Shakespeare: Merchant of Venice

  1. What do you think of Antonio's behavior toward Shylock? Why do you think Antonio behaves the way he does?
Antonio treats Shylock very poorly based on their differences in religion. His actions would certainly not be reasonable in today's world, but during the time period in which this written in he would have fit right in. Antonio behaves the way he does because, at the time, the Jewish people were heavily looked down upon and discriminated against. It was not uncommon for a Jewish person to be treated disrespectfully by their neighbors whom were of a different belief. Antonio was a well liked merchant and in order to reach that level of popularity he had to fit and follow the social norms. These societal norms have greatly evolved since then and are much more inclusive and accepting of different beliefs. I do not agree with the actions that Antonio did against Shylock, but unfortunately history has never been a paradise and we must learn from that.

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