Shylock, in William Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, is a complicated and confusing character. Over the years, people have debated whether he should be pitied or hated. Using comedy, people supported their opinions by saying that he wanted to kill Antonio, so how can he be pitied? Some argue that his behavior was the result of anti-Semitism. Era. Some people are evil at heart by their own choice, but others have this evil forced upon them. Shylock is an example of a tragic character who becomes evil due to the anti-Semitism circulating around him and, as a human being, responds negatively. At the beginning of the play he just wanted to take revenge on the Christians for the insults, but then it became more personal, that's why he didn't want to pity Antonio and looked like an animal. "Mr. Antonio, many times and often at Rialto you have valued me for my money and my habits: however I have borne it with a patient shrug of the shoulders, because suffering is the badge of our entire tribe. You call me an unbeliever , merciless dog, and you spit on my Jewish gabardine, and ...