mov essays

mov essays Shylock is a wealthy Jewish moneylender in Venice. Although He only appears in 5 scenes throughout The Merchant of Venice the few manifestations we get of him show that he is clearly one of the three most dominating and powerful characters in the entire play. Shylocks case is rather interesting as his power slowly deteriorates throughout the performance. At the beginning he has it all-money, family, identity and a lot of power. However, his focus on money, his hatred of Christians, his inflexible will and his extreme lust for revenge all contribute to his eventual defeat that leaves him with little more than his life. As I said earlier Shylock has power over the majority of the characters in the play. The characters include Antonio-who is the merchant of Venice, Bassanio-Antonios friend, his servant Launcelot and daughter Jessica. The person whom Shylock has the greatest power of all over is Antonio. Antonios life is literally in Shylocks hands. The deal, which Shylock makes with Antonio over the 3,000 ducats, is extremely well thought out and could only come from a very cunning and experienced usurer. Shylocks skills as a negotiator ensure that Antonio takes the bait and that the flesh-bond becomes sealed. When the 3 months is up and Antonio fails to pay Shylock is determined to have his bond. Shylocks intense loathing for Antonio for the mistreatment of himself is what stops him from taking thrice the original payment opting instead for the pound of flesh. This decision and lack of mercy is what drives Shylock to his worthy demise. This chain of events is the flesh-bond storyline, which combined with the love-casket tale makes the entire story. Shylocks bond is initially with Bassanio. Bassanio just used Antonios name as credit for the loan. Although it is Antonio who must either hold the bond or forfeit it is Bassanio who gains the 3,000 ducats. Without Shylocks loan through Antonio to Bassan...