In Act 1 Scene 3 introduces Shylock ; before Shylock ever says a word to Antonio, he lets the audience know in an aside that he hates Antonio. He hates him for humiliating him in public by spitting on him and calling him names such as "dog" and "cutthroat Jew". Shylock tells the audience he hopes to exact revenge on Antonio both for his own humiliation and for the bullying that the Jews have long suffered at the hands of the Christians. I hate him for he is a Christian;. . . If I can catch him once upon the hip, I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him. He hates our sacred nation . . . Cursed be my tribe if I forgive him (line 40-49) This is the first time we meet him, and we don’t like him for what he said, and that gives us a bad impression if him.
This immediately show Shylock is showing basics of antagonism not to ever forgive the Christians. We also see that how Shylocks believes his religion is more important than Christians, this is expressed clearly through his direct statement 'I hate him for he is a Christian'. Shylock also presents his religion as better to that of the Christian religion by saying his religion is 'sacred', he make strong powerful words to point out his beliefs. we as audience learn where the barriers are very obvious and Shylocks hatred for Antonio and the Christians.
In Act 1 Scene 3, introduces Antonio, who is a Christian; a Venice merchant who is best friends with Bassanio and often supports him with loans. He is wealthy, but at the start of the play, all of his money is tied up with his five ships which are at sea. He takes a loan from Shylock, a Jewish money lender who he has mistreated in the past. Antonio asks to borrow him 3000 ducats for three months.
Shylock mocks Bassanio and Antonio but then he agrees to lend them the amount they need for three months, but Shylock then tells Antonio that he wants to be friends with him and instead of paying him back interest he makes a deal, to sign the bond that says, if Antonio can’t pay back in time/forfeit (in three months) he will conclude the bond for a pound of flesh as a "merry sport." In the second act, however, he still seems to stand a deep grudge against the Christians, he tells Jessica that he is going in hate and not in friendship to eat dinner with them. "But yet I'll go in hate to feed upon the prodigal Christian. . . .I am right loath to go." (line 14-16).
Another point of Shylock, is he is villainous by mistreating Jessica, and Launcelot. Shylock mistreats his own daughter, Jessica. He mistreats her by keeping her as a prisoner in her own house, not letting her out, and not letting her hear the Christian music around her and do anything that has to do with the Christians. He orders Jessica to lock up the windows and doors as soon he comes home from work .Her love for a Christian is one of the side-stories in the play, When she runs away with Lorenzo, she steals ducats from her father in addition to her disloyalty to her decision to disobey him in marrying a Christian. She expresses uncertainty about her decision when she dresses as a boy to run away. She says, "...I am much ashamed for my exchange. (II.v.36)" By this she means that she is ashamed to be dressed as a boy, but the second meaning of the quote is that she is ashamed to have exchanged her love and loyalty to her father for the love of a Christian.
Shakespeare adds more sympathy when he we find out the only companionship ever to Shylock was his daughter Jessica. We learn of how his daughter betrays him for a Christian. Salario and Salanio both Christians and friends of Antonio laughs at Shylock about his daughter running away with a Christian. But in return, Shylock gives a powerful speech about the suffering he has faced at the hands of Christian because he is a Jew. (Act 3, scene 1)
I am a Jew : hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passion, fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject
to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer… This makes shylock very angry and forces him to take the decision of getting revenge on Antonio.
In Act 4 Scene 1, the scene begins in a Venice court of justice, shylock wants to seek revenge on Antonio, and he does that by the bond that Antonio signed which shylock soon becomes obsessed with. In the court Shylock is asked to show mercy 3 times by the lawyer (who is Portia disguise as a lawyer) but he clearly refuses, through the whole scene, we always see him sharpening his knife and getting ready to cut Antonio’s flesh. He finally gets his bond and walks over to Antonio who is tied onto a chair he gets ready to stab Antonio, when Portia disrupts him and tells him that the bond says to take exactly a pound of flesh without any blood shedding. Shylock gets confused, so he decides to accept the money that Bassanio offered early to save Antonio but it was too late. The judge of the Venice court declares that shylock is to be punished, and his punishment was to convert him into a Christian. Shylock breaks down and says that he rather die than become a Christian.
Everyone laughs and push shylock as he walked out the court room. Since shylock as now converted into a Christian, he no longer is allowed in his house which is in the ghetto. He is left alone outside with no shelter and food, he has no money. Then we are turned to Belmont where we see Jessica standing near the sea with a low background music. Her reaction to music in the final act shows her further guilt for disloyalty. Shylock doesn't allow music in his house and when Jessica hears the music in Belmont at the close of the play she says, "I am never merry when I hear sweet music.” This statement suggests that the music has made her think of her father and reflect upon her own actions. She is unhappy at the end of the play.
