Shylock's Ultimate Demise
The courtroom was filled with silence. My Jewish counterpart stood across the room from me, gazing at every movement I made. Balthazar finally revealed that I am not the guilty party and asked me if I wish to show mercy to this.this Jew. Every Christian merchant, every Jewish merchant was dead silent. The sweat poured off of Shylock's face. The look of fear was incredible. I could taste his fear on the tips of my tongue. I walked towards Shylock, favoring the position I was in. I brushed against his shoulder, whispering in his ear the words, "Thank you." The whispers in the crowd echoed in my head. "What's he doing? Has Antonio lost his mind?" the merchants asked themselves. I shook my head and said quietly, "Dearest Shylock, you.you must feel proud of yourself don't you?" Shylock shook his head quickly, trying not to break the silence of the court. "Antonio!" I heard the Duke call. "What is this? Do you wish to show mercy to this Jew? Or do you wish to finalize his death?" The Duke's questioning tweaked a nerve in my head. I began to chuckle fiercely. My chuckles turned to howls of laughter. I began to pace around Shylock, keeping the chuckle with me. The paces became faster, making it seem like I was a wolf ready to finish off his prey. Shylock began to shiver, his body trembling in fear. The knife he once held so dearly fell to the ground. The clanging of the metal echoed through the room, sending everyone into a panicked frenzy. "Antonio! This has gone far enough! What is your decision? Answer me now!" the Duke ordered me. I turned back and laughed again. "Relax Duke, we have all day for this. I'm sure our Jewish friend can wait. Isn't that right Shylock?" I answered back. Shylock didn't move, he didn't want to upset anyone again. Shylock cringed his teeth unaware of what was to come. The puddle that lay beneath his feet showed his fears. I noticed the Jewish merchants in the stands moved closer to the edges of their seats. I grabbed Shylock's hand and felt the sweat of his palms against my hand. I let out a gentle smile to him and snickered to myself. "Shylock," I said slowly. "You're not scared are you?" My smile remained on my face as I stared back into his empty eyes. There was no answer. "Shylock.I'd like an answer some day you know," I said again. "Do you actually think I'm scared of you Christian?" Shylock asked me. My eyes bulged open at him, shocked at what he just asked me. "What was that?" I asked. "You heard me Christian. Do you think I'm actually scared of you?" he fired back. There was a huge uproar in the stands. Every merchant chanted our names. "Shylock, Antonio! Shylock! Antonio!" the crowd hollered. Their chants echoed through the courtroom. "Order in the court! Order!" the Duke ordered. The crowd calmed down, gathering the heat they placed on the lower floor of the room with them. I stared back blankly at Shylock and pulled a chair right beside him. "Shylock." I said staring back at him. He looked down at me and spat in my face. I turned my head and wiped the taste of his saliva across my face. The court became more silent than ever when they heard me laughing again. The laughter of a Christian once more echoed through the room. The Duke wasn't sure of what to do. He had the most confusing face from everyone in the room. Bassanio passed out from the pressures of the trial, hoping I make the right decision. "My dear Shylock." I said slowly. "Was that supposed to harm me in any way?" "What do you think?" he fired back. Again the court erupted in shouts for justice and shouts for death. The sunlight shone through the stained glass window that symbolized the courtroom from the front. The sunlight raced across my face, warming me, making me feel alive for the first time in many days. "Duke," I began. "I have come to a decision of what to do with this foolish Jew." The Duke rose from his chair and said, "Finally Antonio, what is your decision?" Shylock began to sweat even more. His bravery was like a broken mirror. There was nothing there to look at except the shattered reflection of a disillusioned man. "Well Antonio, what do you say?" the Duke asked me. "My dear Duke.the decision was very difficult, but I'm sure my fellow merchants will get what they expect," I replied. There was an uneasy feeling among the merchants, unsure of what I was talking about. "Oh my fellow merchants, what we have here in front of us is a Jew. Merchants, like you, like me. Making a decent living on the Rialto, trying to give his well-earned money for a little extra to pay his tiny taxes. What we have though, is a Jew.a merchant who tried to kill one of us. That person is I. So what I propose to you, is, do we want this man to have his freedom? Do we want him roaming the streets making obscene comments about our religion? About us? About what we do? I'm sure you all know the answers to these questions. I know I do.I'm in control here. But with this man, with him standing in his puddle of fears, do we want him here? Do we want him to make offensive comments to us? I don't think so. Do we want him staring at our trade? I don't think so. So my dear Duke, what I want to do with this man is.I want you to hang him up like there is no tomorrow. Make him plead for his life. Make him beg for what he wants. Make him beg. Make him scream. Make him cry for his life. Kill him! Kill him now!" I shouted back. The crowd erupted in shouts of justice and shouts of Shylock's death. I laughed watching Shylock being shackled and dragged away into the cell I once occupied. I knocked on Shylock's cell door and shouted, "How's it like in there Shylock? Do you like what you are now and what you always will be? You're never going to see the light of day again. Christians never let the enemy win. We always win. We are the victors. The rulers over you. You'll never be superior to us. You're only a low class citizen, with nothing else to gain except your own pitiful death. Enjoy the life you have left. This is all you're ever going to remember now." With those final words, Shylock was hung on that very day. I mocked and laughed at his upturned face. His eyes were glazed over and were seen as bright stars that plagued the night sky. I couldn't turn away, only the Jews I noticed turned away. There were Christian people throwing produce back at the dead Jew. "You stupid Jew! Finally you're dead! Finally you're gone!" the crowd shouted. I smiled and looked up at the sky. I shook my head and looked down at the ground and smiled. My knees caused me to fall to the ground and place my ear to the cold floor. I banged on the floor and screamed, "I HOPE YOU LOVE IT DOWN THERE SHYLOCK, HELL IS YOUR NEW HOME NOW!"
The courtroom was filled with silence. My Jewish counterpart stood across the room from me, gazing at every movement I made. Balthazar finally revealed that I am not the guilty party and asked me if I wish to show mercy to this.this Jew. Every Christian merchant, every Jewish merchant was dead silent. The sweat poured off of Shylock's face. The look of fear was incredible. I could taste his fear on the tips of my tongue. I walked towards Shylock, favoring the position I was in. I brushed against his shoulder, whispering in his ear the words, "Thank you." The whispers in the crowd echoed in my head. "What's he doing? Has Antonio lost his mind?" the merchants asked themselves. I shook my head and said quietly, "Dearest Shylock, you.you must feel proud of yourself don't you?" Shylock shook his head quickly, trying not to break the silence of the court. "Antonio!" I heard the Duke call. "What is this? Do you wish to show mercy to this Jew? Or do you wish to finalize his death?" The Duke's questioning tweaked a nerve in my head. I began to chuckle fiercely. My chuckles turned to howls of laughter. I began to pace around Shylock, keeping the chuckle with me. The paces became faster, making it seem like I was a wolf ready to finish off his prey. Shylock began to shiver, his body trembling in fear. The knife he once held so dearly fell to the ground. The clanging of the metal echoed through the room, sending everyone into a panicked frenzy. "Antonio! This has gone far enough! What is your decision? Answer me now!" the Duke ordered me. I turned back and laughed again. "Relax Duke, we have all day for this. I'm sure our Jewish friend can wait. Isn't that right Shylock?" I answered back. Shylock didn't move, he didn't want to upset anyone again. Shylock cringed his teeth unaware of what was to come. The puddle that lay beneath his feet showed his fears. I noticed the Jewish merchants in the stands moved closer to the edges of their seats. I grabbed Shylock's hand and felt the sweat of his palms against my hand. I let out a gentle smile to him and snickered to myself. "Shylock," I said slowly. "You're not scared are you?" My smile remained on my face as I stared back into his empty eyes. There was no answer. "Shylock.I'd like an answer some day you know," I said again. "Do you actually think I'm scared of you Christian?" Shylock asked me. My eyes bulged open at him, shocked at what he just asked me. "What was that?" I asked. "You heard me Christian. Do you think I'm actually scared of you?" he fired back. There was a huge uproar in the stands. Every merchant chanted our names. "Shylock, Antonio! Shylock! Antonio!" the crowd hollered. Their chants echoed through the courtroom. "Order in the court! Order!" the Duke ordered. The crowd calmed down, gathering the heat they placed on the lower floor of the room with them. I stared back blankly at Shylock and pulled a chair right beside him. "Shylock." I said staring back at him. He looked down at me and spat in my face. I turned my head and wiped the taste of his saliva across my face. The court became more silent than ever when they heard me laughing again. The laughter of a Christian once more echoed through the room. The Duke wasn't sure of what to do. He had the most confusing face from everyone in the room. Bassanio passed out from the pressures of the trial, hoping I make the right decision. "My dear Shylock." I said slowly. "Was that supposed to harm me in any way?" "What do you think?" he fired back. Again the court erupted in shouts for justice and shouts for death. The sunlight shone through the stained glass window that symbolized the courtroom from the front. The sunlight raced across my face, warming me, making me feel alive for the first time in many days. "Duke," I began. "I have come to a decision of what to do with this foolish Jew." The Duke rose from his chair and said, "Finally Antonio, what is your decision?" Shylock began to sweat even more. His bravery was like a broken mirror. There was nothing there to look at except the shattered reflection of a disillusioned man. "Well Antonio, what do you say?" the Duke asked me. "My dear Duke.the decision was very difficult, but I'm sure my fellow merchants will get what they expect," I replied. There was an uneasy feeling among the merchants, unsure of what I was talking about. "Oh my fellow merchants, what we have here in front of us is a Jew. Merchants, like you, like me. Making a decent living on the Rialto, trying to give his well-earned money for a little extra to pay his tiny taxes. What we have though, is a Jew.a merchant who tried to kill one of us. That person is I. So what I propose to you, is, do we want this man to have his freedom? Do we want him roaming the streets making obscene comments about our religion? About us? About what we do? I'm sure you all know the answers to these questions. I know I do.I'm in control here. But with this man, with him standing in his puddle of fears, do we want him here? Do we want him to make offensive comments to us? I don't think so. Do we want him staring at our trade? I don't think so. So my dear Duke, what I want to do with this man is.I want you to hang him up like there is no tomorrow. Make him plead for his life. Make him beg for what he wants. Make him beg. Make him scream. Make him cry for his life. Kill him! Kill him now!" I shouted back. The crowd erupted in shouts of justice and shouts of Shylock's death. I laughed watching Shylock being shackled and dragged away into the cell I once occupied. I knocked on Shylock's cell door and shouted, "How's it like in there Shylock? Do you like what you are now and what you always will be? You're never going to see the light of day again. Christians never let the enemy win. We always win. We are the victors. The rulers over you. You'll never be superior to us. You're only a low class citizen, with nothing else to gain except your own pitiful death. Enjoy the life you have left. This is all you're ever going to remember now." With those final words, Shylock was hung on that very day. I mocked and laughed at his upturned face. His eyes were glazed over and were seen as bright stars that plagued the night sky. I couldn't turn away, only the Jews I noticed turned away. There were Christian people throwing produce back at the dead Jew. "You stupid Jew! Finally you're dead! Finally you're gone!" the crowd shouted. I smiled and looked up at the sky. I shook my head and looked down at the ground and smiled. My knees caused me to fall to the ground and place my ear to the cold floor. I banged on the floor and screamed, "I HOPE YOU LOVE IT DOWN THERE SHYLOCK, HELL IS YOUR NEW HOME NOW!"