Merchant Of Venice Anti Semitism Analysis

Fueling the Fire of Anti-Semitism in The Merchant of Venice Jewish people in the Merchant of Venice, a play by William Shakespeare, are characterized by villainy and greed. Later, the Jews are considered saved, when they are brought to justice by forced conversion to Christianity. While some people may think that The Merchant of Venice is a play written to bring sympathy from the audience for the unbelieving Jewish villain, this play is really a work of anti-Semitism because of obvious promotion of hated toward Jewish people, their apparent lack of rights, and sheer lack of respect from anyone else. While this is an obvious theme throughout the play, Shylock, a Jewish man, also plays a key role in the facilitation of anti-Semitism. From

Any chances they can get to slander a Jew or make fun of them were used. When Shylock finds out that his daughter left him and took a significant amount of his money and jewels, Salarino was describing the scene and said, “why all the boys in Venice follow him crying, ‘His stones, his daughter, and his ducats’” (2.8.?)! Obviously these kids were just making fun of him. Shylock went out into the streets of Venice crying about his woes and these kids just come around mimicking him and completely disregarding the terrible situation he is in. No one cares about him or the situation that he is in. Jessica, Shylock’s daughter, also hated her father and hated that she was Jewish. She would do anything to change her status as a Jew. Jessica decided to leave her father and marry a Christian man. Thinking about what she has done, she says “Alack, what heinous sin is it in me to be ashamed to be my father’s child! But though I am a daughter to his blood, I am not his manners… I shall end this strife, become a Christian and thy loving wife” (2.3.?). Not only is Jessica committing the ultimate sin and converting to Christianity, but she also stole a significant amount of his gold and jewels. But because she is converting to Christianity, she thinks that she will be forgiven for all of her sins, as well as everyone else. Lorenzo, the Christian man she plans to marry says, “If e’er a Jew her father come to heaven,

What he should have done was prove them wrong and show all the venetians that Jews are indeed good people, but no; Shylock’s need for revenge overcame his morals. Even the Duke, who decides Antonio’s judgment, called Shylock out, “The world thinks, and I think so too, that thou but lead’st this fashion of malice to the last hour of act, and then ‘tis thought thou’lt show thy mercy and remorse more strange than is thy strange apparent cruelty” (4.1.?). Everyone just thought that Shylock was dragging this out for a good show and to teach Antonio a lesson. No one thought that Shylock would actually try and take a pound of flesh from a human being. Shylock, at his point, is just giving everyone more reasons to hate him. Not only does he plan to pretty much kill a man, but a good Christian man. For the Duke and everyone else, this is a step too far. When Shylock was asked why he wouldn’t just take the loan plus more money, he just answers, “you’ll ask me why I rather choose to have a weight of carrion flesh than to receive three thousand ducats. I’ll not answer that but say it is my humor.” Shylock is going to far at this point. He really has no reason to kill a man when he could have gotten all his money and the amount of interest that should have been put on the loan. In a way, Shylock could have avoided his own demise, if he didn’t give in to the revenge. In