Antonio's Behavior Toward Shylock
What do you think of Antonio’s behavior toward Shylock? Why do you think Antonio behaves the way he does? Antonio is a Christian, and Shylock is a Jew. In Europe during that time, Jews were frowned upon and seen as if there was something wrong with them. Antonio called Shylock many names. He called him a dog, he spit on Shylock, as well as many other rude things. Antonio sees himself as superior to Shylock because of his religion. Shylock is a moneylender, which means he makes a living by loaning money to people, and then charging interest. Shylock does not like Antonio because Antonio loans money without charging interest. In Act 1, they bicker about this and Shylock tells the audience in short, that he despises Antonio for the things he does. Antonio’s behavior is something I feel is not nice. Whether he feels to be better than Shylock, it is not appropriate to treat someone else with such disrespect. However, at that time, that was how society worked. So he did not act ...