Love And Hate In The Merchant Of Venice Essay

While The Merchant of Venice points out overlooked moments of dehumanization and problems of religious discrimination, the play also provides a process of re-humanization for Shylock to the audience. After Jessica has run away from Shylock with her Christian suitor Lorenzo, Salarino and Solanio, two of Antonio’s friends, begin to mock and insult Shylock as usual. Unlike Shylock’s previous sarcastic reactions to the

Throughout the education system, there seems to be an unofficial consensus that pieces of literature that are deemed “controversial” should not be taught in school. The Merchant of Venice falls into this category due to the Anti-Semitism which exists within the play making it “controversial” therefore, banned. On the contrary, this play should not be considered controversial and it should not be banned due to the learning experiences and knowledge that can be gained by reading this play. The contrastive style of literature will provide students and teachers alike who read this play the chance to expand their horizons when it comes to their English skills. With this in mind, The Merchant of Venice written by William

Shylock requests a pound of flesh from Antonio on his search for justice. He claimed, "My deeds upon my head. I crave the law, The penalty, and forfeit of my bond" (4.1.195-196). Essentially, he tries to make everyone believe that as a follower of the law he would 've allow Antonio to cut a pound of flesh from his very own body if it was the other way around. Portia challenges Shylock 's hidden intentions. She says, "Shylock, there 's thrice thy money offered thee" (4.1.218). Getting his bond repaid was really not his moto. She is giving him the opportunity to understand that mercy is more important than justice, that he should show an act of mercy for Antonio. Still, Shylock persists and really just shows his real vision when he says, "By my soul I swear / There is no power in the tongue of man / To alter me. I stay here on my bond." His moto is really to hurt Antonio and finally gain revenge. Shylock shows himself as an individual without mercy. Where all that really matters was the insatiable thirst for revenge that controlled his actions.

Picture yourself in a situation where life and death were the only options you were given and in order to save your life, you needed to lie. In The Crucible, this situation occurred to a local farmer named John Proctor. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, was taken place in Massachusetts, 1692. Rumors of witchcraft arrive in the community of Salem and cause major chaos. The over exaggeration of events and witchcraft was caused by the Puritan’s extreme ideals. Puritan’s were a heavily religious group from the sixteenth and seventeenth century who wanted to add religious ideals to all morals. Many innocent people were accused for being associated with witchcraft and the court and high authorities were corrupt, leading to pure chaos. Proctor

Shakespeare still had to please the crowd with the insults and anti-Semitic feelings the people loved. He did this by adding flaws to the characters that they are now known for. Shakespeare gave Shylock his deep hatred for Antonio and all Christians, shown constantly by Shylock himself as he rants how Antonio constantly wrongs him. Another flaw in Shylock's morals is seen in his "Hath not a Jew eyes" speech. There he believes he has the right for revenge when a Christian wrongs him, saying, "If a Jew wrongs a Christians, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrongs a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge." (III, i, 63-66). Antonio too shows flaws, both through Shylock's stories of Antonio's persecution and through the insults he offers Shylock throughout the play. In the courtroom scene, Antonio tells Bassanio he might as well go stand on the beach and tell the waves to stop their endless beat upon the shores than try to get the Jew to change his mind. He also jokes that Shylock is turning into a Christian with his kindness to lend Antonio the 3,000 ducats, saying "The Hebrew will turn Christian: he grows kind." (I, iii, 170). Not only does this add the necessary conflicts for humor that the audience wants, but it provides the backbone for the story, showing the background of the

While in the court Shylock is stubborn to accept anything, but only his “bond of flesh” from Antonio. The Duke intervenes and adheres Shylock to “forgive a moiety of the principal, Glancing an eye of pity on his losses That have of late so huddled on his back…(4.1.25-8). Hence, Shylock refuses to dismiss the contract, in a similar form, as Antonio refused his offer to a potential friendship and instead discriminated him. Yet, the Duke is only focused on saving his fellow Christian from Shylock, a “Jew.” Duke further states, “We all expect a gentle answer, Jew” (4.1.36-7). The way that the Duke has called him “Jew” is inferred as discriminating him for his religion and to some extent not enforcing the law of justice towards Shylock because of his religion. Thereby, knowing that the Duke is in the position of making justice in Venice, he, first, favors those of his kind, “Christian[s].” Thus, Shylock’s does not remove himself from claiming his own justice of the contract for the purpose of the mistreatment that Antonio takes upon him; whereas, “Christians” don’t have that custom in lending money through “interest rates.” Thus, Shylock will not leave until his contract agreements has been completed that he further says, “…by our holy Sabbath have I sworn To have the due and forfeit of my bond” (4.1.36-7). The Merchant of Venice, also shows us how justice plays as injustice but is seen as justice because of the superior group is much greater than the inferior group, the Jewish, which they, practically, do not hold any power. Shylock does not get justice, and thus is puts in a worse discrimination position he was before by enforcing him to convert to Christian. This is paradoxically since the own court refused to give him justice; so why should Shylock still

This course has impacted me tremendously. Many pre-conceived notions of missions and methodology of fulfilling the Great commission have changed. The Great Commission, found in Matthew 28:16-20 contain Jesus’ final words to His disciples. He told them, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Before taking this course, I never understood the concept of the “nations” being people groups. I always thought of them as geo-political divisions. I can actually perceive many different people groups in my neighborhood, and now understand that even though they live in America, they do not relate the same way as other Americans. This is due to their cultural and ethnical background among other

Shylock also recognizes Antonio's antisemitism, citing that Antonio was always trying to intimidate Shylock to convert to Christianity. This is coupled with an evident dominance practiced by Antonio over Shylock, expressed when he says “I am as like to call thee so again, To spit on thee again, to spurn thee too;” (I. 3. 130-131). The final and perhaps most painful slight to Shylock appears when his daughter Jessica elopes with a Christian. Shylock feels as though he has once again been harmed by the Christians who segregate him.

The first event that demonstrates that Shylock is a victim would be that he is ridiculed by his community and his family. Antonio and Shylock were never friends. They always fought because Antonio was a Christian and Shylock was a Jew. They also have different money lending practices which cause a lot of discrepancies. Antonio always mocked Shylock. He calls him a misbeliever and a cutthroat dog. Shylock tells us that Antonio “…call me misbeliever, cutthroat dog,/ and spet upon my Jewish gabardine,” (1.3.108-109). Here Shylock demonstrates that Antonio on a day to day basis mocked Shylock. Later on, Antonio mentions that he will call Shylock that again if he wants to. Another example would be Antonio’s friends. They teas Shylock for his faith and his misfortunes. When Jessica runs away with Shylock’s money and jewelry, he asked the Duke to go help him search Bassanio’s ship for them. Solanio heard

He declares, "I'm very glad of it. I'll plague him, I'll torture him, I am glad of it." (3, 1, 115-116) At the end of Act 3, scene 1, Shylock's true motive is revealed. Shylock says, "I will have the heart of him if he forfeit, for were he out of Venice I can make what merchandise I will." (3, 1, 125-127) All these comments clearly attempt to paint Shylock as a money-worshipping murderer and not as a person.

In Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, the scene opens to reveal a society controlled by men. Men, who live in the foreground of Venetian society, wield their power in business, government, and family life. In the background, women conduct their lives quietly. They are subservient to their husbands and fathers and are regarded as helpless and in need of male guidance in areas of decision making. Though in Shakespeare’s time such a societal structure was largely acceptable, the modern reader views the subjugation of women with aversion, and the ways in which Shakespeare presents the female characters in this play perhaps show that he too was not entirely comfortable

Shylock is also the victim when Jessica leaves. He loses his only child, that underneath his cold exterior it becomes apparent he loves her and struggles with the depth of his grief. He loses hold on his business and walks through the streets morning the loss of his child to the men he detests. He cries in anguish ‘The curse never fell upon our nation till now; I never felt it till now…. My own flesh and blood to rebel! I say, my daughter is my flesh and blood.’ This scene evokes compassion towards Shylock but he is tormented more by Salario and Salanio. This shows him as a repentant father, a man a victim to his child’s will and prejudice surrounding his race.

Shylock finds joy when roles are reversed, causing people to beg for his mercy. Throughout the play, Christian characters were racist to him, they were constantly disrespecting him due to his Jewish background. However, in Act III Scene III, roles are reversed when their racist antics turn into mercy. The characters want to save Antonio from being harmed, and so they beg Shylock to change his mind:

As many of the Venetians “[are] Christian” (MV 1.3.39), Shylock is subjected to religious discrimination because he “[is] a Jew” (3.1.54). This is significant because Shylock is forced to face a number of abuses at the Venetian elite. For this reason alone, Shylock is “spit on” (1.3.123) and “called [a] dog” (3.1.125) just because of the religious beliefs he adheres to conflicts with the beliefs of the Venetian elite. Where Shylock is constantly “laughed at” (3.1.51) and “mocked at” (3.1.51) by Antonio, a member of the accepted Venetian elite, for being a religious outsider, this indicates that the Venetians view Shylock and, by extension, the entire Jewish religion as an embodiment of the devil. As the Venetian elite believe Shylock is “an evil soul producing holy witness / Is like a villain with a smiling cheek” (1.3.97-98) that disrupts the accepted religion in Venice, this demonstrates that a religion difference is justifiable reason to discriminate Shylock. The extreme instances of unfair treatment that Shylock withstands from the Venetians because of his religious beliefs denotes him — like Othello — as an outsider in Venice. The dualities of acceptance extends only to those individuals who do not threaten the scarcity of that which the Venetian elite hold most dear to them: purity and Christianity. As Othello and Shylock both threaten these aspects, the illusion of acceptance bestowed upon them by the Venetian elite shatters and leads to the harsh discrimination and denotation as outsiders in Venice. Incidentally, where the Venetian elite believe that Othello and Shylock are outsiders for their racial and religious identities, Othello and Shylock sustain this belief by depicting themselves as the stereotypes that are associated with them,

It is ironic that Jessica’s actions should prove to be the catalyst that hardens Shylock’s attitude towards Antonio; she has turned Christian just as Antonio believed that Shylock’s bond turned him Christian.