The_Jew_Of_Malta

The Jew Of Malta The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare’s’ play and Christopher Marlowes’ The Jew Of Malta feature main characters – Shylock and Barabas- who are easy to dislike for their intents. It would be normal to be aghast at their deeds. Both characters, however, have their particular reasons-based both in surroundings and circumstance- for their behaviors, and furnish reasons, which may justify them (each to a greater or lesser degree) to the audience. Let’s first consider the manner in which their respective fortunes are taken from them –the justification of which (or lack thereof) may point to a certain anti - Semitism. In the Jew of Malta, of course, the usurping of Barabas’ fortune seems more arbitrary. For indeed the Governor Freeze takes it upon “… our sufferance of your hateful lives…” (Act II sc. 2 l. 64) -meaning upon the Jews of Malta overall. Barabas, in fact, knows that the decree to take his wealth is arbitrary (“…their arbitrament'” (Act II sc. 2 l. barabas, act, sc, malta, ii, jews, governor, decree, upon, thy, takes, point, offer, justification, jew, freeze, first, fact, christian, characters, both, arbitrary, their, lose, become, without, wealth, venice, usurping