1. Is there true justice? Why?
Yes. Because, Antonio was not killed. Shylock's bond was to take a pound of Antonio flesh if he could not return his debt in time. During the trial scene, Shylock kept insisting on obtaining the flesh of Antonio's but in the end, just before Shylock was about to kill Antonio, (because as we all know, ripping a pound of flesh from a person will only result in death) Portia stepped in a raised the fact that the bond did not mention anything about blood, which in this case means that Shylock could not, would not be able to kill Antonio. Therefore, there is true justice as what was in the bond was fulfilled.2. Is there true mercy, as expounded by Portia? Why?
In my opinion, there is true mercy expounded by Portia as although Portia knew how to deal with Shyl0ck beforehand, she actually gave him a chance to stop insisting that he wanted Antonio's life before he falls into her trap.3. Justice and Law can be manipulated by people in power. Comment on this with reference to the text and other real-life cases and examples.
Based on the text, Justice and Laws was manipulated by Portia. Portia used her status as the lawyer to manipulate the law into dealing with Shylock, he was given justice by Portia, but instead, she used the Law to counter the fact that Shylock was given justice, allowing him to receive punishment instead of the justice he O so wanted, thus proving the point of view that Justice and Law can be manipulated by people in power.In real life, I feel that Justice and Law can be manipulated by people in power, one example would have to be Mr Dominique Strauss Kahn, he paid a large some of money to be released out of custody.
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Wei Jin
For part 2, whether true mercy is meted out, i feel that there is no true mercy and Portia is rather a hypocrite. This is because, she spent so long trying to convince Shylock to have mercy on Antonio with her incredibly long mercy speech, "Quality of mercy is not strain'd .............."
ReplyDeletebut when tables are turned she did not show mercy to Shylock even when bassanio agreed to pay him 3 times the original price, she did not have mercy and demand that Shylock have nothing bt the forfeiture.Do you agree?
I disagree with you that true justice was achieved at the end of the trial scene. If there is true justice, Shylock would have gotten his pound of flesh, or perhaps his money back. He wouldn't have had to lose his fortunes nor convert to christian. Do remember that it was Shylock who was kind enough to lend Antonio the money in the first place!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I feel that you could elaborate more on Mr Strauss Kahn's incident.
I totally disagree with all your points. There is no true justice at all. How can there be true justice when Shylock lost everything in the end! And there is no mercy at all. In the end, Potia showed "mercy" in the end but in fact, she was actually taking revenge on Shylock! I find that your point of views are rather not balanced. But good job anyway! KEEP IT UP!:D Comment on mine too!(:
ReplyDeleteHi, this is Darrel. I disagree that there is true mercy. As you can see from the text, Shylock was forced to convert to a christian. How is this, in any way, mercy? Shylock rightfully owns that pound of flesh and Antonio rightfully deserved to die as he already knew the consequences before hand that if he could not come up with the money in time, he would die. Shylock came up with a bond because he wanted that pound of flesh and wanted Antonio to die. He would not have come up with the bond stating that he wanted that pound of flesh without spilling any drop of blood as it is totally redundant. Also, when he is forced to convert, he loses his job and dignity, which makes him feel worser than dying, therefore, is that true mercy?
ReplyDelete