Rex Clayton Professor Kennedy ENGL 200 07/13/2013 Sympathy not Tragedy That old Jew got what he deserved! This is the cathartic feeling that William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice inspires as the central character Antonio is released from the perils of his impending death. In American society today‚ it is wrong to persecute someone for their religious beliefs‚ as we are all created equal. This sentiment was‚ indeed‚ not the case in the 1500’s. Although the events that surround Shylock are
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Book Thief by Marcus Zusak and The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare‚ some characters demonstrate hypocrisy in their words and actions. Though there are other traits that the characters show‚ such as cruelty and mercy‚ hypocrisy is one of the more interesting ones. The Duke demonstrates hypocrisy in The Merchant of Venice during the trial scene when he punishes Shylock for not showing Antonio mercy. Antonio shows he is a hypocrite in The Merchant of Venice when he criticizes Shylock for hating
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Effect of Absence of Fathers on Their Daughter Introduction The traditional family dynamic of a father‚ mother and their children living in the same house is not as common as it once was. Today‚ it is now more prevalent that families are facing various struggles that cause children to grow up in single-parent homes. Death‚ divorce‚ or abandonment may all be reasons for the absence of a parent each having a negative effect on all members of the family. However‚ growing up in a single parent household
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The relationship between parents and their children is one of the most basic human interactions. Mothers and daughters provide both physical and emotional care for their young sons and daughters. In the process‚ parents will instill children with family values and goals‚ while teaching them the accepted norms and values of society. This is done in hope that parents will one day see their own children become mature adults‚ with their own goals and purposes in life. Mother-daughter relationships
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Lynn V. Santisteban Professor Thacker English 255 21 March 2014 A Mother Daughter Relationship Most parents expect many things from their children but most importantly wish their children to be successful and happy‚ but parents hold different expectations based on their child’s gender. The expectations that both mothers have are common because both of them have daughters. These differences in expectations of gender can be seen in literature such as Girl by Jamaica Kincaid where she will list everything
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critics often crave categorizing each play into a specific genre. Many of Shakespeare’s plays fit into a genre‚ but some‚ such as The Merchant of Venice‚ fail to conform to one genre. One of Shakespeare’s early plays that is a festive comedy is A Midsummer Night’s Dream‚ which is a great parallel to The Merchant of Venice because both revolve around romantic relationships but each leaves the reader with different feelings at the end. The play staring Shylock the Jew carries dark undertones that eliminate
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work towards their self interests‚ however when a persons self interests don’t coincide with what is considered good‚ it can create a problem. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck‚ the poem "Power" by Corrine Hales‚ and the play The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare‚ the characters struggle to show empathy and instead choose to promote their own interests‚ which ends up causing problems for them. Lack of empathy will often come back around and hurt you‚ as displayed by Curley‚ the
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The Merchant of Venice can be an effective tool for spreading anti-Semitism depending on the type of reader. Since Shakespeare’s play is an “ambiguous” work‚ everyone can have different interpretations depending on their knowledge‚ thoughts and background. In this essay‚ we will answer to the question by analyzing the character of Shylock. Although Shylock takes action only in five scenes of the play‚ he is the cornerstone of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Shylock‚ “referred as ‘the Jew’
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Gay Marriage: Our Own Merchant of Venice Within America‚ the concept of same-sex marriage has recently been under heavy debate. The growing interest in such has created issues concerning politics‚ society‚ morality‚ religion and civil rights. The conflict itself arises due to an abundance of peoples’ own views on whether same-sex couples should be permitted to enter marriage. The 47% of American people opposed” (Alper‚ Gideon I.‚P.L.) fail to acknowledge that we as human beings have the inalienable
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are not always what they seem. People may appear to be one way but turn out to be an entirely different. The romantic-comedy‚ The Merchant of Venice‚ by William Shakespeare‚ shows the deliberate use of deception by the characters. Deception is a tool that is used for many purposes. The purposes can be harmful‚ protective or for personal gain. In The Merchant of Venice‚ Portia‚ Jessica‚ and Shylock are all characters who use deception to carry out their own motives. Shylock‚ the hated Jew‚ makes
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