merchant of venice

Antonio was one of those citizens in the community who tormented Shylock. Antonio constantly insulting Shylock as shown in Act I Scene 3: 'I am as like to call thee so again ...' Shylock simply replies saying he would have Antonio's friendship and forgive him for what he has done. 'Why look you ... This is kind I offer'. Nevertheless, Antonio still rejects Shylock for he is a Jew, but Shylock is still willing to lend the money. If Shylock was truly a bad person he would have not listened to the proposal of Bassanio and Antonio and would have wanted nothing to do with them, but as we can see from the above quotations, Shylock is actually a good person and is willing to forget and forgive Antonio for how he has mistreated him. on the other hand we could look at this as Shylocks evil way of getting his revenge on Antonio. Not only does he suffer abuse from the local community and society as a whole, his own daughter Jessica steals from him before running away with her lover Lorenzo, a Christian and good friend of Antonio when Shylock hates both. Jessica not only steals ducats, she also takes the ring he received from his now-departed wife Leah. He has lost his only daughter to a Christian and he has lost the ring, which he kept in remembrance of his deceased wife. This has put him through even more pain as we can tell by how he describes his agony and sorrow in Act III, Scene 1:

'Out upon her ... for a wilderness of monkeys'.

This is yet another valid reason why Shylock should be analysed as a victim.

The previous act would have only added to Shylock's strong hatred for Christians and Antonio. After his daughter abandons him for Lorenzo and after Antonio, himself continues to abuse Shylock; it is understandable why Shylock wants vengeance upon him. The motive behind Shylock's decision has simply been an act of revenge to Antonio as Shylock says in Act III, Scene 1:

'To bait fish withal ... I will better the instruction.'

He is human as all of us are and as humans, we all let emotions get in the way when making decisions such as for love, anger or sympathy. We all have done this at least once, but does that make us villains? Just because Shylock has acted on revenge as most of us do, it doesn't make him a villain. He is simply just a victim to human emotions.

After so much suffering, Shylock takes Antonio to court so that he can get his part of the bond. The bond is a pound of flesh from Antonio's chest. Although this may seem murderous, Shylock is so filled with rage and fury he does not show any mercy when he most likely would have if Antonio had not provoked him. Shylock says in Act III Scene 3 'Thou call'dst me a dog ... beware my fangs'. He is stating that Antonio insulted him before he did anything wrong, but now that he has been insulted, Antonio should expect him to be vengeful. This quotation proves that Shylock's actions are only a result of Antonio's abuse, yet Shylock has been the one to ultimately pay. In the court, it is decided that Shylock should have to give up all of his possessions and wealth as well as convert to Christianity. So not only does he have to give up all his assets, wealth and belongings, he has to suffer the ultimate humiliation for a Jew. This provides more evidence as to why Shylock should be classified as a victim, not a villain.

In conclusion, as we have discussed above, Shylock is indeed a victim on more than one account. He has been discriminated against for being a Jew, he has suffered repeated abuse from Antonio and his friends, he has lost his family and he has lost all of his possessions and wealth leaving him alone and penniless in sorrow. When most people read the play, they immediately interpret Shylock as a villain. That may be the reader's own prejudice because Shylock is without doubt a victim as he has suffered losing everything: money, pride and even his family.