Reflect on your project. How did it go? Do you feel like it was successful? If you could change something about the process or the outcome, what would you do differently? Would you do this type of project again? Be sure to briefly describe your project before reflecting upon it.

For my response project to The Merchant of Venice, I wrote an act 6 with Sydney. We decided to do it because we both thought the speculation about Bassanio and Antonio being secret lovers was really funny and wanted to make it come to life. We also wanted to make it funny because The Merchant of Venice is a comedy and I think we succeeded with that. I believe our project went really well because as we were performing it everyone in the room was laughing and caught on to the little jokes that we threw in throughout the script. I really liked how after the class we had a lot of people come up and tell us they thought it was really funny and well written. I think it would have been even better if we could have really performed it as if we were actors because that just really helps a script come to life. I would have also liked to rehearse a little more with the extra boys that we had to help us out. I did really enjoy this project though and it turned out the way I expected.

Write about anything having to do with The Merchant of Venice that you did not already write about that interests you.

Something that has not been brought up much in any of the conversations about the book is the relationship between Portia and Nerissa. I feel like it is a relationship where Nerissa constantly depends on Portia and just followers her every move. I think this because after anything Portia did Nerissa would follow and do the same. I wonder if that was happening because Portia has more power then Nerissa so she thought she had to follow her and kind of kiss up to her. I, however, think that is a really unhealthy relationship and if Portia was too loose Nerissa Portia would finally realize the friend she had. I think this is a lot like the saying, "You don't know what you have until it is gone," because it seems like Portia takes Nerissa for granted. I would have liked to see the relationship between the two of them to seem a little more genuine and treat each other like best friends.

In Act 4, Scene 1 (pp. 78-79) Portia gives a speech about the mercy vs. justice ("The quality of mercy is not strained..."). Explain what Portia is saying about justice and mercy, and why is this important in the play?

In Portia's speech about justice and mercy she reveals a lot about her religious beliefs. Portia is saying in her speech that god is merciful to humans so we should be merciful to each other. She says, "Though justice be thy plea, consider this: that in the course of justice none of us should see salvation." When Portia says that she is saying that even though Shylock is wanting justice he will not be free of sin because what he is wanting is wrong. Portia clearly ties in a lot of things about god and how mercy is a characteristic of god. That means that if Shylock was to get justice he is breaking the rules of god. Portia also says, "We do pray for mercy, and that same prayer doth teaches all to render the deeds of mercy." I read that as she was saying we all pray for mercy which will teach us all how to have mercy for others.

According to the 5-act play structure, the climax or turning point of the play should have happened in the third act. Did it happen? If so, what was it and what central conflict was addressed? If not, discuss the central conflict that has not yet been resolved.

By act three a lot of different things have happened. Jessica has run away from Shylock The Jew with a large portion of his money to live with Lorenzo. Antonio's boats are rumored to have crashed at sea. As well as Bassanio chose the right chest winning Portia's hand in marriage. Portia and Nerissa have also left to go to a monastery until their husbands return home and left Jessica and Lorenzo in charge at home. These things leave a lot of things unanswered and unaddressed. This part of the book is definitely the climax because everything is all becoming very dramatic and in the next two scenes things might become resolved and people might all come together. Either way, the problems that came to our attention in the third act will be addressed.

In Act 1, we are introduced to the major characters in the play. Which one do you find most interesting and why?

The person who stood out the most to me in act 1 was Portia. Portia is a woman with various suitors. He dead father's will said she does not have the choice of who she will marry she has to let her suitors choose the correct chest. The fact she does not have control over who she will marry makes her seem kind of helpless but then once she begins talking about characteristics of each suitor she begins to stand out and seem powerful. The way she expressed her feelings towards the suitors seemed to have a lot of attitude behind it. I think that makes Portia interesting because even though she does not have a way to control her fate she is still voicing her opinions. Portia is also a very wealthy woman. Most wealthy people have more power but the fact of the matter is Portia does not have power over who she will marry. So far in the book, she does not seem to have a lot of power but she looks for ways around the rules to make them work for her.

The Odyssey

One part of the odyssey that has stuck out a lot to me is the strong female character that Penelope plays. She shows that she is able to handle herself while her husband is gone. This is shown when Penelope tells the suitors that when she is done knitting she will chose one of the suitors to become her husband. Then later you find out every night she was undoing the progress of what she was making to stall having to chose a suitor. I was over all very impressed by the way Homer portrayed Penelope and the way she carried herself throughout all the struggles her life threw a her. Some people would say Penelope showed weakness when she was crying or how she was sad during the book. However, I found it powerful how she was so sad and going through so much and was still able to push through and not give in to the suitors or act rude towards anyone.

In Book 17, there is a lot of foreshadowing of what will happen to the suitors. Find three examples of this (quote them in your post), and explain what you think this means for the fate of the suitors.

There are many times where the future of the suitors is brought up in book seven. The quotes seem to be predicting the death of the suitors. The first quote is, "sowing death for the suitors." That quote seems to be saying something along the lines of planning the suitors death. The next quote is from the part of book seven where Odysseus was going to ask the suitors for food to see which one of them was a decent person. Then Odysseus said, "Not that the goddess had the slightest intention of sparing any of them." That quote was saying that even if there was a decent suitor Athena was still not going of spare any of them from her punishment. The last quote is, "That means death will surely come to the suitors." That quote was from when Telemachus sneezed and that was a sign to Penelope that death would come to the suitors.