From Another Perspective Towards Shylock - 另面分析夏洛克角色.doc

from another perspective towards shylock另面分析夏洛克角色分析thesis statement: shylock is not born with being predatory or cold-blooded and he is also a victim of society, therefore, we should consider the justice even to criticize an evildoer. the merchant of venicea. history backgroundb. brief introductionc. the conflict in the storyd. my thesis statement.shylocka. a pitiful jewa. racial discriminationb. shylocks words and antonios insult to himc. portia and the dukes attitude towards himd. his daughters leave with a christianb. a hatred charactera. his abnormal revenge to antoniob. his hostility towards christianc. a deplorability persona. the sorrow of humanb. the tragedy of society. justice to criticize an evildoer abstract: the merchant of venice is a tragic comedy, written by william shakespeare. it can be described as a great interpretation of the nature of racial and religious interactions, as it involves a jewish character, shylock. the character of shylock is supposed to be the typical, blood-thirsty jewish villain, but he has been the subject of modern scholarly debate over whether the playwright displays anti-semitism or religious tolerance in his characterization, for, despite his stereotypical usurious nature, shylock is depicted as one understandable, full of hate, having been both verbally and physically abused by christians. shakespear portrays discrimination toward the jews in this play. he should be condemned for his cruelty and greed, but as a jew, a pagan, his suffering from the oppression against the race and the religion is worth for our sympathy.key words: shylock, jew, christian, discrimination, sympathyfrom another perspective towards shylock. the merchant of venicea. history backgroundthe merchant of venice is one of the most famous comedies of shakespeare. “it was performed about 1596, just when elizabeth ruled in the late years. the capitalism was just in the bud in britain in shakespeares period, in which time overseas trade was one important means for managing. in 1588, british navy defeated invincible armada, and won the only right at sea. it increased the capitalist class confidence. the country was in the prosperous state. at this time, the preponderant moods of shakespeares works were optimistic. his comedies professed that love can prevail everything.”(杨周翰，吴达元，赵萝蕤，1979：165，with my translation) the merchant of venice would have made audiences laugh a lot, yet it also explores the deeply serious matters of justice and the way that christians and jews relate to each other. b. brief introductionmuch less lighthearted than shakespeares other comedies, the work is a serious study of love and marriage and of the abuse of wealth. the theme of the merchant of venice is not only praise of the youth, love and ideal of happiness, but also their humanist ideal and pursuit for their own rights and interests. meanwhile, their humanist ideal is attained only after severe struggle against all obstacles. the heroes and heroines fight against destiny itself and mould their own fate according to their own efforts. as the sons and daughters of the renaissance, they trust not in god or other things but in themselves, and their endeavors are crowned with success. besides, with happy conclusion, it is a grave comedy. in it, portia is one of shakespeares ideal womenbeautiful, cultured, courteous and capable of rising to an emergency. shylock, an avaricious money-lender with powerful image, is a jew of pride and deep religious instincts. he has suffered much in the hands of the christians. his revolving bond is counterbalanced by antonios arrogant treatment of him. so his loud protest against racial discrimination cannot be altogether ignored by the audience.c. the conflict in the story“the conflict of the play unfolds as the contradictions between the trade capital and the usury capital in the early stage of capitalism. getting rich by trade is considered as a kind of decent conduct at that time. antonio is a representative of this merchant capital. usury as shylocks is an old-time exploitation passing down from feudal society. merchant capitalist is heavily reliant on loan, but usury is a grave threat to it. so the bourgeoisie abhor the usurys exploitation, and resist usury with many kinds of measures.”(外国文学教学参考资料选编组，1980：591) this is also why antonio shows nothing but contempt for shylock. shylock hates antonio because “he antonio lends out money gratis and brings down/the rate of usance here with us in venice”（莎士比亚（著），朱生豪（译），2005：24）, and obstructs him to make more money. in addition, another factor of their contradiction is race and religion. antonio is a christian. shylock is a jew. “in medieval europe, a large number of jews were engaged in money trade. according to the christian church, jews were christians deadly enemies. from medieval europe, there are many folklore and ballads about jews to murder christian children. on the basis of economy and religion, jews were the object of discrimination and persecution at that time.”(穆睿清、姚汝勤，1984：193) “anti-semitism was a general phenomenon in 16-century england. jews become a symbol of hate.”(安尼特t鲁宾斯坦，1998：49) “british people in the elizabethan period were great animosity to jews. the name shylocks pronunciation is similar to hebrew shalach. shalach means cormorant, a kind of raptatorial bird, which was the symbol of usurer in the elizabethan period. from middle ages, usuriousness is regarded as a kind of immoral behavior in christian society.”(gu zhengkun & liu hao, 2005:119, with my translation) in the historical conditions of the day, humanistic author shakespeare admires the bourgeois newer as antonio, because they are favorable for developing industry and commerce. to such a jewish usurer as shylock, shakespeare criticizes his cruel and exploitive behavior on one hand and gives him great sympathy for his racial discrimination on the other.d. my thesis statementhowever, nowadays the name shylock stands for the predatory and cold-blooded people, and the jewish usurer who gets happy from others suffering. people ignore that he is bullied in christian society. he does not get peoples understanding. distorted money concept and hatred mentality make him become different species of society. but the strong unrestrained and indignant cry he emits is never forgotten. therefore, even when we criticize an evildoer, we should also consider the justice and mercy given by the society and people around him. . shylock a. a pitiful jewa. racial discrimination “since the birth of christ, the relationship among jews and christians and the state has radically shifted from one end of the spectrum to the other. since its inception, christianity had been the religion coping with intolerance from the jews and the state, yet as time progressed the attitude toward jewry turned for the worse. as more christian rulers came into power, laws and regulations turned against those jews who had once turned against those supporting christ. not until after the medieval ages did the states position on jews begin to loosen up again. this is not to say that time would heal all problems. in truth, time simply brought a change. social and economic structure developed over the centuries, and some restrictions on jews were abandoned while still others were just being formed. treatment of the jews varied greatly from region to region. the age of enlightenment would bring changes that would finally have a long-standing impact on the jewish community. the middle ages began poorly for the jews of europe. in the early fourth century, it was inconceivable to separate church and state. in fact, religion played an important role in the government until well after the reformation.”（jews and the state）“in venice 1596, intolerance of the jews was a fact of the 16th century life even in venice, the most powerful and liberal city state in europe. by law the jews were forced to live in the old walled foundry or geto area of the city. after sundown the gate was locked and guarded by christians. in the daytime any man leaving the ghetto had to wear a red hat to mark him as a jew. the jews were forbidden to own property. so they practised as usury, the lending of money at interest. this was against christian law. the sophisticated venetians would turn a blind eye to it but for the religious fanatics, who hated the jews, it was another matter. ”（ michael radford，2004）throughout the course of history, jews have been relentlessly persecuted. the english are not an exception, since their history shows that the general english attitude towards jews during the elizabethan era is anti-semitic. this negative bias towards jews is apparently clear in william shakespeares the merchant of venice.b. shylocks words and antonios insult to himshylock, the jewish antagonist in shakespeares play, is stereotypically portrayed as a villain in accordance to popular prejudice. thus, shylock is labeled as a villain because he is a jew. this misconception of jews as being villainous in nature persisted well into the 20th century until the recent mass genocide of jews in hitlers nazi germany. this appalling incident is the marking point that sensitizes the modern reader to jewish sufferings. thus, in the eyes of the modern reader, shylocks characterization as a villain due to his religious convictions is refuted. still, it is not only sympathy that deems shylock as a hero but also the injustice he suffers in the hands of the christian society which includes his converted daughter jessica. the character of shylock has been the subject of modern scholarly debate over whether the playwright displays anti-semitism or religious tolerance in his characterization, for, despite his stereotypical usurious nature, shylock is depicted as one understandable, full of hate, having been both verbally and physically abused by christians, and he is given one of shakespeares most eloquent speeches:“he hath disgraced me, andhindered me half a million; laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies ” (莎（著），朱（译），2005：74)in his next significant speech, shylock recounts how antonio has abused him in the past. in these lines shylock sounds quite rational, even though he has reason to be angry and frustrated. he says, in effect, that antonio has scolded him many times in the marketplace about his money and his interest, and he always bears it with a patient shrug; you call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, and spet upon my jewish gaberdine, and all for use of that which is mine own. well then, it now appears you need my help: what should i say to you? should i not say, hath a dog money? is it possible a cur can lend three thousand ducats? orshall i bend low, and in a bondmans key, with bated breath, and whispering humbleness, say this: fair sir, you spat on me on wednesday last; you spurnd me such a day; another timeyou calld me dog-and for these courtesiesill lend you thus much moneys? (莎（著），朱（译），2005：28-30) shylock has such a magnanimous spirit, that he even offeres antonio, who has abused him terribly, a loan, free of interest. shylock is willing to loan money to one who has totally ruined him in public, on terms that are nicer than his normal business terms. this kind of forgiving heart can be seen in act i scene iii, beginning with line 134: “why, look how you storm ! i would be friends with you, and have your love, forget the names that you have staind me with, supply your present wants and take no doit of usance for my moneys, and youll not hear me: this is kind i offer.” (2005：30)and just in case the audience or reader thinks shylock is exaggerating, antonio answers: “i am as like to call thee so again/to spet on thee again, to spurn thee too.”(2005:30)even after antonios admission, shylock still claims, “i would be friends with you and take no doit of usance for my moneys.”（2005:30） in lieu of interest, he suggests that “in a merry sport” they will draw up a bond under which antonio will be required to forfeit a pound of his flesh if the loan is not repaid. what can shylock mean by this strange arrangement? what does shakespeare want us to think about? since we cannot guess motives, let us take it at face value: shylock really means it as a joke. as shylock explains, what can he gain by exacting a pound of flesh? he is a businessman, and a pound of flesh is not worth anything! antonio accepts the bond, calls shylock a “gentle jew”, and says to bassanio, “the hebrew will turn christian: he grows kind.”（2005:32） it is very evident this kind of racial discrimination can be seen in these words. c. portia and the dukes attitude towards himantonio is generous and loyal to his friends, but treats shylock so disparaging. portia is also disparaging to shylock. she is prejudiced against the race.“if he have the condition of a saint and the complexion of a devil, i had rather he should shrive me than wive me.” (2005:22)“the prince of morocco is the most unselfish and enamored in her wooers, but she is apathetical to his entreaty just because he has the complexion of a devil.”(安尼特t鲁宾斯坦，1998：45-46) prejudice is found between gender, religion, cultural and geographical background, and race. so she also excludes the race as shylock.in the courtroom scene of act four, scene one, we perceive shylock as a victim because of the criticisms and insults of the duke. from the beginning it is blatantly obvious that the duke is on antonios side. “go one ，and call the jew into the court.”（莎（著），朱（译），2005：112）by not calling him by his name we get the impression that the dukes opinion of shylock is very low. “when the duke asks shylock show thy mercy, he calls the name shylock reluctantly. but he changes to call him jew at once. meanwhile, he asks shylock not only to give up punishment, but also to give antonio 1500 to bleed for him.”(安尼特t鲁宾斯坦，1998：47 ) it is thus clear the law is strict and unjust to such race as shylock. what is the reason? “hath not a jew eyes? hath not a jew hands, organs,dimensions, senses, affections, passions?” （莎（著），朱（译），2005：74）d. his daughters leave with a christianat the same time, the people in venice mock and laugh at shylock when his daughter elopes with his money to marry a christian. salarino and salanio make fun of him by saying “. the dog jew did utter in the streets: i never heard a passion so confusd, so strange, outrageous, and so variable, as the dog jew did utter in the streets: my daughter! o my ducats! o my daughter! fled with a christian! o my christian ducats! justice! the law! my ducats, and my daughter, a sealed bag, two sealed bags of ducats, of double ducats, stoln from me by my daughter! and jewels! two stones, two rich and precious stones （2005:62-64）and salarino adds, “why, all the boys in venice follow him, crying his stones, his daughter, and his ducats.”（2005:64）they have no sympathy towards the man who has just lost his only family and his precious money. maybe he is greedy, but it is still his money and one will expect people to feel sorry for him but they are even more cruel to him by laughing at his losses.based on the sociological factor, shylock is a sympathetic character because of the environmental pressures in the play. thus, to the modern reader, shylock is a victim of injustice which is representative of his race. by understanding the history behind the creation of shylock, his tribulations can be assimilated to the general jewish suffering.b. a hatred charactera. his abnormal revenge to antonioeven though one should feel sorry for shylock, he himself is a very cruel and vindictive man. he hates antonio and all christians and when he gets the opportunity to take revenge he is more than prepared to do so. he and antonio have a bond which states that if antonio is not able to pay off the debt of three thousand ducats he borrows from shylock within three months, he would have to pay the debt by letting shylock cut a pound of flesh from his body closely to the heart. when antonios ships are lost and he is not able to pay off the debt, shylock rejoices in his lose. “. other men have ill luck too: antonio, as i heard in genoa, .hath an argosy cast away, coming from tripolis” (莎（著），朱（译），2005：76) says tubal, a friend of shylocks informing him about antonios misfortune. shylock rejoices saying “i thank god, i thank god. i thank thee good tubal: good news, good news! ha, ha! . i am very glad of it: ill plague him; ill torture him: im glad of it” (2005:76). this shows that he is a horrible man.b. his hostility towards christianshylocks servant launcelot says, “i am famished in his service” (2005:42). shylock says to his daughter: “nor thrust your head into the public street,to gaze on christian fools with varnishd faces;” (2005:52)shylocks daughter jessica says informing bassanio and portia how much of a cruel man her father really is. these unkind attitudes of venitians have originated from venice being a commercial city of trade and business. people are untrustworthy and cunning. people who live here have to be aware of their fellow citizens, thus they have developed a untrusting, unkind attitude towards others.c. a deplorability persona. the sorrow of humanfrom what have discussed above, shylock is a victim of racial discrimination and religious persecution, but at last, he becomes a persecutor. he endures much abuse, tolerates much scorn, but does not suppres