At the end of the trial scene, Shylock has been ordered by the court and and the bond which he swore to abide to without shedding a drop of Antonio's blood. This is realistically totally impossible. However, this is indeed justified. Going according to law and order and the statements of the mutual-consented bond is true justice. Shylock forfeiting the bond and receiving his punishment is true justice!
On the other hand, there is no true mercy. Forcing a Jew to convert into Christianity may seem a lenient punishment than forsaking all his estate, however, this is indeed a big blow to Shylock. Portia has begged him to show mercy at first towards Antonio but he rejected, arguing on what compulsion must he do that. Now, he begs for mercy and is content to take 3times of the debt which Bassanio offered. Portia rejected him bluntly, stating that he must follow the law and bond, not shedding a drop of blood which would result in a greater offense. Portia is exhibiting true justice but not true mercy
Justice can be manipulated by people in power. There is a saying in China that, Power is greater than the law, people can often find their way out even on serious crimes with bribes as long as they pay, which means they can be manipulated by the government. Power is greater than the law, money is greater than the law and connections are greater than the law. If the criminals can offer the government or the court some benefits, they may get away scot-free. At this point of time, after receiving those benefits, the people in power can bend the rules and let those criminals off.
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Hey Yu Xiang! I disagree with your statement that "Power is greater than the law, money is greater than the law and connections are greater than the law." In places such as Singapore itself, Law is extremely strict and especially because Singapore is such a small country, the police force is patrolling everywhere. Hope you put my input into good consideration.
ReplyDeletePlease visit my blog too!
Hm, I guess maybe at this point of time, incidents of criminals offering the government or the court benefits and getting away scot-free is quite impossible. For one, the general public is watching the court, ensuring that justice is meted out fairly. So I believe the world will not allow such a thing to happen! Also, the part about dropping a drop of blood is not justified! For example, in the past, when a rule is passed to execute someone by cutting someone's head off, it is not clearly stated that blood is allowed to spill out but no one rebukes the decision, because it is just logical sense that blood is involved in every killing! Just my opinion though!
ReplyDeleteJack Tan 2O307
Hey bro! I disagree when you said that "there is true justice but no true mercy". I feel that there is no true mercy and justice at all. Well,justice is about fairness for both sides. There is only true justice in the Christians' eyes but is there justice in Shylock's eyes? Of course not! So you must consider whether there is justice for Shylock?
ReplyDelete"Mercy seasons Justice" - Portia
ReplyDeleteSince mercy lightens the severity of Justice, and justice is according to the values of the society at that time, there would be no such thing as true Justice that will stand the test of time. No true justice means no standard type of mercy.
Therefore, regarding Shylock's case, circumstantially it may seem to be justified for Portia to persecute him, but if you look at the beginning of the story, Shylock is angry with the Christians and his isolation in the all Christian society, so this justice claimed by Portia does not add up.
Regarding your points on the manipulation of power, besides bribing, the rich can employ extremely eloquent veteran lawyers who will help the defendant to receive a not guilty
verdict at the end of the trial. The general public would not be able to say or do anything as it is the court's decision.
Actually i admire you that you actually said that this was in fact justified, but i think that your points were a little unclear and in some ways wrong. The law does not necessary equate to justice. The law is just a tool whereby it is used strictly to achieve justice, but this strictness then would allow some brilliant minds to manipulate it, like Portia dis. Justice on the other hand is what is right, which does not necessarily mean what the law states.
ReplyDeleteI disagree to your first point that Shylock's punishment is true justice. Can you define the differences between "true justice" and "justice"?
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Tiet Gan that the law is just a tool whereby it is used strictly to achieve justice. True justice is only achieved when it satisfies moral ethics. Please note out the perpetrators and victims in the novel and re-decide about that again. In this case,even the law has been manipulated by Portia. How can there even be justice or fairness when the law itself is being controlled and is thus biased?