In a movie, book, or play there is usually a victim and a villain. It is usually very easy to tell the two apart, the victim is the one that gets hurt physically or emotionally. Then the villain is causing problems and stands out as the mean character. In the book/play Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, there is a character so complex that sometimes it is unknown whether he is the victim or villain. Shakespeare's clever writing makes the character Shylock seem like he is a villain at one point, then a victim at another. Shylock is the victim because he is seen as being lower than the other characters because he is Jewish, he loses his daughter and money to Lorenzo, and he loses his land, possessions, and forced to convert to Christianity, by getting cheated out of his bond.
             Throughout the play Shylock is criticized because he is Jewish. "Here comes another of the tribe- a third cannot be matched, unless the devil himself turned Jew" (The Merchant of Venice; Act 3, Scene 1; Lines 64-65). This is one of the many quotes that support that Shylock is the victim of the play because he is tormented by others for being a Jew. They treat him like a dog and Shylock even says that Antonio has even spit on him. Another quote that shows how Shylock was treated was said by Gratiano, "O, be thou damned, inexorable dog, And for thy life let justice be accused! Thou almost mak'st me waver in my faith, To hold opinion with Pythagoras that souls of animals infuse themselves into the trunks of men: thy currish spirit governed a wolf, who hanged for human slaughter, Even from the gallows did his feet soul fleet, And whilst thou layest in thy unhallowed dam, Infused itself in thee; for thy desires are wolvish, bloody, starved, and ravenous" (The Merchant of Venice; Act 4, Scene 1; Lines 128-138). The continuos onslaught of comments towards Shylock, makes him a more sympathetic character. This is b
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