Shylock....Should we sympathise?
Shylock. Father, Money Lender, Jew. This is how we view him, and also how his fellow companions in Venice would have differentiated him from themselves. Now, I've been struggling for a while on what my actual opinion of Shylock is. On one hand, I'm disgusted by the way that the Christian figures in the play treat Shylock. Not only is it outwardly degrading, but it is decidedly un-Christian-like. Christians are taught from multiple passages in the Bible that they should love their neighbour, and that includes others who are different from themselves. However, Shylock's character can also be viewed as a little snobby, and generally overbearing (especially regarding his daughter Jessica), and a little too attached to his wealth and his material possessions.
I'm not sure I will ever have the answer to the question posed as to whether or not Shylock is a good character, and whether we as the audience should like him. However, through closer reading of the text, I'm inclined to believe that Shylock is justified in seeking revenge on those who have treated him badly over the years, but that he has also earned at least a small amount of their general hatred through his own misgivings.
Initially, I was leaning more to the side of no sympathy for Shylock. I mean, come on, would anyone really sympathise with a guy who VERY LITERALLY wanted to take ONE WHOLE POUND OF FLESH out of another man because he owed him money (albeit because he was stupid and invested all of his money in ships, rather than the more stable - and less likely to sink - trade of those on land)? Yeah, I wouldn't either. My initial read led me to believe (as I'm sure it led many others to believe) that Shylock was completely insane, and unjustified for his actions. However, upon closer reading of the play, I was able to connect with Shylock's point of view.
Here is a man who has been ridiculed for his religion his entire life, from all angles. The upper classes (such as Antonio), as well as those of lower classes (represented here by Salerio and Solanio) appear to be bombarding him with both outward insults, and the more subtle micro-aggressions that appear simply as them ignoring him, changing the subject and refusing to acknowledge that he has real-world problems too - like his daughter running off in the middle of the night with a random man, and taking most of his money with her.
Therefore, I believe that we owe Shylock at least some kind of sympathy - at least to acknowledge his predicament and the sheer amount of discrimination that he is faced with daily. However, he appears to be a little more bloodthirsty than the situation calls for - so maybe not too much sympathy.
I'm not sure I will ever have the answer to the question posed as to whether or not Shylock is a good character, and whether we as the audience should like him. However, through closer reading of the text, I'm inclined to believe that Shylock is justified in seeking revenge on those who have treated him badly over the years, but that he has also earned at least a small amount of their general hatred through his own misgivings.
Initially, I was leaning more to the side of no sympathy for Shylock. I mean, come on, would anyone really sympathise with a guy who VERY LITERALLY wanted to take ONE WHOLE POUND OF FLESH out of another man because he owed him money (albeit because he was stupid and invested all of his money in ships, rather than the more stable - and less likely to sink - trade of those on land)? Yeah, I wouldn't either. My initial read led me to believe (as I'm sure it led many others to believe) that Shylock was completely insane, and unjustified for his actions. However, upon closer reading of the play, I was able to connect with Shylock's point of view.
Here is a man who has been ridiculed for his religion his entire life, from all angles. The upper classes (such as Antonio), as well as those of lower classes (represented here by Salerio and Solanio) appear to be bombarding him with both outward insults, and the more subtle micro-aggressions that appear simply as them ignoring him, changing the subject and refusing to acknowledge that he has real-world problems too - like his daughter running off in the middle of the night with a random man, and taking most of his money with her.
Therefore, I believe that we owe Shylock at least some kind of sympathy - at least to acknowledge his predicament and the sheer amount of discrimination that he is faced with daily. However, he appears to be a little more bloodthirsty than the situation calls for - so maybe not too much sympathy.
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