, Shylock expresses his extreme undying hatred towards Antonio, his agony in how the Christian community has dealt him unreasonably and heartlessly. This can be seen when Shylock…

humans have sacrificed others to maintain these egocentric beliefs and many authors have expressed this dark part of humanity. In the play Merchant Of Venice, the novel To Kill A Mockingbird and the short story The Lottery the authors are trying to tell us that human beings are willing to sacrifice others to maintain their twisted beliefs. In the play The Merchant of Venice, selfishness is shown by the Venetians who profess Christianity but have no integrity in their actions. Christians in…

As children, we look up to our parents. Just by listening to the things they say and how they act can have a huge impact on the way a child grows up and the way they experience life. Conrad, the main character from the novel, Conrad in Beverly Hills, grows up in Beverly Hills with parents who seem to not care or understand the way Conrad feels about his life. Specifically his father, Morse Keppler, has a tremendous impact on Conrad because he talks a lot about anti-semitism in very negative ways…

“You get, you give”(97), from The King of Mulberry Street by Donna Jo Napoli, means that you share your fortune with others to spread hope and kindness, so that allies and friends are made wherever one goes; the main character, Dom Napoli, shares his money and food generously and often, meeting friends at the same time. When Dom first arrives in Manhattan, he meets a “tough guy” in a alleyway that he tries to sleep in, and sees the boy chased away by the police later that evening. The next day,…