Shylock: Is he that evil?

In William Shakespeare's play, The Merchant of Venice, Shylock, a moneylender, is portrayed by some as the antagonist in the story who's nothing but pure evil. Others believe that Shakespeare is trying to create sympathy for him, and prove that he's not a monster. Shylock is not the monster that people portray him as because he does not have a strong relationship with Antonio, and his religion is heavily persecuted among Christians in his community.
Antonio is asking Shylock for money because his friend Bassanio is in debt, and he needs the money so he can visit Portia. Shylock is very hesitant to pay him because he considers Antonio an enemy, because he affects Shylock's business. "How like a fawning publician he looks! I hate him for he is a Christian, but more for that in low simplicity he lends out money gratis and brings down the rate of usance here with us in Venice"(1.3.41-45). Shylock hates Antonio because he does not charge interest when he lends money, as opposed to Shylock who has to charge interest in order for him to make money. Shylock's reason for hatred is completely normal, and there's nothing evil about hating someone who messes up your job, and your way of life. Shylock is commonly referred to as "the jew," by other Christians, something that is commonly thought of as offensive, so Shylock rightfully so has some bias towards Christians because they don't show much respect for him in the first place. After everything that Shylock has gone through, he does not want to be screwed over again by Antonio, which makes perfect sense as to why he would want, "A pound of man's flesh taken from a man," if Antonio fails to pay him back.

Blog #3

In Great Expectations, Pip has finally come to realize that Estella never has been the right woman of choice, and that she's never had any interest in Pip. For Pip, this realization is a life changing event for him because he's finally come to realize that he will have to move on in life, and forget about Estella, even though she has been the love of his life. Pip has always had trouble getting Estella off of his mind, because he's obsessed with her. He knew it would be a challenge, but Pip finally realizes that he cannot pull it off by getting Estella's love. "Miss Havisham's intentions towards me, all a mere dream; Estella not designed for me; I only suffered in Satis House as a convenience, a sting for the greedy relations, a model with a mechanical heart to practice on when no other practice was at hand; those were the first smarts I had"(Dickens.323). Pip also learned that the convict has been funding Pip, and he wants Pip to become a gentleman, which came as a huge shock to Pip.
Around the same time that Pip realizes that Estella is not meant for him, Estella finally learns that Miss Havisham has brainwashed her throughout her life, and she taught her to act towards men the way she usually does. Miss Havisham tries to get Estella to break men's hearts, but Estella finally rebels against that idea, and she argues against it. "'I am what you have made me. Take all the praise, take all the blame; take all the success, take all the failure; in short, take me...' 'What would you have.' 'Love.' 'You have it.' I have not.'"(Dickens. 304). Estella is finally catching on to the fact that Miss Havisham has turned her into what she is now, and Estella will try to change that now that she's finally realized.
I predict that these realizations will seperate Pip from Estella for a few years until Estella and Drummle seperate, and Estella will decide to give Pip another chance. After how much disappointment Pip had to go through, it will take a while for Estella to persuade Pip but I think that they will finally be together at some point. Their relationship is very interesting, because they always think the opposite of each other, but finally I think that Pip will learn about Estella's past, and they will love each other. I think that the convict will be a factor in getting Pip and Estella together, because Magwitch will want to help Pip, by becoming a gentleman and letting Pip know that they will fit each other if Pip becomes this gentleman that Magwitch expects. It will be the most important gift that the convict gives to Pip.

Blog #2

In Great Expectations, the author Charles Dickens likes to give his characters names that reflect their personality, or their role in society. One of the most recognizable example's in his book is the character, Estella. The word "stella" comes from Latin meaning,"stars." Being adopted by the wealthy Miss Havisham when she was very young, Estella is considered to have a star's lifestyle. Even though she was born to a woman of low-class, Estella is very condescending towards people of a lower class, such as Pip, by pretending to be in love with him, even though she doesn't care for Pip. The etymology of Estella, meaning "stars" relates to her personality because she is of upper class, and she knows that she has a lot more power than most people. One of the major connections between Estella and her name is that Pip is in love with her even though he doesn't have much of a chance at receiving that love from Estella. This is almost identical in terms of people who are obsessed with a certain star, whether it be an athlete or a rock star, they love someone even if they know that they can't have a relationship with them.
In Chapter 11, when Pip beats up the pale young gentleman, who turns out to be Herbert Pocket, Estella lets Pip kiss her on the cheek. "I kissed her cheek as she turned it to me. I think I would have gone through a great deal to kiss her cheek... and it was worth nothing"(Dickens. 93). This moment is absolutely heartbreaking to Pip because he gets a chance to kiss someone who he sees as a star in his life, and he quickly realizes that the kiss is just a joke. This is one instance when Estella shows off her snobbish personality towards people of lower class, because she knows that Pip looks up to her. Some famous people have personalities where they do mean things like that to people of lower class because they find pleasure in it. Estella seems to enjoy it because it gives her a sense of power because she knows that she can use Pip. Estella acts like she is a star, and she uses her upper class reputation to break the hearts of people who are lower than her and take advantage of them.

Great Expectations Blog One

In Great Expectations, Pip, the main character, is an orphan who lives with his hostile sister, and he is forced to rob people so he can help a convict. He helped a convict by stealing bread and butter for him, and he helped him escape by stealing a saw for him to saw off his leg irons. Pip is portrayed by Charles Dickens as an innocent young child who's fear determines his actions, partly because of his relationship with his sister and the death of his parents. At the time, Pip thought that he was doing the right thing at the time by helping the convict. After stealing from his sister, he started to regret what he had done, and it really disturbed his conscience. "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."
When Pip was forced to steal for the convict, he made his decision because he was fearful of the consequences, and he did not think about the possible consequences of stealing. After committing a crime, Pip has major regrets towards what he did, and he worries about being sent on a prison ship. He feels so guilty about stealing, that he knows that he will be punished. The difference between a criminal and someone who commits a crime is that criminals rarely have regrets about their actions, unless they go to jail. This quote proves that Pip is not a criminal, rather he's an innocent child who has trouble making decisions on his own.

Blog Assignment

Your task over the next few weeks of reading Great Expectations is to track the development of the major characters. For the first blog, I would like you to analyze one of the following passages from the text for one character. Chose from:

Pip

“…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.”

Mrs. Joe

“By this time my sister was quite desperate, so she pounced on Joe, and, taking him by the two whiskers, knocked his head for a little while against the wall behind him: while I sat in the corner, looking guiltily on.”

Joe

“It were a bit lonesome then,” said Joe, “living here alone, and I got acquainted with your sister. Now, Pip;” Joe looked firmly at me, as if he knew I was not going to agree with him; “your sister is a fine figure of a woman.”

Answer the question: What do we know about the character’s personality based on this evidence?

Your entry needs to include:

· a claim or topic sentence stating directly what we know about the character

· an introduction to the evidence providing context for the quotation

· analysis (5-7) sentences explaining how the quotation supports your claim

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