To the reader, The Merchant of Venice, may seem horrible and it be impossible to find the “comedy” at all. Perhaps, Shakespeare may have been simply trying to make people laugh at the appalling injustice we cause one another because of the small differences among us. Or, perhaps, he may have at first wanted the viewers of The Merchant of Venice to feel that they, the Christians, had nothing in common with the Jew, Shylock. What on earth could the Christians have in common with a Jew? Shakespeare demonstrates that the Christians were just as hungry for money and fortune as the Jew. Perhaps this is a comedy after all.
That Shakespeare sees people, Jew or Christian, as simply people, and if he could not make people see that they were all people with common ground, then he would have to start with something he knew everyone could relate with. The best item to come to mind was money. No matter if the amount is in ducats, dollars or pesos, everyone understands this concept. Although it does not seem perfectly clear in what way Shakespeare was trying to deliver the comedy in this play, one thing is evident, Shakespeare was a man before his time.
So, besides trying to find where the comedy is, maybe one should try to find where the most superficial person lies. Who is more superficial in this play? The Jew whose only business is money, or the Christians? It seems apparent that both are superficial, and one no more than the other. In the play Bassanio does not try to hide the fact that he needs to marry a woman of wealth to restore his fortune. Shylock's daughter Jessica, promises to steal jewels and fortune from her father, proving that she too is money hungry. Even Salerio and Solanio seem to talk of nothing more than riches and wealth throughout the play. So yes, they all are superficial, and one can not peg one any more than another.So again, we are back to the comedy of the whole thing!
Now that I think about it, it seems strange that the majority of our class found no humor in this play. When one thinks of why this may be, it is simple. We do not laugh when we read this play because we have not changed. Since the time of this play, we have inched very little away from prejudice and belittling people because they are what we feel is different, therefore making them strange.
...n the play is shown through Parris’ frequent biblical allusions. He is aligning himself with the central values of the community, hoping that this will result in his acceptance and restore his belonging, which is constantly on shaky grounds. However in his desire to relate himself with Godliness and belong to this Christian society, he goes too far and starts to compare himself with God, saying he has “fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me”. This pride and self importance leads to his exclusion by most of the townspeople.
Hammurabi was the King of Babylonia from about 1790 BC to 1750 BC Hammurabi is believed to be the sixth ruler of the Amorite Dynasty. Although he was a successful governmental and military leader, his name will always be known for his Codes of Law. Hammurabi was the first King ever to record all the Laws of his Empire. He had a black stone carved with the 282 laws of Babylonia. On top of the stone sits a statue of a God handing the laws to Hammurabi. Because of his codes, Hammurabi was an immensely influential leader.
In “Violent Media Is Good for Kids,” Gerard Jones states that violence is good for children. Even with all the bad things people have said about the media and the effect of violence on kids, it has helped many kids reveal their feelings and their fears. In Jones article, he uses his own experience as an example of himself when he was a kid. Also, he uses his son and other kids experience as an example. Most kids use their imagination to pretend to be a protagonist they like. From reading this article it has helped me understand more that not all media violence are harmful for children. Violent media have helped kids express their feelings in a good way. With my own experience as a kid, I can relate to Jones experience. In his essay he uses diction, tone, organization and examples.
There are some who absolutely love this novel, and others who absolutely hate it. I find myself somewhere in the middle. I am not a fan of zombies, nor am I anti-zombie. They are just another creature simply there in the literary world. I did love the details surrounding many of the stories in the novel, and found the author’s creativity pushing me to me more creative in my own work. It is not my favorite, and I probably would not read it again, although I did appreciate the style of writing after I got used to the format of the interviewer questioning the survivors.
“Sleep deprivation is epidemic among adolescents, with potentially serious impacts on mental and physical health, safety, and learning. Most teenagers undergo a biological shift to a later sleep-wake up cycle, which can make early school start times particularly challenging.” says Boergers.
Anti-Semitism in "The Merchant of Venice" Throughout the play, "The Merchant of Venice" William Shakespeare portrays anti-Semitism through many of his characters. Audiences today may interpret the play to be offensive, where as people of Shakespeare’s time would have accepted the play as part of everyday life. The majority of London’s population at the time was anti-Semitic because there were very few Jews living there.
Some of the audiences in the 16th century, believed that Jews were at a lower stage than them, and they only believed this because the Jews were a different (“different” referred to as “wrong “for Christians who lived in the 16th century), religion they believed they were not people, like them. The play Merchant of Venice shows the evil side of the Jews. The character’s name is “Shylock”. He is the character of evil doing; he is also the character that Shakespeare chose to represent a Jewish character. As a Jew, he represents the race as being wicked, evil etc.
Everyone who reads The Merchant of Venice must bear in mind that it is, like any other literary work, a creation of a skillful writer, rising a case that can be a subject for many interpretations and not necessarily revealing a specific view of its writer, however it aims to convey a certain moral to the readers. Therefore, the character of shylock, being stereotyped or not, with its controversy is a tool manipulated to convey a moral message: when people live in a society that is open to cultural diversity and that values the contributions of all society members – regardless of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, race, life styles, and beliefs – they will be one step closer to living in a civil society. Works Cited 1) Encyclopaedia Britannica, the definition of "Anti-Semitism". 2) E. E. Stoll, Shylock (an essay in Shakespeare Studies, 1927). 3) John Palmer, Comic Characters of Shakespeare, Shylock. 4) John Palmer, Comic Characters of Shakespeare, Shylock.
...his pictures as illogical and non-realist. The images were not of this earth therefore different from things or geometrical figures. Also the way he uses colour is like no one else. In the conversations Chagall makes many references to poetry, but that is not surprising for to him his art is poetry. His concern was never with a movement but with the purpose of bringing to people the love and gaiety of his paintings. Chagall is known to use much more than a canvas as a showcase for his work. He is world famous for stained glass and mosaics from Jerusalem to the United Nations. For him a stained glass “is a transparent partition between my heart and the heart of the world.” In his paintings we see his childhood and homeland and for Marc Chagall his paintings are his memory.
...ived a corrupt life and society which went against their Christian values. In a This I Believe Essay, by Kevin, he writes, “I believe that others have already defined much of who I am supposed to be, and I have spent a great deal of time running from that definition. I believe that there comes a time in everyone’s life when he or she must speak up and address stereotypes and assumptions because they are easier to believe that the work it takes to discover the uniqueness of the individual.” In the case of this subject at hand, the Christians define the Jews as evil and in a much more separated society from them despite both being human beings. The prejudice they produce, the nefarious lifestyle, all come into the factor displaying Christians as the true villain in The Merchant of Venice.
William Shakespeare shows how two tradesmen can have completely different lives when others view them differently in the play The Merchant of Venice. In the play, Bassanio, Antonio’s friend, needs money to pursue his love. They seek a loan from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender in Antonio’s name. The contract is for three times the value of the bond in three months or else Shylock cuts off a pound of flesh from Antonio. While all this is happening, there are love plots going on. One of which is for Shylock’s daughter to elope with Lorenzo, a Christian. Later on, Antonio’s source of money, his ship, is reported sunken in the English Channel, dooming him to the loss of one pound of his flesh. There is a trial on the bond, and when it seems sure that Antonio will die, Portia, disguised as a doctor of laws legally gets Antonio out of the situation and Shylock recieves harsh penalties. Antonio and Shylock, two similar businessmen of Venice, are viewed differently and are treated oppositely to heighten the drama of the play and mold a more interesting plot.
Shakespeare displays love of many magnitudes: the friendship between Antonio and Bassanio, love between Bassanio and Portia, and Shylock’s love of money. Antonio and Bassanio have little money but risk everything for love. This is a way for Shylock to either make money or kill a Christian, which will satisfy him. Lee describes Shylock’s feelings towards Christians, “Indeed, although Shylock will neither "eat," "drink," nor "pray" with the Christians, he is willing to "buy" and "sell" with them.”
“I am a jew?”-Shylock the merchant. The Merchant of venice is a play from William Shakespeare, in which a merchant called Antonio gets a loan from Shylock to pay for Bassanio's trip. Through a string of unfortunate events lead to a angry Shylock nearly killing Antonio, but that is narrowly averted. Shylock in the play “The Merchant of Venice” can be seen as a victim due to the hostile prejudice towards his kind, unfair treatment of him, and the random events that cause him misery.
Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice contains many themes and elements that are considered timeless or universal. Samuel Taylor Coleridge defines a timeless or universal element as a “representation of men in all ages and all times.” A universal element is relevant to the life of every human being – it is universal. The first major theme that plays an important role in the play is the Christians’ prejudice against the Jews. A second important theme is the attitude toward money. Perhaps the most important theme of the play is the love between people. This love can occur between the same sex, or the opposite sex, platonic or romantic. In Merchant of Venice, the three timeless elements are prejudice, money, and love.
...g the necessary skills, the knowledge and the training to produce graduates who are capable of entering the labor force as an asset to the organization and the country as a whole.