Who is Shylock?

Who Is Shylock?

In William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, the character of Shylock is employed to break down anti-Semitic stereotypes through his words, actions, and feelings. Even though one might view Shylock as an evil, greedy, old man, a more thorough examination of his personality shows that he has plenty of human emotion, including pain, love, grief, and at times vengeance.
It may seem as though Shylock is an awful person, some one driven only by his own inexcusable obsession with greed, however, he has been made this way by the inhuman abuse he receives at the hands of Antonio and other Christians. An example of Shylock's meanness being a reaction to the inhuman treatment he receives is in Act 3, Scene 1, where Salarino learns of Shylock’s deal with Bassanio. Salarino asks why Shylock asked for a pound of flesh from Antonio. Shylock answers him by saying, “He hath disgraced me and / hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, / mocked at my gain...