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Culprit In The Merchant Of Venice

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Yossarian says in Catch 22 “Every victim was a culprit, very culprit a victim and somebody has to stand up sometime to try and break the lousy chain of inherited habit that was imperiling them all.” (Heller, 39:465). Yossarian said this right after he left the combat and refused to fly more combats. He was thinking about Nately’s whore and that she was holding him responsible for his death and this came to mind, that she had every right to hate him because he was part of the war and part of the misery that landed on her kid sister and every other kid. During my research I found this cycle in some novels. In The Merchant of Venice and Othello by Shakespeare the cycle never stops, it is a consistent cycle between Jews and Christians. In Haper …show more content…

Then will I discuss five literary works that we have analysed in the past three years and look at some characters from each. I will discuss why the culprit is the culprit and why the victim is the victim, and how the one becomes the other. I will also explain why I think that society is the trigger or plays a role for someone to become the victim or …show more content…

At the beginning of the novel we as the audience get to know him as the culprit. Antonio yells at Shylock, spits on him and calls him a dog and discriminates against Shylock because he is a Jew:” You call me a misbeliever, cut throat dog, and spit upon my Jewish gabardine”, (Shakespeare, I.iii.103-104:25). Shylock, also regards himself as the victim because of the way that Antonio treats him. As the play progresses the role of the victim and the culprit starts to change. Antonio needs money and borrowing money from Shylock is his only option. The tables are turned and roles of the victim and culprit change when Antonio fails to pay back Shylock and he turns into the victim and Shylock into the culprit, as he shows no mercy towards Antonio: “I’ll have my bond, speak not against my bond; I have sworn an oath that I will have my bond.” (Shakespeare, III.iii.4-5:99). During the climax of the drama their roles as victim and culprit change again, when Portia finds a loophole in their bond. Shylock once again falls into the victim spot: ““But in the cutting it, if thou dost shed One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods Are by law of Venice confiscate unto the state of Venice.” (Shakespeare, IV.i.301-308:131). Shylock is now the one on trial because the law states that one cannot spill the

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