Shylock and Antonio in
One of the main themes of ‘The Merchant of Venice’ is ‘Good verses Evil’. By incorporating characters into this theme, the two I see as most fitting are Antonio, representing good, friendship and honesty and Shylock as Antonio’s enemy, represents evil and dishonesty. Therefore the character of whom I most admire is Antonio, as he stands for all that is good. As much as I admire Antonio, I dislike Shylock, who has no mercy for those around him and would probably exact a harsh revenge even on his best of friends. We first meet Shylock in (Act I (scene iii)) where Bassanio seeks out Shylock for a loan in Antonio’s name, it is the first we hear of the Jew’s hatred for Antonio, ‘I hate him for he is a Christian.’ (Act I (scene iii) ) This shows the reasons for Shylock’s hatred towards Antonio, both financially and religiously. Any chance he can get, he will destroy Antonio’s life and fortune. This is proved by what he says later on in Act I scene iii, ‘ If I can once catch him upon the hip, I will feed fat the grudge against him.’ While the bond is being decided Shylock hides his hate for Antonio and instead misleads him to believe their differences have been forgotten and that friendship has sh . . .
Antonio’s true generosity and un-selfishness is shown when Bassanio, who is already in a state of debt to Antonio, asks for another loan. He then drops his false friendship in (Act III (scene i) and demands his pound of flesh. In contrast to what I think of Shylock, I think Antonio is a well-mannered, merciful, trusting, honest and intelligent gentleman who places his friends above himself. Antonio asks if Bassanio is in love and once Bassanio has finished telling Antonio how he is going to repay him, he finally tells of his love for Portia in Belmont. We hear of Antonio’s sadness for which he cannot grasp the reason. Shylock is now the one who begs for mercy, even though he had rendered none to Antonio. ’ (Act I (scene iii)) (ANTONIO) This shows that Antonio is trusting and believes in giving people a second chance even his worst enemy. This policy of no mercy shows he has a slightly murderous and ruthless attitude. For these reasons, Shylock is the character that I dislike the most in ‘The Merchant of Venice’. ’ (Act III (scene iii) This quotation shows how Antonio is understanding and accepts his mistakes he has performed in the past. But he plays a major part in Act iii as Antonio has defaulted. Throughout the play the examples I notice are mostly of Antonio’s trust and loyalty to his friends, which I believe is admirable. ’ (Act I (scene i)) This quotation shows us that Antonio is willing to lend his wealth, his estate and even his life to his most dearest of friends. As this scene carries on Antonio gives up all hope of living and he suspects the Doctor has taken the side of Shylock. And that reason and justice always pull through.
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Acceptance Essays
