Give a Character Sketch about Shylock in Merchant Of Venice in about 2500 words.
Answers
Answer:
Shylock is a jew who would lend money to the people in need with high amount of interest and would make strange bonds with the people he being a jew hated the people of christian community and he had cultivated a deep hatred toward Antonio who was a christian and had also made a promise that he would take revenge on him for Antonio has mocked him at the rialto, made fun of on his practice on lending money and spat on his Jewish Garbedine and still he shows his outward appearance to Antonio as a caring person but cultivates a deep hatred towards him. When Bassanio dearest friend of Antonio was in need of money he came to Shylock and told him that he wanted to borrow money of 3000 ducats for 3 months and Antonio would stand as surety and Shylock thought this as chance to catch hold of Antonio and made him sign a strange bond stating that Shylock can take a pound of flesh nearest to his heart from Antonio's body. later when Antonio was unable to pay the money since all his ships were drenched in oceans Shylock went to synagogue to make an oath that he would not leave Antonio alive and would seek for his revenge and when every body plead him including Bassanio, Gratiano, the duke and Portia in disguise of doctor of law still he told that he would take the pound of flesh and this showed the cruelness and merciless heart of Shylock and it also proved that he was a stone hearted man
Answer:
Shylock is a Jewish moneylender in Venice, who detests and despises Christians.
He makes his money by charging interest on his loans, and dislikes Antonio for not doing so and therefore ruining his business – particularly as Antonio sometimes pays the debts of those who cannot repay their loans in time, and therefore spoils Shylock’s enrichment by taking control of their forfeitures. When he calls Antonio out on the latter’s insults, he merely provokes more insults from the merchant.
He decides to ask for a pound of flesh as his bond from Antonio, apparently as a jest. He is a miser and something of a puritan, having no taste for music or other reveling, starving his servant and letting him wear out his clothes rather than replacing them. Considering Launcelot a spendthrift, he is happy to let him leave to go serve Bassanio, as this will make the latter go through his money more swiftly. Even his daughter considers him cruel.
He flies into a wild passion when she flees his house, taking with her massive amounts of his money, and has her chased after as much if not more for the money than for her own sake. Knowing that Antonio was aware of this abduction, and hearing that the latter is ruined, he is delighted at the possibility of cutting out the merchant’s heart.
He is able to justify revenge on the basis of the bad behavior of Christians. His insistence on the letter of the law will be his undoing, leaving him not only unable to kill Antonio, but losing all the extra money offered him, the return of his principal, and soon forfeiting all of his wealth and his life. He accepts to turn Christian to save his life, but is left ill by the sudden reversal in his fortune. He is not a particularly nice man...