Merchant of Venice pre reading work

•                Don’t rely on outward appearances when making judgments. 

I agree you shouldn’t rely on outward appearances making judgments.  I agree because you never really get to know the person. If you rely on the outward appearance you might miss out on missing on a person you want in your life. I judged one of my friends the first time I saw them they looked weird so I thought they were weird but I got to know them now I’m glad I have them in my life.

•                Justice is always blind.

I agree with this statement that justice is always blind. I agree with this because it shouldn’t matter what race, what you look like. Justice is always equal.

•                A brotherly love between two friends can be just as strong as an intimate love between a man and a woman.

I agree with this statement. I love my best friend, but I don’t love her the way I would love my boyfriend. You can have a love but not just as intimate.

•                You can break a promise as long as you have a good excuse

I agree you can break a promise as long as you have a good excuse.  For example, I promised that I would go to the mall with my friend, but then I got grounded and I had to break that promise. So as long as you have a good excuse its ok.

•                Love is blind

I think love can sometimes be blind. I don’t really have a personal experience with this because I’m too young to be in love with someone. But this statement can be true.

•                Stereotypes are often right.

Stereotypes are often right. For example, Black people like fried chicken this is a true stereotype. This is probably because blacks grew up with fried chicken way back when.

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is a good motto to live by.

I agree with this statement because you get what you dish out. For example, if someone hits me I’m going to hit him or her back. It’s basically revenge

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.

Yes, I have been sad I was sad when my grandmother died. I was sad because i felt like I never really got the chance to talk to her or get to say goodbye one last time.

2.)   In Shakespeare’s time, lending money for interest was called “usury” and was generally considered immoral.  How have attitudes changed since then?

Lending money people expect you to pay them back so thats how it changed

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?

I think it is all right you should be able to trust that person your lending money to and if you don't than you shouldn't really lend it to them

4.)   This play includes romantic love stories and also ethnic and religious conflict.  How well do you expect these elements to blend?

They blend pretty well together because ethnic and religious places have some beliefs that involve romance and who you are to have a relationship with.