1) The setting of the story is in Venice, maybe near a body of water because they talk about ship ports and trade throughout the first act. The culture is very different because they talk about "wooing" the princess and needing money to attract her which isn't the natural norm of today's society. Also, borrowing money was frowned upon because there was no security of money.
2) Antonio worries abut never knowing what is bothering him and sort of focuses on other people's problems to avoid facing his own problems like when he agreed to help his friend Bassanio get his one true love Portia and he needed money so it distracted Antonio from his depression and struggles.
3) Bassanio asks Antonio for money to help attract the attention of Portia which is the girl Bassanio has fallen for but he doesn't want to show up empty handed and therefore he needs a lot of money so he asks Antonio for a loan.
4) Portia seems very picky when choosing a husband because when Nerissa was reading the list of suitors she had rather rude comments about them and turned them all away. So when another servant came in and said more suitors had come to compete for the hand of Portia, she decided to give them a chance and say that she will choose one of the 5 men and turn away the other 4 who do not treat her like anything other than a person instead of a prize to be won.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Anticipation Guide: Merchant of Venice
Don’t rely on outward appearances when making judgments.
I believe in the saying "don't judge a person by the cover", that you should get to know the person before you decide if they are a good "book". I often live by this because looks can be very deceiving sometimes the greatest looking people are the worst people to be around and vise vesra. I believe that relying on outward appearances is not only hurtful to a person but it could be a disadvantage to you, for you could miss out on a great friend.
Justice is always blind.
Justice isn't always blind, there are people in the world who are still discriminated upon for their religion, beliefs, and especially the color of their skin. In Ferguson Missouri, there were protesters after the death of an African American teen who was killed by a white officer and he was prosecuted for it. I think that they should have given the kid a fair chance at and equal trial but instead they sort of let the police off and that "justice" wasn't blind.
A brotherly love between two friends can be just as strong as an intimate love between a man and a woman.
I think this is a true statement because "love is blind" like another quote in this section. Love can be as strong or as weak as you make it. My dad is best friends with his cousin Stanley and I don't think their love is any weaker than the love between him and my mom, it's just a different kind of love and though it can be taken the wrong way, one is not stronger than the other.
You can break a promise as long as you have a good excuse
I think you can break a promise, honestly. If someone you care about was going to die or get hurt and you could avoid it, I would definitely take that chance but the excuse would have to be really valid not "I didn't feel like it". There are always tests to find out who we really care about and what kind of character we are and if you are always finding excuses to break the promise then you obviously don't care about that person but if you really care about them and you can't keep the promise, their should be a good enough reason why.
Love is blind.
Love is probably the one and only thing in the world that has always been blind since "day one". Love is a universal concept and although often hated upon, first because of interracial marriages, then gay marriages, the love itself has always never saw the man or woman or color of the skin but affections of the heart and what it boils down to at the end of the day, the people involved in the relationship, no one else.
Stereotypes are often right.
Sadly, stereotypes are often right not for each individual but one a large scale and I think now a days they are being proven wrong but they are highly "enforced" by the society "oh black people always to this", "white people always do this" and it sticks like glue, even on the backs of people who don't do those things. I think that because we plaster the stereotypes on each other, most of us just conform to them, or keep conforming to them because that's what everyone is doing and that's why they are often right.
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is a good motto to live by.
I don't believe this is a good motto to live by because of my religion. Jesus turned the other cheek when he was slapped across the face and said "here slap the other'" just to show that no revenge will justify the wrong of two means. I think that if you have enough strength to not take the other eye or tooth than you have already lived with courage and love, values that taking the tooth or eye won't give you.
Partner: Camryn Tabiolo
I believe in the saying "don't judge a person by the cover", that you should get to know the person before you decide if they are a good "book". I often live by this because looks can be very deceiving sometimes the greatest looking people are the worst people to be around and vise vesra. I believe that relying on outward appearances is not only hurtful to a person but it could be a disadvantage to you, for you could miss out on a great friend.
Justice is always blind.
Justice isn't always blind, there are people in the world who are still discriminated upon for their religion, beliefs, and especially the color of their skin. In Ferguson Missouri, there were protesters after the death of an African American teen who was killed by a white officer and he was prosecuted for it. I think that they should have given the kid a fair chance at and equal trial but instead they sort of let the police off and that "justice" wasn't blind.
A brotherly love between two friends can be just as strong as an intimate love between a man and a woman.
I think this is a true statement because "love is blind" like another quote in this section. Love can be as strong or as weak as you make it. My dad is best friends with his cousin Stanley and I don't think their love is any weaker than the love between him and my mom, it's just a different kind of love and though it can be taken the wrong way, one is not stronger than the other.
You can break a promise as long as you have a good excuse
I think you can break a promise, honestly. If someone you care about was going to die or get hurt and you could avoid it, I would definitely take that chance but the excuse would have to be really valid not "I didn't feel like it". There are always tests to find out who we really care about and what kind of character we are and if you are always finding excuses to break the promise then you obviously don't care about that person but if you really care about them and you can't keep the promise, their should be a good enough reason why.
Love is blind.
Love is probably the one and only thing in the world that has always been blind since "day one". Love is a universal concept and although often hated upon, first because of interracial marriages, then gay marriages, the love itself has always never saw the man or woman or color of the skin but affections of the heart and what it boils down to at the end of the day, the people involved in the relationship, no one else.
Stereotypes are often right.
Sadly, stereotypes are often right not for each individual but one a large scale and I think now a days they are being proven wrong but they are highly "enforced" by the society "oh black people always to this", "white people always do this" and it sticks like glue, even on the backs of people who don't do those things. I think that because we plaster the stereotypes on each other, most of us just conform to them, or keep conforming to them because that's what everyone is doing and that's why they are often right.
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is a good motto to live by.
I don't believe this is a good motto to live by because of my religion. Jesus turned the other cheek when he was slapped across the face and said "here slap the other'" just to show that no revenge will justify the wrong of two means. I think that if you have enough strength to not take the other eye or tooth than you have already lived with courage and love, values that taking the tooth or eye won't give you.
Partner: Camryn Tabiolo
1.) The play opens with Antonio, the merchant, admitting that he is sad, but not knowing why. Think of times when you’ve been sad. Have you always understood exactly why, or has your sadness sometimes seemed strange to you? Explain.
JG: I have always understood my sadness, if I am sad, there is a definite reason behind it or if I can't think of one than the sadness seems to disapear and I can't remember why I was sad. One quote that really moves me is "that's the thing about pain, it demands to be felt" and I translated it as if you are in pain you gotta know why or else it will never run it's course (felt) and you can never escape it.
CT:
CT:
2.) In Shakespeare’s time, lending money for interest was called “usury” and was generally considered immoral. How have attitudes changed since then?
JG: Attitudes have changed because nowadays we have better security over our money and we can keep track of it better if we lend some to our acquaintances unlike back then, if they just gave their money away, it would be gone forever in a blink of an eye. I think now it seems kind and thoughtful to help someone out with a giving them money because most people would only think about themselves and those instances and not want to let go of their money.
JG: Attitudes have changed because nowadays we have better security over our money and we can keep track of it better if we lend some to our acquaintances unlike back then, if they just gave their money away, it would be gone forever in a blink of an eye. I think now it seems kind and thoughtful to help someone out with a giving them money because most people would only think about themselves and those instances and not want to let go of their money.
3.) Think of the recent banking crisis and the state of today’s economy. Do you think it’s all right to lend someone a large amount of money based on their word and reputation even though they may not have any concrete evidence of being able to pay you back?
JG: Not that it's recent but we just read Of Mice and Men and they were living in the time of the great depression where all the banks shut down and everyone lost their money and I think in those situations it's very risky to lend someone a lot of money when you can barely support yourself no matter how empathetic or generous you are, you shouldn't let yourself starve for the sake of others.
4.) This play includes romantic love stories and also ethnic and religious conflict. How well do you expect these elements to blend?
JG: When has it ever blended well? There will ALWAYS be scenarios where no matter how much 2 people love each other someone else will come in and "break them apart" because of their skin color or their religious beliefs/beliefs, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Antony and Cleopatra, to the most random Look who's coming for dinner. I think their is always reason to try and keep people in love from being together but the one that should keep them together trumps all the ethic, religious reasons ever fathomed.
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