Shylock is a Jew in Shakespeare’s play “Merchant of Venice”.

During the time

this play was written which was in the 16th century Jews were all seen as
villains and were expelled from England from 1290 by King Edward I till about
350 years later. Anti-Semitism which is defined as the hatred towards Jews
was at its rise in 1594when a Spanish Jew was accused of attempting to
murder Queen Elizabeth I by poisoning her. His character in the play has
effectively been used by Shakespeare to bring the intolerance amongst both
Christians and Jews.

An example is when Shylock stated “Yes, to smell pork, to eat of the habitation
which your prophet the Nazerite conjured the devil into! I will buy with you,
sell with you, talk to you, walk with you, and so following, but I will not eat
with you, drink with you, nor pray with you.” When asked by Bassanio if he
would like to have dinner with them. This is an effective way to show the
emotion of Anti- Semitism in the minds of the readers/audience.
Shylock being a Jew is also seen questioning the Christians and their
treatment towards the Jews “what these Christians are, whose own hard
dealings teaches them to suspect the thoughts of others!” This makes Shylock
a reflection of the present-day man who questions the Christians attitude
towards the Jews making readers sympathize with Jews as well as Shylock
making him a relatable character. To an extent, readers sympathize with
Shylock’s victimization based solely on the fact that he is Jewish. However, if
Shylock would have been just a moneylender and not Jewish there would not
be the same feeling of sympathy for him and would make him less significant
in the play.
Shylock is sticking to his bond to his word. He is true to his own code of
conduct. Antonio signed that bond and promised that money, Shylock has
been wronged; he has had his money stolen from him by his daughter and
Lorenzo. However, Shylock is offered three times his money back and he still
demands his pound of flesh; this moves him into the realms of villainy. It
depends on his portrayal as to how much an audience has sympathy for his
position and character as to how much he is judged at the end of the play.

He is certainly left at the end of the play with very little to his name, although
at least he is able to keep his property until his death. I think it would be
difficult not to feel some sympathy for Shylock as all the characters celebrate
at the end while he is all alone. It would be interesting to revisit Shylock in the
years following and find out what he did next.