Merchant of Venice Blog 1

Does the text paint Shylock to be an antagonist without sympathy or are we made to feel any sympathy for him? Explain your answer using evidence from the text. I think that Shylock is made out to be the antagonist but at the same time Shakespeare makes you feel a lot of sympathy towards him. when you first meet shylock, he is with Bassanio and he seems like a nice man other than the fact that he clearly despises Antonio. Shylock says in his loan contract with Antonio that if Antonio, fails to pay him the money, then he has to give him a pound of his own flesh or in other words his heart. This is what sets the reader to think that Shylock is going to be the antagonist. Shylock: This kindness will i show./ Go with me to a notary, seal me there/ Your single bond; and in a merry sport,/ If you repay me not on such a day,/ In such a place, such sum or sums as are/ Expressed in the condition, let the forfeit/ Be nominated for an equal pound/ Of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken/ In what part of your body pleaseth me. That shows that shylock is a strange and somewhat revengeful person. However before Shylock tells us this, he reminds Antonio how badly he is treated. He hates Antonio because not only does he lend money without interest, so people go to him first, but he also spits on Shylock, insults him, and harasses him. Shylock: Signior Antonio, many a time and oft/ in the Rialto you have rated me/ about my moneys and my usances./ .../ You call me misbeliever, cutthroat dog,/ And spet upon my Jewish gaberdine.

blog 3

I think that pip is now starting to realize how he's changed. When he first met Estella, Pip hated her. She made him cry, and made him always feel bad. Now Pip loves her and wants to be with her, but there is sort of a part of him that knows he will never be with her.  Pip also used to be so fond of Joe. He was Pips' best friend. However, now Pip is embarrassed by him. He thinks his new friends would make fun of him if they knew he liked Joe. Pip's also coming to the discovery that he has betrayed Joe ever since the start of the book. At the beginning Pip stole from joe and gave stuff to the convict. then when the convict rewarded him for it, he kept it and didn't give any of the money to Joe. I think that in the future Pip will hopefully feel bad about what he has done to Joe, and will try make amends. As for Estella, i think that Pip will try to have her, but in the end won't achieve his goal.

1st post GE

Pip is a young boy, and in this particular scene is about to rob his sister. Pips sister is basically his mother. She takes care of him, feeds him, and houses him. However she doesn't do it in a thoughtful matter at all. when Pip says “…I felt fearfully sensible of the great convenience that the Hulks were handy for me. I was clearly on my way there. I had begun by asking questions, and I was going to rob Mrs. Joe.” he is attempting to say that he is one hundred percent positive that he's going to rob his sister. That quote also tells us that Pip asked questions about it. From this we can infer that Pip wasn't sure if robbing her was the right decision. We can also assume that this means Pip has a somewhat innocent mind, and is usually trying to do whats right. However when Pip is told him and his family could be harmed by a more Violent criminal he does what he thinks is necessary, but not necessarily right.

this is a test post