The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare shows the result of someone pursuing ambition, can turn them into a monster. The story goes through several themes like love, friendship or trust. But one theme that stand out most is the theme Revolving around the Jewish merchant Shylock, and his thirst for revenge. His part of the story is how he made a deal, and how he wishes nothing more, but a pound of flesh of his rival, Antonio whom he despises the most. Through Shylock's merciless determination of getting the pound of flesh from Antonio, has others think he is some sort of wild animal.
Shylock has high amounts of anger towards Antonio, to a point where he has little to no mercy to what he wants, and what he is determined to get, which is a pound of Antonio's flesh. Shylock yells in rage of what he wants, rather than thinking about mercy towards Antonio, "I'll have my bond! I won't hear you speak! I'll have my bond, say no more. I'll not be made soft and stupid fool: Shaking my head, relenting, sighing - and yielding to Christian entreaties!" (3.3.12-15) This is obvious evidence that Shylock, without a doubt will stop at nothing to get a pound of flesh from Antonio, despite his cries of mercy. It doesn't matter about his money anymore it seems, he is just determined about the deal to be made, which is Antonio's flesh, only that would satisfy him in his eyes. Despite everyone telling him to yield, and to Antonio mercy, Shylock still wants to get the pound of flesh from Antonio,"Till you can rant the seal from off my bond, you are merely damaging your lungs in shouting so loud. Mend your wit, young man, or it will collapse in ruins, beyond repair! I stand here for justice." (4.1.139-142) Shylock doesn't even care to what others have to say or think, because to him, it's just pointless ranting. He see's this opportunity for revenge as "justice" as he keeps mentioning he's justifying for the better good by doing an action such as this, cutting off an entire pound of human flesh.
People hate Shylock more, after seeing what he wants to do with his end of the deal. Shylock's thirst for revenge upset Gratiano to an extent where he called Shylock a wild animal,"Damn you, you unyielding dog! Justice is to blame for letting you live. I almost doubt my faith and share Pythagora's theory that the bodies of animals inhibit men. Your cur-like spirit comes from a wood whose soul, when he he was hanged for killing humans, fled into the womb of your damned mother, and mingled itself in you! Your desires are wolffish, bloody, mean and ravenous! How Shylock sees this, is completely different of the other people of the courtroom. Shylock's determination for Antonio's flesh goes to show how inhumane human ambition can be when they want what they want, even if it's the death of the person they hate, they will stop at nothing to get what they want. Even Jessica, Shylock's very own daughter goes against Shylock, due to the type of person he is,"Alas what a grievous sin it is in me to be ashamed to be my father's child! I may be a daughter of his blood, but I'm not related to his life-style." (2.3.15-18) Even Shylock's own daughter dislikes Shylock, because of the type of person he is to to others to an extent to be called the devil himself. Shylock's own ambition has many people, even his own daughter, to dislike him, not because he's a Jew, but simply of what he wants and what he does to others.
So, someone can turn into a wild animal or a monster because of their own ambition. Due to Shylock's determination for getting revenge over mercy, he will stop at nothing to get what he wants, even if it would kill someone. And surely, people involed with the situation will have to say something about it too, calling him an animal, or the devil himself. Shylock, although he made a deal between Antonio between having three thousand ducats, or a pound of Antonio's flesh, he stopped at nothing to get Antonio's flesh after news of bankruptcy. He brought him to court, to truly show how his ambition can be a nasty one. But in the end, he was brought down by the law, against his will to do anything, and not even being able to get a pound of Antonio's flesh. There is something to learn from this, definitly. Following ambition for the wrong reason can cause others to hate you, and sometimes, it doesn't go as the way most expect it to be. It's ok to have some sort of motivation or determination for something, but using it for the wrong reason will only get you so far.
Friday, April 22, 2016
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Merchant of Venice
1. The setting takes place in ancient Venice. Everyone is classified in wealth and fame. Princes and princesses are on top, and the poor being on the bottom, and people only interact with people of their same class.
2. He is a merchant of Venice, tracking the world selling his wares. He faces the fact that he is sad and depressed, but doesn't understand the reason why, he just claims he is no matter how many times his friends try to find the reason why.
3. He asks Antonio for a loan, so he can repay his debts and also be wealthy enough to rival dukes proposing to Portia.
4. Portia decided to stay neutral, making sure she won't have to make a decision she might have to regret, but still follow the will of her father.
Act 1 Scene 3
1. Because most of the Dukes are not in her interest, yet she is forced to choose one of them due to the will of her father.
2. Skylock is a person in the city who is working out giving 3 thousand ducats with Basanio and Antonio as a loan for three months. He has a big significance because he is working on the negotiation for three thousand ducats
3. Both Skylock and Antonio made an agreement on creating some sort of friendship or bond together when making the negotiation.
4. I'd imagine of the religious conflict they have between each other causes some issues for Skylock. Since Skylock is a Jew, and Antonio being Christian, Antionio doesn't like Slylock because the fact that he is a Jew. Not only that, but Antonio loans money without any interest whatsoever, causing a few problems in interest in the economy.
5. In Skylocks shoes, it is pretty difficult to trust Antonio, especially how much he looks down on Skylock. Will he keep his word in friendship, I'm not too sure, probably not if he admits he wants to look down on Slylock due to his religious difference.
This is difficult for me. I could see why people are not liking the idea of trusting their friend with their wealth, but isn't that also a good thing? A friend is someone you should trust, not utilize as a tool. If it's wealth someone should share, then why camt they? I mean there are ambitions of an individual, yes, but these ambitions should never break the bond of two friends, that's at least what I think. But in regard of Antonio and Skylock, I don't think their combination would work well. Back in their time, discrimination was a big and unavoidable issue, so when one of them starts to trust one of the two, the other can easily stab them in the back because how close they may or may not be.
2. He is a merchant of Venice, tracking the world selling his wares. He faces the fact that he is sad and depressed, but doesn't understand the reason why, he just claims he is no matter how many times his friends try to find the reason why.
3. He asks Antonio for a loan, so he can repay his debts and also be wealthy enough to rival dukes proposing to Portia.
4. Portia decided to stay neutral, making sure she won't have to make a decision she might have to regret, but still follow the will of her father.
Act 1 Scene 3
1. Because most of the Dukes are not in her interest, yet she is forced to choose one of them due to the will of her father.
2. Skylock is a person in the city who is working out giving 3 thousand ducats with Basanio and Antonio as a loan for three months. He has a big significance because he is working on the negotiation for three thousand ducats
3. Both Skylock and Antonio made an agreement on creating some sort of friendship or bond together when making the negotiation.
4. I'd imagine of the religious conflict they have between each other causes some issues for Skylock. Since Skylock is a Jew, and Antonio being Christian, Antionio doesn't like Slylock because the fact that he is a Jew. Not only that, but Antonio loans money without any interest whatsoever, causing a few problems in interest in the economy.
5. In Skylocks shoes, it is pretty difficult to trust Antonio, especially how much he looks down on Skylock. Will he keep his word in friendship, I'm not too sure, probably not if he admits he wants to look down on Slylock due to his religious difference.
This is difficult for me. I could see why people are not liking the idea of trusting their friend with their wealth, but isn't that also a good thing? A friend is someone you should trust, not utilize as a tool. If it's wealth someone should share, then why camt they? I mean there are ambitions of an individual, yes, but these ambitions should never break the bond of two friends, that's at least what I think. But in regard of Antonio and Skylock, I don't think their combination would work well. Back in their time, discrimination was a big and unavoidable issue, so when one of them starts to trust one of the two, the other can easily stab them in the back because how close they may or may not be.
Friday, April 1, 2016
Merchant Of Venus Anticipation
"Don’t rely on outward appearances when making judgments." I agree with his statement. This is normal fact to not do this to another human being, since if you were to judge them, you would barely be scratching the surface instead of truly knowing whats their inner thoughts, or feelings. It's always a message well portrayed on poplar media and books. Some stories show a character on the outside, but seem to be a completely different person on the inside, like Curely's wife in the book of mice and men. She seems she just wants to flirt with everyone and find an excuse to, but she actually feels lonely and she wants someone to talk to, since she doesn't like Curely as much.
"Justice is always blind" I agree with this statement. Justice to me is just an understatement of ensuring someone pays for their crimes, because most justice isn't even fair at all. In fact, there is a family that got sued by a burglar getting injured trying to steal from the home, and he won. Justice doesn't realize the pain of the innocent, and only sees the surface of whats really going on. Whenever laws exist that let them do whatever they want, they'll do it regardless of the fact that its making the person going through it suffer.
"A brotherly love between two friends can be just as strong as an intimate love between a man and a woman" I agree with this. Friendship is important in this world, and its not a good thing to be lonely. For example, the friendship between George and Lennie is very strong. George does everything in his power to protect Lennie regardless the fact that he is a little on the unintelligent side, he does everything he can to take care of Lennie. And especially around that time, not many people travel together, they most likely will just travel on their own.
"You can break a promise as long as you have a good excuse" I disagree with this statement. A promise is something to never meant to be broken, regardless what you have to come up with, its never good to break someone's trust like that. I have broken promises in the past enough times to lose a trust between someone, and it wasn't a good feeling. If it's a promise you'll stick with, you should do so or you'll regret it later.
"Love is blind" I agree with this statement. Most relationships nowadays are just an excuse really. I rarely see a lasting relationship in school, only lasting for perhaps a month or even just a week. Love is a complicated thing, but it isn't something to take for granted. If you love someone, you will stay dedicated to your loved one, if it ends just like that, then why are you in a relationship in the first place? And well, there are also stories of how people end up in relationships, then realize they are completely different people than they expected.
"Stereotypes are often right" I disagree with this statement. The only reason why stereotypes exists is is herd mentality, or how groups of people are easily influenced by something and even change personality. The only reason why stereotypes exists is that majority people assumes something about certain types of people, and see it often enough to a point where majority people assumes what it means or what it is.
"An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is a good motto to live by" I agree with this statement. If the person doesn't get a punishment equal to what they did, it isn't very "equal". It's important to be fair nowadays anyways, I mean if you injure someone, and you just walk away it isn't very justifiable. Most courts nowadays don't hang the person, or cut their arms in the past, but they charge, and even jail time for the equivalent amount of what they did wrong, which sound pretty fair to me.
"Justice is always blind" I agree with this statement. Justice to me is just an understatement of ensuring someone pays for their crimes, because most justice isn't even fair at all. In fact, there is a family that got sued by a burglar getting injured trying to steal from the home, and he won. Justice doesn't realize the pain of the innocent, and only sees the surface of whats really going on. Whenever laws exist that let them do whatever they want, they'll do it regardless of the fact that its making the person going through it suffer.
"A brotherly love between two friends can be just as strong as an intimate love between a man and a woman" I agree with this. Friendship is important in this world, and its not a good thing to be lonely. For example, the friendship between George and Lennie is very strong. George does everything in his power to protect Lennie regardless the fact that he is a little on the unintelligent side, he does everything he can to take care of Lennie. And especially around that time, not many people travel together, they most likely will just travel on their own.
"You can break a promise as long as you have a good excuse" I disagree with this statement. A promise is something to never meant to be broken, regardless what you have to come up with, its never good to break someone's trust like that. I have broken promises in the past enough times to lose a trust between someone, and it wasn't a good feeling. If it's a promise you'll stick with, you should do so or you'll regret it later.
"Love is blind" I agree with this statement. Most relationships nowadays are just an excuse really. I rarely see a lasting relationship in school, only lasting for perhaps a month or even just a week. Love is a complicated thing, but it isn't something to take for granted. If you love someone, you will stay dedicated to your loved one, if it ends just like that, then why are you in a relationship in the first place? And well, there are also stories of how people end up in relationships, then realize they are completely different people than they expected.
"Stereotypes are often right" I disagree with this statement. The only reason why stereotypes exists is is herd mentality, or how groups of people are easily influenced by something and even change personality. The only reason why stereotypes exists is that majority people assumes something about certain types of people, and see it often enough to a point where majority people assumes what it means or what it is.
"An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is a good motto to live by" I agree with this statement. If the person doesn't get a punishment equal to what they did, it isn't very "equal". It's important to be fair nowadays anyways, I mean if you injure someone, and you just walk away it isn't very justifiable. Most courts nowadays don't hang the person, or cut their arms in the past, but they charge, and even jail time for the equivalent amount of what they did wrong, which sound pretty fair to me.
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