Shylock in the Merchant of Research Proposal

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He states, "If you deny me, fie upon your law" (IV.i.101) if they choose not to keep their own law when it does work according to their preferences at the time. Shylock is making a statement here that property - whether or not it is human - is property. His implication is that the law is good for all and, mercy can indeed trump the law as long as that mercy does not infringe upon one's comfort.

This scene is also significant because it demonstrates the extent of Shylock's personality. As we have previously noted, Shylock is a man driven by hatred and anger. In addition, it must be noted that he is also walking into the court as a victim. He understands what it feels like to be ostracized for being different. He understands completely how a man feels when he is shunned for his beliefs. Shylock is a strong man because he does not bend or break when we might expect him to. We might even expect him to have some mercy when he is offered a generous amount of money but he illustrates his determination when he refuses the offer. Years of oppression and mistreatment have emerged in this moment, for Shylock believes he has finally won and gained the upper hand on his Christian contemporaries. Shylock is looking to avenge yeas of having people turn their back on him because he is a Jew. He is looking to make up for all that he has lost in the way of being ostracized. He wants nothing material or monetary - he wants something that only Antonio can give him. This desire becomes his downfall. Harold Bloom notes that Shylock is certainly endowed with powerful emotions but they "make him dreadfully vulnerable" (Bloom 183). Shylock's lesson is one that we should all take to heart.

This passage reveals to us a very frightening side of humanity, when we look at it from a broad perspective.

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Shylock could have walked out of the court wealthier than he was when he walked in had he only taken what was offered to him. His inability to forget his emotions as he stood before the court became his downfall. He wanted Antonio to pay for what every Christian had done to him in the past and he thought he had devised a way to make that happen. He could have walked away being considered clever and merciful had he stopped before Portia entered the court but again, his emotions got the best of him. His hatred, anger, and bitterness could not be contained for just a few moments. While we often look at Shylock as a Jewish villain, we cannot forget why he became that way. It was only from the treatment of the Christians that he learned to hate as he did. His passage reveals this anger and desire to finally get even.

With this passage, Shakespeare reveals something that he is a master at doing - exposing the human being as human. There can be no doubt that Shylock is a mean-spirited man and essentially deserves what he gets at the end of the play. We cannot argue in defense of Shylock. However, with this character, and specifically with this passage, Shakespeare is revealing to us or tendencies as humans to become absorbed in details so much that we begin to lose or focus and our sensibilities. Shylock is any man that has allowed himself to become consumed with hatred, anger, and rage. Shakespeare makes Shylock an intelligent man so we cannot claim that he is an idiot or that he is mad. Shylock has his wits about him but he allows his judgment to become clouded with human emotion.

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