WAEC SSCE - Literature In English - 2004 (Objective)

Question 1 Report

Read the extract below and answer the question

....if you pick us, do we not bleed? if
You tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not
die? -And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.

''you'' refers to

Merchants

Venetians

Christians

Jews

Answer Details

''You'' refers to Jews. The excerpt is taken from Act III, Scene 1 of William Shakespeare's play "The Merchant of Venice". In this scene, Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, is defending himself against the charge of being a ruthless usurer who lends money at exorbitant interest rates. The quote is part of Shylock's famous monologue where he is pointing out the hypocrisy of the Christian characters in the play who mistreat him and other Jews, despite their claims of moral superiority. Shylock asks the Christians several rhetorical questions, such as "If you poison us, do we not die?" and "If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that," to emphasize that Jews are human beings too and should be treated with the same respect and dignity as anyone else. Therefore, in this context, "you" refers to Christians.






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