Joan Juliet Buck | 04/03/2009 11:00 am

Joan Juliet Buck: Who Does Bernard Madoff Remind You Of?

I have been wondering who Bernard Madoff reminds me of. Because, for all his evil deeds, there was something weirdly attractive and reassuring about his demeanor.

I wondered what it was. The flyaway gray hair, the tight line of the mouth — who did he look like? What was this strange, almost historic elegance? Why did his face — dear God! — reassure me? Why did the face of this criminal stranger look so intensely familiar, as if I had seen it every single day?

Oh my God …

Madoff/Dollar Bill © AP/Wikipedia

Read more about: Bernard Madoff, George Washington, Money, Resemblance

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Your personal experience explains, better than anything that I have written, not only why the analogy between Shylock and Madoff is incorrect but also, and more pertinently, why invocation of Shylock’s name is inappropriate. I applaud your courage and deplore the statements by the principal of the school at which you did your student teaching. It takes courage to stand up to antisemitism because, as Jews, we often fear that drawing attention to ourselves by complaining does nothing except increase hostility. When I read the comment about Shylock, I was shocked but decided not to be too "sensitive." However, when I saw the extent of ignorance about "The Merchant of Venice" and Shylock’s actual role in the play, I decided to put in my two cents’ (or, more like, two dollars’) worth. But your story beats anything that I wrote!

By Sam Mirando on 04/04/2009 8:41 pm

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I agree with Rachel. AND I have polled ten Christians of varying ages in my neighborhood of physicians, attorneys, etc. & none have ever heard of Shylock. So I stand that comparing Madoff to him perpetuates the stereotype. Regardless of Sam’s intellectual writings apparently most of Jewish upbringing believe what Margo did about this Shylock. Therefore, it is not flattering.

By Lym BO on 04/04/2009 9:50 pm

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Thank you.

By Sam Mirando on 04/05/2009 5:27 am

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Sorry, folks, the above "thank you" was supposed to go under a post (on 04/04/2009 at 8.28 p.m.) from Margo in which she wrote, to me, "I defer to your scholarship."

I am interested, Lym Bo, that none of your professional friends has heard of Shylock. I thought that "Shakespeare and the Bible" were part of the education of any cultured person in Western society - but I admit that mine is probably an old-fashioned view. Moreover, while Margo has heard of Shylock, she clearly did not know enough about him to use his name in an appropriate analogy (a case, certainly, of "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing").

This thread suggests that, indeed, the name Shylock is generally used (by those who have ever heard of him) to perpetuate an inappropriate stereotype and that it is best to leave his name out of conversation unless one knows the plot of "The Merchant of Venice" and is sure that mention of his name is absolutely apposite.

By Sam Mirando on 04/05/2009 5:42 am

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I’m also surprised that none of Lym Bo’s neighbors heard of Shylock, but then–––. This character is one of the most controversial of Shakespearean roles. Shylock was played as a low-comedy character until Charles Macklin electrified London audiences in 1741 by making the disliked usurer a tragic figure. Granted, he certainly cannot be described as a likable or attractive character, yet he utters this moving speech:

Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?…If you prick me us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die?

So on this sunny Sunday morning, I salute Shakespeare, applaud Sam, and put Shylock to bed.

By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 04/05/2009 9:29 am

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Perfectly put (plus, parenthetically, poetic phraseology), Phyllis.

By Sam Mirando on 04/05/2009 5:49 pm

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While I see the ironic humor Bernie Madoff’s resemblance to the portrait of George Washington on our one dollar bill, I am sure that the comparison must have the first American president rolling in his grave! George Washington had his faults, but he was a man who COULD have been ‘king of America’, but he balked at this idea. Like Cinncinatus, Mr. Washington did his duty for his country, then returned to his farm in Virginia, relegating dynasties and ‘divine rights of kings’ to the old world. Madoff, on the other hand, took the trust and fortunes entrusted to him by others and built his personal financial empire built upon the work and very LIVES of those ‘others’. He was a man who had power at his disposal and who became a corrupt demagogue. Unlike Washington, in his way, Madoff was a man who WOULD be king!

By Melanie Waldrop on 04/05/2009 10:24 am

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The resemblance is remarkable…uncanny.

Oh well, so much for Mount Rushmore !

By Lauriate Roly on 04/05/2009 11:27 am

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I am Jewish too, never saw the resemblance of Madoff and George, all I can say is OY VEY!!! LOL

By Rho on 04/05/2009 11:48 am

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Madoff may look like President Washington, however, he doesn’t even come close to Washington’s moral character.

By Barbara Taylor on 04/06/2009 10:37 am

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He looks more like the grandfather in the Munsters show….

By ruth mesersmith on 04/06/2009 11:38 am

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oh no. We are NOT going to slander Al Lewis.

Although, it would be nice if Madoff could turn into a bat. Then we could lock him in an attic. And he obviously, he has a few bats in his belfry!

By nanchan u on 04/06/2009 12:40 pm

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Two thumbs up for this one!

By Diane Etter on 04/07/2009 2:56 pm

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By Lauriate Roly on 04/08/2009 5:08 pm

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it’s a perfect opposite and shows the good (george) and evil (madoff). they look a lot alike and it is a good symbolic statement to me. "money the root of ALL evil"…. i still can’t get over his last name "MADOFF" with all the money.

By Jackie Blue on 04/09/2009 11:21 am