Merchant of Venice final

In the Merchant of Venice, Shylock is A Jewish moneylender who, depending on who you talk to, functions either as a protagonist or antagonist in the story. The most interesting part of this character is the fact that despite him fitting the Elizabethan stereotype of jews nearly perfectly, he is arguably the most complex character in the entire play. Despite how easy it would have been for Shakespeare, a man who was not at all sympathetic towards Jews, to make him into another flat Don John, he made the character relatable. While Shylock sought vengeance, his motives made sense and were even validated by the story itself multiple times. Of course, if you go be the traditional Shakespeare play structure, Shylock is obviously the antagonist, but he is complex enough to make observers sympathize with him more than the intended protagonists. His anger, as fierce as it is, is very similar to the way most of us feel anger, which allows us to connect with Shylock much more easily than the other characters who live lives of luxury and nobility. Comparing Shylock’s story of rapid transition of power, loss, and ruin to Antonio’s story of just constantly screwing up and being rescued out of nowhere makes me connect much more with Shylock as a character because I understand his predicament. With Antonio, I can’t help but feel like he deserved at least some kind of punishment.