What impressions have we formed of Shylock in the first Act?

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What impressions have we formed of Shylock in the first Act?

In the first act of Merchant of Venice we have formed many different impressions of Shylock and throughout this assignment I will be telling you what these impressions are. When we first meet Shylock we see him as a genuine man doing his job as a money lender. We also learn straight from the start that Shylock is a different religion to most other people living around at that time because when Antonio and Bassanio come to borrow some money off Shylock he says, 'I will buy with you sell with you talk with you walk with you and so following: but I will not eat with you.' He says this because he is a strong believer in the Jewish religion and as we know Jews do not eat pork as they see pigs as dirty animals.

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        Antonio and Bassanio are looking to borrow three thousand ducats so that Bassanio can impress Portia who he loves dearly. Antonio decides to visit Shylock to see if he can borrow the money off him, even though they do not get on to well.

When Bassanio and Antonio first meet with Shylock we first of all see that Shylock is not fond of Antonio as he says, ‘I hate him for he is a Christian: but more, for that in low simplicity he lends out money gratis.’ Shylock is basically saying here that he hates Antonio because of his religion ...

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