Critique on the Theme of Obedience in the Merchant of Venice

Obedience is subtly intertwined with phantasmal connotations that give it a double meaning in more places in the text. Most of the characters are Christian, but Shylock, a usurer, is a Jew. The paradox here is that the Christians(who should be honoring their word as a testimony to their faith(seek to wiggle out of their commitments, whereas Shylock(who ostensibly has no such scruples(attempts to adhere to the garner of the law. Of course, his insistence on the letter of the law is more due to his desire for a outsmart of Antonio's bitikin than to his own scrupulous h iodinesty. The deal he sets up with Antonio is one that he hopes Antonio allow fail to honor so that he can extract that bunk of flesh. In contrast, Shylock's daughter, Jessica, is recusant to his rules and has a romance with Lorenzo, who is a Christian.

With Shylock's desire for the pound of flesh comes an some other facet to the concept of obedience and religion in the play( lenience. The basic premise of Christianity is the mercy of God by which He forgives the sins of the guilty through the sacrifice of His Son. So although God has really(prenominal) rigid and detailed commandments which must be followed to the letter on pain of death, He mercifully paid the price for those sins Himself. In "The Merchant of Venice," the Christians devise a way to introduce mercy into the supposedly iron-clad agreement. When Antonio fails to pay back Shylock's loan, Shylock thinks he will b

e able to deal his pound of flesh, but Portia points out that the agreement was for a pound of flesh tho, and not for any blood to be shed. pin down by his own agreement, which has backfired on him, Shylock has to concede, since he cannot telephone number out a way to get the flesh without shake off blood. Furthermore, he stamp outs up being the loser in other ways too, since he is forced by the Christians (under duress) to convert to Christianity. In addition, his daughter elopes and takes a ring that belonged to his wife. Even this is not the end of Shylock's woes; he doesn't get back all of the money he has lent, either(to Christians, paradoxically. He loses all the way around.

An analysis of obedience in the play, then, elicits a certain amount of controversy.

Is obedience without honesty unfeignedly noble? Does obedient compliance without agreement from the heart take shape loyalty? Is compliance with the letter of the law always good? Although arguments could be offered on both sides of each of these issues, since the fundamental origination for the dichotomy in the play is a difference of religions (Judaism versus Christianity), a Biblical perspective seems to be the most appropriate one to adopt in formulating answers to these questions.

The unmistakable parallel to Biblical themes draws forth yet another facet to the obedience issue. Although God's people are instructed to obey the law, they are admonished that no one is justified by the law. In other words, keeping the exact terms of the very complex Judaic law does not make a man right with God. Romans 3:28 states "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from detect the law," and then Galatians 3:24-25 explains "So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law." So what makes a man right with God is receiving Christ and allowing Him to atone for sins; after that, the only commandment
Order your essay at Orderessay and get a 100% original and high-quality custom paper within the required time frame.