Rufo C. Dina
7th
12-16-13
The Friendship and the Loyalty
What do you think of when you hear the words friendship? Does it spark a memory of you and a good friend? Or just a moment that catches your train of thought and sends you in a path that makes you lose your concentration. What about when you hear the word loyalty? What does that make you think of? Two people speak in an absolute honest and trustworthy tone? Or receiving a burst of joy, when you know you did a good deed for someone or something.
When the theme Friendship and Loyalty is mentioned in the play The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, people think of the strong relationship between two very important characters. In The Merchant of Venice, there are many characters that show friendship and loyalty, but the most commented on or the two that stand out are Bassanio and Antonio. Both Antonio and Bassanio have a deep and genuine friendship that extends to an honest representation of information that others may receive as a false idea.
Specifically in Act I Scene 3, Antonio at first protests that he is not concerned about his ships because he has money invested in more places than his ships, so if they are delayed in or prevented from returning with their cargos of imports, Antonio won't be financially ruined. However, when Bassanio comes to ask his assistance, Antonio tells him the truth as he says that everything he has depended upon the safe return of his ships, so much so that he sends Bassanio to the marketplace to secure a loan in Antonio's name for the three thousand ducats that Bassanio needs. "To you, Antonio, I owe the most, in money and in love," (Act I Scene I) so says Bassanio as he prepares to court his future wife. Like Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merchant of Venice is interested in the dynamics of male friendship, a bond that's often valued above all other relationships. Antonio loves Bassanio enough to give his life for him – indeed it seems that Bassanio's pursuit...