Act 1, scene 1 of The Merchant of Venice starts by showing Antonio talking to friends about how sad and depressed he is. He claims not to know why he is sad because he has wealth enough to satisfy his needs. However, once Bassanio enters and asks for another loan on top of a previous loan, Antonio confesses that all of his revenue is invested in merchant ships at sea on which he waits to bring him profits. Antonio therefore tells Bassanio to use his credit with someone in town to acquire the money he needs to court a wealthy maid by the name of Portia. Therefore, through direct characterization, the audience learns that Antonio is a sad and depressed fellow; and, Bassanio is irresponsible with his money due to living a high lifestyle and not being able to pay back his debts. Both characters are revealed through direct characterization because they both explicitly admit to their own follies.
Then, in Act 1, scene 3, Shylock accepts Bassanio's request for a loan on his friend's credit after he reveals his perspective on Antonio's character. According to Shylock, Antonio is a heartless and prejudiced man who treats Jews with contempt. This is a drastic difference from the caring, forgiving, and depressed man from the first scene. Once Antonio enters the scene, he freely admits to the insults that he has publicly spoken against Shylock in the past. For example, when Shylock tells Antonio, "You called me dog," (I.iii.123) Antonio responds by saying, "I am as like to call thee so again" (I.iii.125). Clearly, there is a rivalry here between Jew and Christian, seemingly so because Antonio started it.
Bassanio, on the other hand, keeps a humble spirit about him because he needs the money to land himself a rich wife to pay off his other debts. He also seems to be a fair person and not as prejudiced as Antonio. He's just a high-living young man who foolishly got himself into debt.
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