MORE OF MY STUDENTS RESPONSES TO THE JEWISH IDENTITY OF SHYLOCK IN THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (PART II) The following are comments taken from the final exam of my students at Al-Quds University in Shakespearean Drama. During the course of the semester, we read Julius Caesar and The Merchant of Venice in the original. Students had to put in a lot of effort to read and appreciate Shakespeares language in the original, but I trust that they found the effort rewarding and satisfying in the end. I was pleased with their answers to this particular question about Shylock, because, as Iman Annab put it they speak their truth with a tone of logic and moderation. What I found interesting throughout the course is how hard it continues to be for Palestinians not to generalize their experience with Jews - or the identity that Israel has adopted for Jews. To generalize in this way is human nature; its built into our wiring. I asked my students what it would have taken to persuade Shylock to forget the wrongs against him in the trial scene and accept to be merciful and generous to his enemies - an apology from the Duke perhaps on behalf of Venice? They werent sure. I have often wondered what it would take for Palestinians to forgive the Nakba. I believe we should have our own court scene. If the ICC denies our suit, let the danger light upon their charter, as Shylock says. We crave the law and, whats more, we are willing to temper justice with mercy and embrace ethical decolonization. (Part I follows part II below.) “As a Palestinian reacting to the character of Shylock, judging it, it may involve emotions in a way that differs from Western emotions. During the play, my emotions toward Shylock changed from point to point. At first when he was treated badly by every Christian around, especially Antonio forced me to pity him, yet compared to what we are facing from the Israelis nowadays showed me not to regardless of the fact that we happen to be in the same situation he’s having by Christians and we are being treated bad by Jews. Later on when realizing that Shylock is just as they described, that he is selfish and unhuman even he was being dehumanized during the play, he had the chance to get back to his humanity and proving them all wrong, he kept it only for a small period, he said in his speech, “has not a Jew eyes’ “when you hurt a Jew, what should he do?” I feel pity for him only to lose it all at the end when he refused all sorts of mercy towards Antonio. A Western who is reacting to the character of Shylock as it’s not having any personal emotions involved unlike myself. A Christian at the Shakespearean time, his reactions would not differ from the Christians in the play itself as they would judge him as animal and dehumanize him as well.” “As Palestinians there would be hatred against Jews in general upon the history events of Palestine but more clearly everyone should distinguish between Jews as a Zionist and a Jew of their own religion merely. According to the modern Western audience they are partly on the side of what is reasonable to them, thus they will consider Shylock on one hand as a villain and a bad guy in the story and on the other hand as a poor guy and give him the feeling of sympathy when all the actors and people are against him, particularly at the period of Venice when there was a racism between Jews and Christians who considered the Jews as greedy persons and usuary dealers … Besides that, as Palestinians and according to the element of mercy in the story, for make a resolution against Jews, there must be a forgiveness and peace with them as the play mentioned before of the importance of mercy toward people.” “We may say Shylock deserved it [what happened to him] because he is a Jew, a money lender and a villain, but some might understand his actions though we should be against them because he faced discrimination because of his race and tried to take revenge like us Palestinians trying to take our rights from the Israelian.So we can justify his actions though they are wrong. Modern Western audience may sympathize with him more because of all the racial discrimination [in the past] and because they are living with the Jews now peacefully.” SOME OF MY STUDENTS REACTIONS TO THE IDENTITY OF SHYLOCK AS A JEW IN THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (Part I) “If I were in Antonio’s and Bassanio’s place, I will do the same as they do with Shylock. I keep criticize and insult.” “When Shylock says, ‘if you kill us, shall not we revenge, and if you kill us shall not we die?’ These words by Shylock tell us that he is a hero. “Antonio describes him as a dog, but Shylock had his rights and the rights must be given to him. As a logic, he does not deserve what happened to him.” “Western people have no reason to hate Jews, but Palestinian people have many reasons.” “Our reaction as Palestinians to the Jew (Shylock) is different from other because we are under occupation by Jews, so we feel that he got what he deserve. We think of them as unjust and don’t have any mercy for anyone, and they get advantage of the idea that they are rich and they use this to humiliate us.” “Back then [in Shakespeare’s time] there were a racial treatment to the Jew, which for my own opinion it’s still to nowadays, despite some modern Western Christian people maybe react pro Jew and feel sympathy to him, yet there is a lot whom hate Jews for religious and social background reasons, but I think that the play was written in a way to make us hate Shylock for his big irrational hates for Antonio. For me, as a Palestinian, I know that their big hates to what they experience from the bad treatment they had, they justify their murder and cruel thing they done and still do to us Palestinian people.” “Our reaction as Palestinian to Shylock is definitely different from a modern Western audience. Our daily life with Jewish left a mark about Jew character. We are know that they are greed, selfish and unmercy people, because of what they do with us, with children old men and women and with students in their universities and schools. We don’t give sympathy with his character if we compare it with what Jewish do for us. Western people maybe will show some sympathy with him specially when he lose his daughter and his money. In addition because of the treatment people give him just because he is a Jew, and when Antonio spit and kicked him as a dog.” “Our situation as Palestinians being under the Israeli colonization makes us sometime hate Jewish and saw them evil whatever happened. We forget sometimes to consider them as human beings and see that whatever did Shylock did was just to defend himself because he felt that he is an outsider of the Christian society.”
Posted on: Sat, 10 May 2014 15:57:44 +0000
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