Powers: Discovery

I am then frog marched to an apartment. Despite a winning Court decision, I really don’t have first and last months rent, plus security deposit. However, it seems that the school runs the apartment and I just need to pay the rent. (The school now decides if I have a place to live. Lease? ‘We don’t got to cho you no steenking lease.’)
I settle in, do my English class reading assignment and prepare to go to my classes, in the morning.
My first class, in the morning is English.
The teacher asks me, “James Gann, did you do your reading assignment?”
I reply, “Yes, I read the entire play, ‘The Merchant of Venice.’”
The teacher then asks, “What did you think of the play?”
I reply, “A group of Venetian layabouts punish a Jewish man, via a sham trial.”
The teacher then snarls, “What did you think of the way that the play was written?”
I reply, “A group of Venetian layabouts make casuist speeches and even the Jewish man makes a casuist speech. I suspect that the author of ‘The Merchant of Venice’ was at least borderline insane.”
The teacher then snarls, “The play is supposed to be about emotions.”
I reply, “I prefer things more grounded in reality, vice emotion.”
The teacher then snarls, “To understand the play, you need to analyze the emotions.”
I reply, “The Venetian layabouts don’t appear to have jobs. However, in order to run their wastrel lives, the layabouts need money. In order to obtain the money that they need, they borrow from the Jew, Shylock, or, in the case of Shylock’s daughter steal the money that she needs, from Shylock. The first question that comes to my mind is why did the layabouts not borrow the money that they need from a non Jewish Venetian?”
The teacher then snarls, “The Merchant of Venice has his money tied up in imports that are due to arrive by ship. Thus he cannot lend his friend Bassanio the money that Bassanio needs.”
I reply, “The Venetian layabouts used Ducats, gold Ducats. They might have considered getting jobs, instead of borrowing money. However, in order to support the layabouts, workman’s wages were probably at the level of a silver Venetian Soldi per day, where a silver Venetian Soldi was worth 124th of a Venetian gold Ducat. The Venetians probably needed to under pay workers, to support the noble layabouts. If sailors were paid worker’s wages, that might have been a reason why the Merchant of Venice was waiting on the arrival of his ships.”
The teacher then snarls, “The Merchant of Venice has his money tied up in imports that are due to arrive by ship. There is no need to worry about details of Venetian money.”
I reply, “Of course not. The Merchant of Venice scolds Shylock for charging interest on the loans that Shylock makes. Of course, the interest the Shylock charges on the loans that Shylock makes is just about the only way that Shylock can make a decent living. Obviously Shakespeare didn’t like Jews.”
The teacher then snarls, “The Merchant of Venice and for that matter, Shakespeare, were men of their time. The views of the men of that time were biased against Jews.”
I counter attack, “Shakespeare didn’t like Jews and he also makes a sly hit against the Prince of Morocco, obviously an unworthy person, because of the color of his skin. How can you stand to think that way?”
The teacher then snarls, “The attitudes of the Merchant of Venice and for that matter, Shakespeare, are not my attitudes, but attitudes of men of their time. Your views are insulting and disruptive in this class. You will leave now.”
I get up and leave. I do not say, “Fuck you very much,” but I was tempted.
I then wander down the hallways.
Chapter 3: A Place of Learning
I make my way to the high school Library.
I go in, to find an unoccupied table and prepare to do some math work.
On my way to an unoccupied table, I pass by a monochrome girl.