Shylock: villain or victim? In this essay I will examine the question of whether Shylock is the villain or the victim and then answer with my opinion. To do this I intend to examine the following, Shylock and the persecution of the Jews and focusing on the court scene and the formation of the bond scene. Previous story---------------- Jews have been persecuted since before 1500 in Spain, Rome, France, the Middle East, Western Europe and Austria. They suffered exile, torture, conversion, they were massacred and even their land, Israel, was conquered by the Turks. The Plot -------- The plot of this story, ~Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, is as follows; Bassino, a noble Venetian gentleman, has spent all his money. He wishes to change his fortunes to marry Portia, a rich heiress, who lives in Belmont. He asks his friend Antonio, (the Merchant of Venice) to help him by lending him 3000 ducats. However, all of Antonio's money is tied up in ships trading around the world, so he can only offer to use his good name to borrow money for Bassino. Antonio and Bassino approach Shylock, a rich Jew, who agrees to lend the sum but makes Antonio sign a bond. such as "the pound of flesh", which states that if Antonio does not repay Shylock within three months, Shylock has the right to cut off a pound of Antonio's flesh. Until he thought about the bond, Shylock was not willing to lend the money because he is a Christian who does not believe in usury. This is today's equivalent of lending money with interest. As a result he will not earn money by lending to Antonio. Shortly thereafter, Shylock's daughter Jessica runs away with most of his money and a Christian Lorenzo, aided by Bassino's friends. Shylock is devastated and hates Christians even more. This scene shows Shylock's evil side because when he finds out that his daughter and his money are gone, he is more worried about his children.