Merchant of Venice - Antonio and Shylock

Antonio and Shylock are two of the main characters in the Merchant of Venice. One of the main plots is to do with the conflict between these two. The main thing that causes these two to argue is their religion, Antonio is a Christian, and Shylock is a Jew. In Shakespearean times there was a huge conflict between these two religions. The Jews were less common making them the minority group and were usually the …

…himself he couldn't possibly do any good in this lifetime if he didn't have cash on hand? Could it be that Shylock believed he wouldn't have any degree of respect/power unless he had money? Whatever the reasons for the varying degrees of greed present throughout the text, when all is said and done, one can not help but ponder the inevitable: Would Antonio have loaned the money to Shylock, had the situation been reversed?