Does the ending of Merchant of Venice have a reason to end that way? And does the ending match up with the normal comedy endings?

2) Why do you think that Shakespeare ends this comedy with lover's spats between Jessica and Lorenzo, Portia and Bassanio, and Nerissa and Gratiano? Does this fit in with what we expect from a comedic ending?

This ending didn't even come close to ending how a normal comedic play should end. Comedic plays end with parties, weddings, and birth. This play ended with a big fight. If someone was to think deeper into it, you could come to the conclusion that this might be a comedic play with a tragic ending involving the death of a leading role in the story. Love could be considered the leading role in this play since the entire story is circling in and out of romantic relationships. Love is starting to crack like glass in the end of this story. Lorenzo was fighting with Jessica, and all of the others were talking about sleeping with people other than the person they are married to right infront of their wife or husband. Even with this theory though, the ending of this play definitly did not match that of a normal comedy. But, I think Shakespear ended the play this way because it is still a comedy and it is supposed to be funny. It is funny when married couples start quarreling like this (sometimes).

Who is the merchant of Venice?

2) Who is the merchant of Venice, and how does our understanding of this color how we think about the play? Use textual evidence to support your answer.

There is a good amoun of characters who might be the merchant of Venice. For starters, I always thought of a Merchant as being a seller of goods, food, etc. I also always thought that the merchants would be of the lower class in this day and age making them poorer. This theory knocks out characters like Portia (who is definitely not poor), Nerissa (who we hear talking and hangs around Portia but is not an important character), and Bassanio ( who is more of a borrower and buyer because of all of the money he took from Antonio leaving him broke). 

First person up would be Antonio. Antonio was refered to in the court scene as "the merchant" by Portia when she asks: "which is the merchant here and which the Jew?". By "Jew" she meant Shylock because he is the only Jewish character in that scene and it narrows it down even more, when the Duke says: "Antonio and old Shylock, both stand forth.". Shylock is therefore labeled as "the Jew" and Antonio is labeled as "the merchant". This was just a thought that came to mind listening to the reenactment of this scene as portrayed by Mr. Gonzales and the class. He pointed to Isabella who was playing Antonio every time he said "merchant".

Second and last person would be Shylock. Shylock is a merchant to his own personal gain, by gain, I mean that he is so bent on revenge and on getting this poun of flesh from Antonio that he would spend almost every waking moment to kill him. He also cared more about his money and jewels than his daughter when she ran away with a good amount of his life's savings. These would be the two characters that would be winning either 1st or 2nd place as he merchant of Venice. 

Merchant of Venice, is it a tragedy, comedy, or a tragicomedy?

1) So far, do you think that The Merchant of Venice is a comedy, a tragedy, or a tragicomedy? (We will visit this same question after we finish the play as well.) Support your position with evidence from the text.

I feel that The Merchant of Venice is a tragicomedy. Because it has elements from both tradjedy and comedic plays. First to prove he comedic traits, in a comedy, the characters can adjust well to change or a shift in their life story. This holds true for the leading female Portia when she is forced to be wedded to whichever man picks the chest that holds her portrait in it. The two first princes failed at attempting this and the winner was Bassanio who she we'd and seemed to accept. Portia's reaction to her new husband wasn't so shocking because she was talking with Narissa about how much she didn't like prince Morrocco's skin tone, but when he came to her, she seemed flirty, like she was getting along with him. The second example of the comedic side to this play is Shylock who is the villain and how mean he seems to be to everyone. The story isn't even at an end yet and it already seems that he is being punished for his actions. His cruel acts to everyone was paid back with his daughter Jessica deciding to steal his money and jewels, ditch her father, and run off with a Christian boy whom her dad doesn't even like. Shylock's life is beginning to take a downward spiral. The tragedy in this play seems to be linked up with the two main male roles, Bassanio and Antonio who seem to have a sort of homosexual relationship going on. At least Antonio does. Antonio seems to like Bassanio but he is a bit frustrated and distressed because the affection he is putting out towards Bassanio is not being given back in any way, shape or form. Bassanio wants Portia because she is beautiful and she has lots of wealth. So, in order to travel from their current location which is Venice to go all the way to Portia's domain in Belmont, he needs Antonio's money which Antonio gives to him. Because of the major money withdrawal that Antonio has now done in order to benefit his friend, he is very near broke. 

How is Belmont different from Venice? (using green world vs city world theory)

Belmont and Venice are both perfect examples of the green world and the city world. Venice would be the city world, and the green world would be Belmont. Belmont embodies the green world because of it's well known inhabitants. The majority of the characters introduced in Belmont were all women. The green world is a feminine place where females reighn and nature is their second in command. The green world serves it's purpose as being the problem solver for all things that have happened in the city world. It deals with these issues in a childlike manner that usually ends up helping. It is a calm, peaceful, and fantastical enchanted forest that relates itself to intamate relationships. For example, Portia is trying to find a husband, one that is perfect in every way. She has absolutely no control of the husband. She cannot turn him away, or keep him, the decision in completley up to the man. In location 2810, "First, forward to the temple;after dinner", this line is spoken by Portia as she instructs the prince Morrocco to go to the temple after the dinner they have. This temple is the the Game Center for the little contest Portia has put together to determine her husband. This is all a perfect example of how the green world deals with things.

The city world is Venice. Venice is home to all of the male characters in the book so far. It is a place where problems are already starting to grow. Antonio is trying to gather money from Shylock which starts a small dispute between them. Shylock is already bullied and offended by others in Venice only because he is Jewish. Men from other places than Venice or Belmont come to claim Portia's hand in marriage so that they can succeed in gaining a wife. So, in order to claim this prize, they will travel to the green world in order to make everything better. This is the way of both the city world and the green world. The city world sends their problems to the green and the green then sends it back fixed and perfect once again.

Is Shakespeare's Work Related At All To Us Today?

Shakespeare's work has inspired many things and remains famous among the world today. Almost anyone would spit out Shakespeare's name as soon as they are asked who is the most famous English writer. All of his plays have inspired movies such as Lion King, Romeo + Juliet, and Scotland PA. These three being a new theme, time period or just over all twist on the classic tales of Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth. I personally believe that the majority of love stories in general are slightly related to Romeo and Juliet or possibly related to the romantic relationship between Tatiana Queen of fairies and Bottom the donkey man in A Midsummer's Night's Dream. The story of Romeo and Juliet involves a doomed relationship between a man and woman, the woman inadvertently kills herself or is extremely close to killing herself when the man comes along to save her or prove his love to her is true and dies with her. The relationship between Bottom and Tatiana, her being a beautiful pixie and him being part donkey shows that she saw something deeper than just his looks to make her fall madly in love with him, I saw this as being in a similar tie to a Beauty and the Beast story. Famous lines from the plays have been used in film and other books as well. The famous line " boil, boil, toil and trouble" has been used in association with Hollywood witches for years. This line was used by the witches in Macbeth as they were spell crafting over their cauldron. Not only are these plays and stories shared by visual media, but it is taught to students in schools all over the place. The vast majority, if not all of the language arts teachers you will meet would probably tell you that they had their class read a play by Shakespeare. Even if Shakespeare ever stops inspiring work done today, it will definitely never be forgotten.