Blog Post due 2-24

Who is the Merchant of Venice?
I think that Antonio is the Merchant of Venice. It would make sense that the Merchant of Venice would be the protagonist since it's the title of play, and since Shylock is the antagonist of the play, that would make Antonio the protagonist, and thus the Merchant of Venice. I think that the conflict between Shylock and Antonio is the main conflict of the story. The deal between Shylock and Antonio happened in the beginning of the play, so it makes sense for it to be kind of the main thing throughout the play. Once the deal has been made, Shylock spends the time up until the trial wanting Antonio not to be able to repay him so that Shylock will be able to kill Antonio. The definition of an antagonist is someone who is opposed or hostile towards someone. To me, trying to kill someone makes you both hostile and opposed towards them, which would make Shylock the antagonist. On the flip side, a protagonist is the main character. I think a better definition would be the person who opposes the antagonist, and Antonio seems to oppose Shylock the most, which is why he is the protagonist and therefore the Merchant of Venice. Also, its the MERCHANT of Venice, which doesn't mean that it has to be an actual merchant, but it would make more sense for the Merchant of Venice to be an actual merchant. Antonio seems to be the main merchant in the play.