Reflection Questions

Reflection Questions (Sheryl &Madison):

1.)   The play opens with Antonio, the merchant, admitting that he is sad, but not knowing why.  Think of times when you’ve been sad.  Have you always understood exactly why, or has your sadness sometimes seemed strange to you?  Explain.

For me, sadness always seems to strange. Sometimes just the feeling of sadness can come over but there is no reason of it. Specific things can always make me sad like thinking of my grandpa, and I know exactly why I'm sad. Sometimes I can be happy but still have that gloomy sad feeling become a part of my day. Sadness is a tricky feeling because it can go into being depressed or angry and you get confused why you're even feeling that. The feeling of sadness is a feeling that takes a while for someone to shake off and be happy. Sadness is a strange feeling and it probably always will be. 

2.)   In Shakespeare’s time, lending money for interest was called “usury” and was generally considered immoral.  How have attitudes changed since then?

Now, interest is considered a good thing. When you invest your money into a bank, your interest gives you more money. People today want more and more money because that's the way we live today. The more money you have, the more you can get and how successful you can be. Before paying extra after a long time period was considered bad because of the lack of money all around. Now, people want more and more money to make their life easier.

3.)   Think of the recent banking crisis and the state of today’s economy.  Do you think it’s all right to lend someone a large amount of money based on their word and reputation even though they may not have any concrete evidence of being able to pay you back?

I don't think it's right because today in our economy we don't have a lot of money. I think it's okay to invest money into banks but you have to remember any bank can get robbed at any point in time. If your deciding based on reputations and their word I wouldn't put any money in that bank. Especially if there wouldn't be any chance of getting your money back. 

4.)   This play includes romantic love stories and also ethnic and religious conflict.  How well do you expect these elements to blend?

I don't expect these elements to blend well in the story. Ethnic and religion doesn't mix well because of the different views people have on it. When the ethnic and religious conflicts can also cause problems in the romantic love stories. When all these problems come together, it creates a big problem throughout the story. even though it will result in problems, it makes the story more interesting .