Complexity in The Merchant of Venice

Shylock from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice is entirely filled with complexity.  He is the embodiment of the antisemitism of the time period. The reader is made to not like him as a character since he is portrayed as a cruel brute, following different Jewish stereotypes.  First of all, he is seen as unkind and not accepting of others: "I hate him for he is a Christian"  (I.iii.36).  In addition, he stereotypically worships and loves money, especially in comparison to his daughter: "I would my daughter were dead at my foot and the jewels in her ear!  Would she were hearsed at my foot and the ducats in her coffin" (III.i.75-77).  He views his money and jewels as much more important than his daughter's life which is a stereotypical view of the Jewish people.  His complexity really is portrayed when he begins to question all of these negative views of him.  He asks questions that would even be considered relevant to Jews, or any other minority group, today: "Hath not a Jew eyes?  Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?  Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed with the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is?  If you prick us, do we not bleed?  If you tickle us, do we not laugh?  If you poison us, do we not die?" (III.i.48-54).  For simply a moment in the whole play, Shylock is seen as something other than a brute.  He questions humanity like we as a people do every day, just with different minorities.