2009032101281309

8/12/2019 2009032101281309

1/10

An Analysis of Relationship in The Merchant of Venice

Page 1

An Analysis of Relationship inAn Analysis of Relationship inAn Analysis of Relationship inAn Analysis of Relationship in

The MerchantThe MerchantThe MerchantThe Merchant oooof Venicef Venicef Venicef Venice

8/12/2019 2009032101281309

2/10


Page 2

CATALOGCATALOGCATALOGCATALOGI. Introduction .......................................................................................................P.3

II. Characters Analysis..........................................................................................P.3

A.SHYLOCK .........................................................................................................P.3

B.ANTONIO ..........................................................................................................P.4

C.PORTIA .............................................................................................................P.4D.BASSANIO ........................................................................................................P.4

E.LORENZO..........................................................................................................P.5

F.JESSICA.............................................................................................................P.5

G.LAUNCELOT......................................................................................................P.5

H.THE PRINCES OF MOROCCO AND ARRAGON .......................................................P.5

III. Summary of the play.......................................................................................P.6

IV. Three Contrast .................................................................................................P.6

A.CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH ....................................................................................P.6

B.VENICE AND BELMONT .....................................................................................P.7

C.THREE CASKETS ...............................................................................................P.7

V. The Recent News about Racism........................................................................P.8

A.EVENT.1............................................................................................................................. P.8

B.EVENT.2 ..........................................................................................................P.8

C.SELF-EXAMINATION ..........................................................................................P.8

VI. Conclusion .......................................................................................................P.9

VII. Reference......................................................................................................P.10

8/12/2019 2009032101281309

3/10


Page 3

IntroductionFrom ancient times to nowadays, there have been numerous conflicts or wars on

account of racial discrimination. Recently, we can still hear news about racial conflicts

and protests. One of Shakespeares plays, the Merchant of Venice, has often been

mentioned and quoted in some essays which expound and analyze the discord between

Jews and Christians. In the play, the main plot is that a Jewish moneylender, shylock,

agrees to lend a Christian merchant, Antonio, 3000 ducats, but the Jewish moneylender

claims a pound of flesh from the Christian merchant if he does not repay ducats on time.

Shylock, the revengeful Jewish moneylender and the major character in the story loses

all of his fortune, daughter and even his religious faith. Some debatable issue lying

behind his story make numerous people have the urge to express their various

viewpoints. Theres a version of those discussion: the reason which makes Shylock do

the terrible revenge might have something to do with the discrimination between the

Christians and the Jews. Till now, we are still informed of some racial problems

broadcast on TV or in the air. And we plan to research into the racial problem between

the Christians and the Jews which was addressed and discussed in this play, one of

Shakespeares masterpieces The Merchant of Venice. Hopefully, this study can shedsome light to the solving of racial problems worldwide.

Characters AnalysisShylock :

Shylock is a Jewish loaner in Venice and he is mistreated by

the Christians. He lends three thousand ducats to Antonio, and

he claims if Antonio does not repay money, he would slice a

pound of his flesh. It is not ethical to kill Antonio, but he

considers his hatred is reasonable. However, he ruins himself

because he loses her daughter and his money is confiscated at

the end.Picture A (Shylock)

8/12/2019 2009032101281309

4/10


Page 4

Antonio :He is a merchant in Venice, who is the best friend of Bassanio.

He is wealthy, but in the beginning he loses all his money

because of investing in a maritime business. To help his friend,

Antonio takes a loan from Shylock, a Jewish money lender.

Antonio is a good example of a good Christian in the play.

Portia :Portia is a legal inheritor to her fathers property. Because she

is beautiful and wise, many bachelors want to be her husband.

However, to become her husband the bachelor must choose

one of the three jewel boxes, which are made of gold, silver

and lead respectively, and each box has an inscription.

Bassanio successfully wins her and marries her. She has the

honest and noble character, but she tricks her husband into

breaking his promise for her to keep the ring. She also rescuesAntonio from Shylock because she says he must slice

Antonios flesh without shedding blood.

Bassanio :Bassanio is Antonios best friend and often relies on him for

money. For the sake of going to Belmont and winning Portia,

he needs a lot of money. Finally he wins her for choosing the

lead box and becomes her husband. As he returns to Venice to

assist Antonio to get away from Shylock, he shows his loyalty

to Antonio. He is an ambiguous person in this play. His action

shows that hell always be true to Antonio, but giving up the

ring that Portia gave him is an unfaithful deed.

Picture B (Antonio)

Picture C (Portia)

Picture D (Bassanio)

8/12/2019 2009032101281309

5/10


Page 5

Lorenzo:Lorenzo is Jessicas husband. He is not positive. Although he

seems really in love with Jessica, he reveals similar interest in

Shylocks rich, which he inadvertently gets through Shylocks

downfall. He takes Jessica away from her fathers house and

marries her.

Jessica :Jessica is Shylocks daughter, showing disgrace for her

fathers behavior in this play. She resists her father and

marries the Christian, Lorenzo. She is described as mourning

the loss of her father and she regrets what she has done.

Actually, she has the virtues of Christianity when she converts

to her religion, avoiding damnation for her fathers evil.

Launcelot :Launcelot plays a clown in the play and he always appears

with comic relief in many scenes. He quits his job, becomes

Bassanios servant, and works as a mailman between the

Christian.

The Princes of Morocco and Arragon :They are bachelors and want to marry Portia, but they do not

make the wise decision in choosing the jewel boxes, which is

required by Portias father. The value of the Jewel box they

choose shows their bad qualities and character to be a

husband. However, Bassanios option reveals he is an ideal

husband.

Picture E (Lorenzo)

Picture F (Jessica)

Picture G (Launcelot)

Picture H (The princes)

8/12/2019 2009032101281309

6/10


Page 6

Summary of the playIn a place called Belmont lives a beautiful woman, Portia, born in a wealthy family.

Followed by his fathers will, Portia gets three jewelry boxes from his father: one is

golden box, another is silver box, and the other is lead box. A portrait of Portia was put

in one of the three boxes, and anyone who chooses the right box can marry Portia.

Since Portia is well-known for her beauty, many people coming from all over the world

compete with one another with a view to becoming Portias husband.

Besides, in another commercial city called Venice, a man called Bassanio has made up

his mind to win Portias heart. However, it would take a large amount of money to

reach his goal. Therefore, he turns to his best friend, Antonio, a wealthy Venice

merchant, for help. While Antonio has invested all his money in a maritime business, he

is not able to lend so much money to Bassanio. So, Antonio is forced to turn to

Shylockt, a Jewish money lender in Venice. As far as Antonio is concerned, he despises

Shylock because he is a loan shark and more importantly because Shylock is a Jew.

When Antonio asks Shylock if he can borrow some money from him, surprisingly, he

not only agrees to lend him money, but he also promises him that he will not add

interest; however, there is a strange condition for Antonio. If Antonio didnt return

money on time, Shylock would have a right to slice Antonios flesh for one pound.

When Bassanio goes to Belmont, he chooses the exact box successfully and gets

married to Portia. At the same time, Shylocks daughter, Jessica, steals all of her

fathers fortune, running away with her lover. As he is upset about losing his daughter

and all of his money, he is also informed that Antonio has lost his money invested in the

maritime business. To get revenge on Antonio, he decides to ask Antonio for payment

of debt. Because Antonio cant repay the debt, they go to the court. To defend Antonio,

Portia and her maidservant disguise themselves as lawyers. Portia agree that Shylock

can slice Antonios flesh for one pound, but he cant let Antonio shed a drop of blood.

Shylock cant reach the requirement about what Portia has said, so he gives up and was

converted to a Christian in the end.

Three ContrastChristians and Jews

The story in the play happened mainly in Venice, a commercial city, which clearly

8/12/2019 2009032101281309

7/10


Page 7

demonstrates Christians and Jews conflict. It makes a striking contrast between

Shylocks cruelty and Antonios sacrifice for his money and life. Bassonio wins Portia,

and Antonio does not get any hurt. However, Shylock loses not only money but his

daughter, and he is forced to convert to Christianity. Recently, more people have paid

more attention to Shylock because he is a controversial figure. As a Jew, Shylock

always got ruled out of the mainstream Christian world. He is excluded at all times due

to different religions and races. According to what he said in the play, The Jew is a

symbol of misfortune. The long-term insult let him seek equality. Is he a victim under

the racial discrimination or is he did a cold-blood villain? Therefore, it is clearly shown

that this play calls for the forgiving and generous attitude toward the minority group.

Venice and BelmontThe second obvious contrast shown in the play is the two different cities, Venice, where

Shylock dwelled, and Belmont, where Portia lived. Venice is the center of trade, so it is

inevitable to have moneylenders like Shylock. He makes a loan to others to earn

interest, which is the main reason that Antonio hates him. Besides, other people are also

full of hateful, bitter, and revengeful feelings in Venice like Shylock, and usury is

symbolic of a negative friendship and affection. However, in a mansion near Belmonts

sea lives a clear and pretty girl, Portia. With her wit, she finds the loophole in the law

and rescues Antonio from Shylocks hand successfully. Belmont is the city filled withmusic, love and romance. Compared with Shylock, Portia is generous with money and

emotion. Therefore, the conflicts and contrast between love and the cruelty are show in

the two settings respectively.

Three CasketsPortias three jewel boxes, which are made of gold, silver and lead individually, are full

of meaning and connotations. When she appears on the scene, she feels sad because

three jewel boxes will decide her destiny. Besides, in a conservative society dominated

by the noble class, the children can not help but obey their parents order and they can

not decide their own marriage. The situation of Portia and Jessica constitute another

evident contrast between Portia and Jessica. While Portia passively accepts her fate,

Jessica not only disobeys her fathers command, but also steals her fathers property

and runs away with Lorenzo. On the other hand, three jewel boxes stand for another

important issue about appearance and essence. Bassanio is one of the suitors who adore

Portia. Finally, he selects the lead jewel box, which shows he not only loves her

appearance, but loves her virtue and that he is willing to put his life at risk to protect her.

8/12/2019 2009032101281309

8/10


Page 8

He profoundly realizes the true meaning of the saying, Beauty is only skin deep.

Through Bassanios word, Shakespeare reminds us again that we do not judge people

by their looks. Ironically, Christians do not seem to hold the same equal attitude toward

those who deemed as pageants and did not convert to Christianity.

The Recent News about Racism To compare the meaning of this play with the recent events, we select two piecesof recent news to show some affairs of conflicts because of the racial discrimination.

Event One :Obama, the president of U.S.A, has been lashed out many

times because of his complexion and his lineage. Although he

suffers from the harsh, he still sticks to his attitude and ideal

and he wins the rising of his candidate survey. It is regarded as

a significant landmark of race relations to all American. A

reporter of exploring racial discrimination said, Its very

meaningful for an African American that he becomes an U.S.A president candidate insuch a racial segregation society. According to the reporter, we are informed that racial

discrimination still takes place in some prosperous countries nowadays and that we

should pay more attention to these events.

Event Two :Four sanitation workers with black complexion suffered the

insult from five students with white complexion. The white students compelled the

workers to swallow something with urine. During fourteen years, it was the most

shocking event to all South Africans. The reason that the white students did so

insultingly and brutally is simply that they didnt feel like sharing their dormitories with

the black students.

Self-examination :To our astonishment, there are still numerous racial incidents taking place throughout

world. Why do some people have to be discriminated because of their complexion or

Picture I (Event one - Obama)

Picture J (Event two)

8/12/2019 2009032101281309

9/10


Page 9

nation different from other? Everyone has their own authority, and no one can

humiliate and discriminate them arbitrarily, and I sincerely look forward to the equal

treatment of people with various races, complexion, religious beliefs, nations and even

genders. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who was an American civil rights leader insisted

on his faith: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.

His famous speech: I Have a Dream showed his ideal and target of no slaves, no

stereotype due to having different color of skin and no oppressing among different

races. Besides Dr. King, we are inspired by some politicians, writers and singers, for

now they often have a concert or an activity to support equal treatment and oppose

discrimination.

The meaning of those people and activities really affect people around the world and

remind us that we should try our best to let everyone realize how important the racial

equality is. We hope that one day we are able to have a world without any

discrimination, living freely with all kinds of human, just as Martin Luthers opinion.

ConclusionJudging from whats mentioned above, we compare the symbolic meanings of the story

with the real life and current events and our viewpoints can be summarized as follows.

To begin with, for the sake of assisting to lend money to Bassanio, Antonio agrees with

Shylock to cut a pound of his flesh if he doesnt repay Shylock on time, and it is

worthwhile for us to learn the friendship between Antonio and Bassanio. If the same

situation took place in our life, would we help our friends at any price just like Antonio?

Next, Portias three chests signify that we should not make subjective comments due to

the gorgeous appearances. Bassanio chooses the correct chest which is made of lead,

and he wins Portias love in the end. By means of the three chests, the author reminds

us that realizing the things intrinsic quality is significant to everyone, and we should

comprehend a persons characteristic and personality step by step. Last but not the least,

the most memorable character, Shylock, is an evildoer, and numerous readers may think

in what environment causes Shylock to be such a pathetic character. The answers might

be different from person to person, but Shylock really causes a big sensation to a large

number of people and the play makes it clear that the discrimination among the races,

religious beliefs and nations should be eliminated. Hence, this story can be regarded as

an appeal for lenience and compassion to the minority groups. We should show more

concern to those people who are discriminated.

8/12/2019 2009032101281309

10/10


Page 10

Reference1.

(1)(2006)(2)(2002)(3)Shakespeare, William, John Russell. (1985). The Merchant of Venice. London

Methuen Co.

(4)Declan Kiberd. (Ed.). (1985). The Merchant of Venic . Hong KongLongmanGroup Limited

2.2.2.2. (1)Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The Merchant of Venic .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Merchant_of_Venice

(2)Novelguide. The Merchant of Venice character profile .http://www.novelguide.com/merchantofvenice/characterprofiles.html

(3)Yahoo News. Obamas news.http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/081022/19/182hz.html

(4)The Liberty times. The news of racial discrimination.http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2008/new/feb/29/today-int2.htm

3. (A)http://www.hotflick.net/pictures/004TMV_Al_Pacino_009.html(B)http://www.hotflick.net/pictures/004TMV_Jeremy_Irons_001.html(C)http://www.hotflick.net/pictures/004TMV_Lynn_Collins_001.html(D)http://www.hotflick.net/pictures/004TMV_Joseph_Fiennes_026.html(E)http://www.hotflick.net/pictures/004TMV_Zuleikha_Robinson_007.html(F)http://www.hotflick.net/pictures/004TMV_Zuleikha_Robinson_012.html(G)http://www.hotflick.net/pictures/004TMV_Mackenzie_Crook_003.html(H)http://www.hotflick.net/pictures/004TMV_David_Harewood_004.html(I) http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/081022/19/182hz.html(J) http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2008/new/feb/29/today-int2.htm

2009032101281309

Documents