Theme Of Pride In Merchant Of Venice

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“Pride is the parent of destruction; pride eats the mind and the heart and the soul alive.” Anne Rice’s words are a perfect representation of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. In this comedy play Shakespeare exhibits how being a person consumed with pride and prejudice can destroy lives. Antonio and Shylock partake in an arrangement in which Antonio borrows Shylock’s money with no interest, but if Antonio does not repay all of the money then he must relinquish a pound of his flesh as capital. As the play goes on we witness the characters of Antonio and Shylock unfold into prejudice and prideful men. When we resort to manners and actions driven by pride and prejudice we encounter dangerous, life altering situations. When Antonio exudes his prejudice ideals towards Shylock, he finds himself staring into the eyes of death. Antonio, along with many other civilians of Venice view the Jewish civilians as inferior; therefore, they do not treat them equally but project their predisposed, biased ways upon Shylock and the other Jews. Shakespeare begins his play by giving the reader a skeptical feeling about Antonio’s arrogance and prejudice actions. For instance, if Antonio respected Shylock then he would not have “spat upon [his] Jewish gaberdine.” Antonio’s inability to see Shylock as an equal suggests that Antonio’s prejudice beliefs are going to cloud his …show more content…

Antonio lost his dignity, but Shylock lost it all. He lost the only family that he had left; he did not get his revenge. Shylock lost his money and most importantly, he lost the one thing that made him who he was, his faith. As we encounter people and come across decisions may we have the open mind to weigh our options and look beneath the surface so that we do not find ourselves in a situation like Antonio and Shylock that will leave us condemned with

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