William Shakespeare s Merchant Of Venice - 1325 Words

Malicious Intentions All movies, plays and stories have a victim and a villain in the story. The victim is forced to overcome obstacles and is often hurt physically and emotionally while the villain is the one who wreaks havoc and tries to stop the victim from achieving their goal. In the play Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare there is a character so elaborate and confusing that an argument could be made that he is both. This character, Shylock, suffers from persecution and humiliation for being a Jew as well as attempting horrendous actions in hopes of retaliation. The play starts out with a young Venetian man, Bassanio, needing a substantial loan so that he can attempt to win over Portia, a young, â€Å"richly left† woman(1.1.68). A†¦show more content†¦Shylock, realizing that this is impossible agrees to drop the case and give half of his wealth to the city of Venice and half to Antonio, who returns it to Shylock. Throughout the play, Shylock proves himself to be more of a villain than a victim through his lack of humaneness and his materialistic and vengeful outlook of life. Shylock’s malevolent actions during the play is one justification that he is a villain and not the victim. One of these is his sole desire to take a pound of Antonio’s flesh, ultimately killing him, with the court on his side. This is shown towards the beginning of the play of the play when Antonio says, â€Å"Let the forfeit be nominated for an equal pound of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken in what part of your body pleaseth me,† to Bassanio as they agree on the terms of the bond(1.3.160-63). This single quote shows many traits Shylock possesses including his desire to rob Antonio of a pound of his own skin. Shylock first mocks Antonio for being Christian by saying he has â€Å"fair skin.† By saying this, Shylock displays his animosity to the way Jews are treated as well as increasing the tension between the two. Also, by say ing â€Å"what part of your body pleaseth me,† Shylock shows his cruel intention to cause harm and appease his own desires without caring how it affects Antonio. Another situation that showcases Shylock’s scarce supply of humanity is his declination of Bassanio’s offer to pay him