In most versions of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE by William Shakespeare, the scene where Shylock tries to get his "pound of flesh" proves the villainy of the title character.
But this could be played backwards.
Start the play with the trial, and show that Shylock knows he will lose. He wants to lose. He NEEDS to lose, to prove that a Jew is just as human as a Christian.
And then end the play with the trial again, but this time play from the viewpoint of the Elizabethans, with Shylock seen as pure evil. And he can do nothing about it.
In the ninth grade, I was deemed deficient in English (and probably still am) and asked to join the dunderheads relearning grammar, structure, spelling, etc. The elite part of our class who were English geniuses read and evaluated great literature like The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, Evangeline and The Merchant of Venice. While I struggled with the mechanics of English writing, I overheard the geniuses discussing these great works of literature. As a result, I never read any of them, although know much about them, especially their most often used quotes about the albatross, the beautiful opening of Evangeline, and of course, the pound of flesh taken by the Jewish money lender, Shylock.
I don't feel deprived, but I do feel guilty because I'm currently in a short-term high-interest lending agreement with a lady who needed money to renovate a home for a very lucrative business (not pot growing). She was supposed to pay off the loan in about two years, but has continually added to the loan and has continued to pay on the principal every month for six years. Based on the interest I'm receiving, I feel like Shylock. ;-)
I'm not a Christian or a Jew, so it doesn't enter into my thinking. But I do think it's a bit usury to try to force her to pay off the loan quickly with high interest.
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I don't feel deprived, but I do feel guilty because I'm currently in a short-term high-interest lending agreement with a lady who needed money to renovate a home for a very lucrative business (not pot growing). She was supposed to pay off the loan in about two years, but has continually added to the loan and has continued to pay on the principal every month for six years. Based on the interest I'm receiving, I feel like Shylock. ;-)
I'm not a Christian or a Jew, so it doesn't enter into my thinking. But I do think it's a bit usury to try to force her to pay off the loan quickly with high interest.
Ron