What Makes Shylock Shylock

Words like money， commerce， wealth， will come to our mind first as soon as the Jews are referred. Undoubtedly， they are skilled in business. As a rich Jew， Shylock with whom we are very familiar is the most conspicuous character in The Merchant of Venice. However， in this play， Shylocks usury is portrayed as the opposite of the true commerce.

Apparently， during that period of time， usury was not accepted， especially in the Christian world. It is new， even evil in the Christians eyes. Because the Christians have faith in God who told them “people will never encounter hunger as long as they are very industrious”.But what makes Shylock have the courage to be engaged in usury？ What makes Shylock Shylock？

Historically， the Jews had experienced sufferings， such as losing their country， becoming slaves， being driven from one place to another， genocide， massacre. Being homeless forces them to float all over the world. As “invaders” in other countries， wherever they are， they may suffer religious persecution and racial oppression. Thus， to live a comfortable life as the natives do is， to some extent， a kind of luxury. It pays to expect the unexpected. They must do more and pay more if the Jewish people want to live a normal life under others roof. Under this circumstance， money plays a significant role in the Jews life. Only when the Jews pay much more can they live a common life in other countries. But where does the money come from？ They must earn it through their minds and hands.

Usually， money stands for living standard to ordinary people. But to the Jews， money bears more meanings， not only a criterion of life quality， but also the right of living. The latter is indispensable. Money is a kind of power which may guarantee their lives. So to them money is life.

In the long process of the Diaspora， Jewish people as foreigners have always been seeking the right of living， including the right of material life and their faith. Whenever they want to make a living in the Jewish way， money counts. Thats why in On the Jewish Question， a very influential paper in the west， Marx once said “what is the Jewish secular idol？ Business. What is their secular God？ Money”.Marx has revealed the significance of money to the Jews and the special relationship between the two.

Based on whats been mentioned above， the Jews must spare no effort to make money not to become wealthy but to solve problems to come. Since money bears the meaning of amulet and right of life， its role in the Jewish peoples life can not be neglected. If this sort of role really works in their life， or is partly realized， the Jews will fall into a more difficult situation. The native will hate them more because the Jews not only “invade” their country but also earn the money which should have been theirs. In order to strike a balance， the native will charge more， for the Jews are expecting the unexpected in the natives eyes. Meanwhile， the “invaders” must work harder and earn more to secure their right of life. Consequently， this vicious circle will never end.

“Wandering around and suffering a lot make the Jews form a special cognition that money is the real insurance and survival tool.”For a long time， they wandered and survived as a commercial nation， so that they have a stronger sense of business and more commercial ideas. It is during this process that the means of earning money are changed and improved simultaneously. The Jewish turn the disadvantage into the opposite. The more they are oppressed， the more powerful they become. The external factors accelerate the development of this nation. Thats why Shylock， the Jewish moneylender， appeared in the early period in the Christian world.

Apart from special historical situation and the significance of money， the Jews success in business lies in another indispensible factor—national cohesion. Whatever happened in the Jews life，it seemed that they have never lost heart or given up. The national cohesion makes them even stronger and more powerful in other countries though this ethnic is rather small both in the number of people and the economic terms. When seen as foreigners or invaders， they always can self-consciously link together， which is one part of their cultural tradition. If any place in the world involves a certain Jewish case， it also involves the whole Jewish world. This unity of the Jewish has a far-reaching significance in the world economic activity.

Additionally， religious influence is also a key to making Shylock Shylock. The Jewish religion is essential in Jewish society and culture. It constricts and impacts all aspects of the Jews. Judaism is a religion with rapid development and improvement， which has experienced such a process： “The Biblical Period， The Pre-Rabbinic Age， The Rabbinic Period， The Middle Ages， The Period of Transition， The Emancipation and Contemporary Judaism”.To the Jews， Judaism is not only a religious belief， but also the philosophy and way of living according to Encyclopaedia Judaic. Thousands of years ago， when the Chinese attached no importance to money the Jewish rabbis had begun to promote “Money is not evil， nor is it a curse， money will bless people”， “money will give us the opportunity to buy gifts for God”， “survival of the body by the heart， while survival of heart by the wallet”. The Jews are encouraged to make money openly， not covertly. This unique way of thinking first arose in this nation. Therefore， the Jewish merchants make money in their own way with no pressure. It is no wonder that the Jewish， Shylock， first started the business of usury.

From the ancient times， the Jewish had the priority to education. The Jews firmly believe they are the “chosen people” of God. They have set a covenant with God and have the mission to let other nations know the laws of God. To learning Bible is the best way of deeply understanding the oracle of God. Bible is an encyclopedia of Jewish education. They have faith in God and learn the encyclopedia- the Bible， and naturally the Jewish people are， to a large extent， more knowledgeable than that of other nations. In the Jewish peoples mind， ones study is as important as ones belief. Due to this religious doctrine， they naturally attach importance to study， or education.

Another characteristic of Jewish education is that they believe wisdom outweighs knowledge， which means putting knowledge into practice is much more important than knowing simply. So the children know the purpose of learning knowledge. Children constantly ask questions during the process of studying. It is this spirit of learning that makes great Jewish people like Carl Marx， Sigmund Freud， Elbert Einstein. This spirit partly makes the Jewish the Jewish， and Shylock Shylock.

Shylock， a Jew， is not only a person， but a representative of an ethnic and of a nation. The trade in which he is engaged is also the business that his countrymen do. It is the special Jewish history， religion， and education that make the Jewish the Jewish， and Shylock Shylock.

References：

[1]《圣經·舊約·創世紀》，第三十章十九節.

[2]馬克思.論猶太人問題.馬克思恩格斯全集，第一卷[M].人民出版社，1956：446.

[3]杰拉爾德·克雷夫茨.猶太人和錢[M].三聯書店上海分店，1891：10.

[4]Encyclopedia Judaic，Keter Publishing House Ltd.，Jerusalem，1971，vol.10，pp.387-395.

[5]劉洪一.“猶太人與錢”：一個歷史文化命題[J].徐州師范學院學報（哲學社會科學版），1996，（l）.

[6]洪希.古猶太民族的教育觀[J].內蒙古教育，2008.6.

[7]張倩紅.猶太文化的幾個特征[J].西亞非洲（雙月刊），2003，（2）.

作者簡介：王桂梅（1983.12- ），女，漢族，吉林松原人，研究生學歷，長春大學旅游學院，助教，研究方向：英語語言文學。