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Racism in the Merchant of Venice
Sentencing disparities race
Examine the theme of racism in the merchants of Venice
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Recommended: Racism in the Merchant of Venice
Racism, an all too common idea in today 's time is accurately portrayed by Shakespeare in his work, “The Merchant of Venice” which discusses the endeavors of a Venetian merchant who at one point requires a loan and thus brings about a passage dealing with which displays racism even in the times of Shakespeare: He has disgraced me and insulted me half a million times; laughed at my losses, joked about my gains, insulted my religion, crossed my deals, cooled my friends, heated my enemies. And what 's his reason? I am a Jew. Doesn’t a Jew have eyes? Doesn’t a Jew have hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions, fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled …show more content…
It causes discrimination due to the fact that it causes tensions to build when people refuse to associate and interact with each other based on irrational thoughts. It is a common fear that can be accurately described by citing the red scare in the 1900’s. This event in the domestic community caused discrimination and isolation of other cultures based on unrealistic information. Similarly, in recent times, stereotypes that existed towards those of German descent in the era of the red scare now exist and are posed on those of African American culture. As a result, Xenophobia is an intense area in which prejudice …show more content…
Racial bias in jury selection is ridiculous – qualified black jurors are illegally turned away as much as 80 percent of the time in the jury selection process. They get much harsher sentences – black people are 38 percent more likely to be sentenced to death than white people for the same crimes. Whites and blacks represent about half of murder victims from year to year, but 77 percent of people who are executed killed a white person, while only 13 percent of death row executions represent those who killed a black person.
Racial discrimination has been an immense problem in our society for a very long time. The fact that the race of a victim plays a role in his or her sentencing is appalling. Discrimination within our society needs to come to an end. It’s frightening to think that if you are a minority facing a capital punishment case, which you might be found guilty only because of the color of your skin.
Despite the efforts of lawyers and judges to eliminate racial discrimination in the courts, does racial bias play a part in today’s jury selection? Positive steps have been taken in past court cases to ensure fair and unbiased juries. Unfortunately, a popular strategy among lawyers is to incorporate racial bias without directing attention to their actions. They are taught to look for the unseen and to notice the unnoticed. The Supreme Court in its precedent setting decision on the case of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), is the first step to limiting racial discrimination in the court room. The process of selecting jurors begins with prospective jurors being brought into the courtroom, then separating them into smaller groups to be seated in the jury box. The judge and or attorneys ask questions with intent to determine if any juror is biased or cannot deal with the issues fairly. The question process is referred to as voir dire, a French word meaning, “to see to speak”. During voir dire, attorneys have the right to excuse a juror in peremptory challenges. Peremptory challenges are based on the potential juror admitting bias, acquaintanceship with one of the parties, personal knowledge of the facts, or the attorney believing he/she might not be impartial. In the case of Batson v. Kentucky, James Batson, a black man, was indicted for second-degree burglary and receipt of stolen goods. During the selection of the jury the prosecutor used his peremptory challenges to strike out all of the four black potential jurors, leaving an all white jury. Batson’s attorney moved to discharge the venire, the list from which jurors may be selected, on the grounds that the prosecutor’s peremptory challenges violated his client’s Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to have a jury derived from a “cross-section of the community”(People v. Wheeler, 583 P.3d 748 [Calif. 1978]). The circuit court ruled in favor of the prosecutor and convicted Batson on both counts. This case went through the courts and finalized in the U.S. Supreme Court.
A study of race and jury trials in Florida published last year in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, found that “conviction rates for black and white defendants are similar when there is at least some representation of blacks in the jury pool.” But all-white juries are a very different story—they convict blacks 16% more often than they convict whites (2).
...nt just because of the color of their skin. There should be stricter guidelines on the members of a jury, for example, each jury panel should include at least three members of any minority. This would help alleviate the racial tension felt by a defendant being tried by an all-white jury, as well as discard the conviction of people based on race.
The author omits critical information about many factors, which could explain the higher rate of severe sentences for African Americans than White Americans other than racial injustice. The article, “Possibility of Death Sentence Has Divergent Effect on Verdicts for Black and White Defendants” by Jack Glaser, et al. provides an excellent analysis of the racial disparities that Cholbi mentions. Glaser provides clear evidence of how factors such as sentence severity and jury selection can influence sentencing. The authors also discuss how African Americans are though of when discussing crime and how African Americans are considered like apes. However the article discusses how these assumptions comply with African-American behavior; “There is also evidence that in the context of criminality, there is a relatively strong association between Black men and apes. It follows that insofar as Black people may be viewed as being less worthy of humane (or even human) treatment, concerns over punishment severity (even death) would be less consequential” (Glaser et al. 541). The authors stimulate an experiment through mock jurors and found no concrete evidence to suggest banning capital punishment due to racial discrimination. Therefore Glaser et al. does a superior argument when compared to
Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System “We simply cannot say we live in a country that offers equal justice to all Americans when racial disparities plague the system by which our society imposes the ultimate punishment,” stated Senator Russ Feingold. Even though racism has always been a problem since the beginning of time, recently in the United States, there has been a rise in discrimination and violence has been directed towards the African American minority primarily from those in the white majority who believe they are more superior, especially in our criminal justice system. There are many different reasons for the ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system between the majority and the minority, but some key reasons are differential involvement, individual racism, and institutional racism to why racial disparities exist in Institutional racism is racism that is shown through government organizations and political institutions. In a report done by David Baldus in 1998, he discovered that when it comes to the death penalty, blacks are more likely sentenced to death than whites, and those who kill whites are more likely to be given the death penalty than the killing of blacks (Touré).
The jury system has evolved from a representation of all white men to both men and women from very diverse backgrounds. This is important if one is going to be tried in his/her community of peers.
Shakespeare frequently features in his plays a character who is outwardly different from the rest, designating him clearly as “other.” By introducing individuals who differ in some observable way from the cultures they inhabit, Shakespeare forces his audience to question the nature of humanity and our definitions of difference. Why do we create the categories that we do? Why do we associate one physical quality with other social and moral ones? Are these categorizations rational? Through his black characters in Titus Andronicus and Othello, Shakespeare demonstrates that the main culture uses racial stereotypes to blame the “other” for society’s problems while failing to see the causes of the same problems in themselves. Such prejudices therefore endanger both the “other” and the main culture that exhibits prejudice. By portraying Aaron and Othello as complex human characters who share more in common with white characters in similar situations than they do with each other, Shakespeare shows that racism undermines the humanity that unites us all.
Being the only different person in the room is hard; constantly being judged, and never actually fitting in; it can drive even the most normal person insane. The Tragedy of Othello by William Shakespeare is a play about a general who is different: the only one who’s black. No one else in Venice is from Africa, and with such a high position in the Venetian military, Othello’s race is almost non-existent, he appears to actually fit in along with the rest of the fair-skinned people. In this play, Shakespeare develops the motif of racism as a seed that grows, and eventually creates a sociopath full of hatred. Overall, racism is a viral disease that encircle us, and subconsciously controls our actions.
Race plays a large factor in showing how you are viewed in society. Although there is no longer slavery and separate water fountains, we can still see areas of our daily life clearly affected by race. One of these areas is the criminal justice system and that is because the color of your skin can easily yet unfairly determine if you receive the death penalty. The controversial evidence showing that race is a large contributing factor in death penalty cases shows that there needs to be a change in the system and action taken against these biases. The issue is wide spread throughout the United States and can be proven with statistics. There is a higher probability that a black on white crime will result in a death penalty verdict than black on black or white on black. Race will ultimately define the final ruling of the sentence which is evident in the racial disparities of the death penalty. The amount of blacks on death row can easily be seen considering the majority of the prison population is black or blacks that committed the same crime as a white person but got a harsher sentence. The biases and prejudices that are in our society relating to race come to light when a jury is selected to determine a death sentence. So what is the relationship between race and the death penalty? This paper is set out to prove findings of different race related sentences and why blacks are sentenced to death more for a black on white crime. Looking at the racial divide we once had in early American history and statistics from sources and data regarding the number of blacks on death row/executed, we can expose the issues with this racial dilemma.
Throughout William Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, there is a strong theme of prejudice. Portia has to deal with prejudice against her sex, the Prince of Morocco has to deal with prejudice against his race but the character that is most discriminated against is Shylock. He is hated for being a Jew and a money-lender, but Shakespeare has not made Shylock a character easy to sympathise with. He appears to be mean and cruel and it seems as though he loves money above all things. However during the play there are moments when Shakespeare gives Shylock speeches which show his humanity. In these moments, the audience is made to feel sorry for Shylock. Shakespeare has created a character that the audience’s feelings will change for by the minute.
Racism is based on the belief that one’s culture is superior to that of others, and this racial superiority provides justification for discrimination. Racism begins with categorising by race, and therefore stereotyping particular cultures. A simple definition of prejudice given by St Thomas Aquinas states prejudice as “thinking ill of others without sufficient cause” (1. pg 21). Racism is a major issue in today’s society, affecting a large number of the world’s population and causing political and social turmoil. To evaluate the true meaning, effects and views concerning racism in today’s world, a number of literature sources were researched including novel, films, short stories, poetry, song lyrics, textbooks and magazine articles.
Discrimination is a resounding theme in The Merchant of Venice (Meyers). All of the characters are affected by inequality. This inequity is evidenced clearly in Shylock, the Jewish usurer. He is treated with scorn and derision by all the characters. Shylock’s misfortunes stem not from poor attributes or even a poor background; it stems from the fact he is Jewish, and what is more, he is impenitent of that distinction. If he had been more daunted by Christian influence, he might have been forgiven, as Jessica is subjectively exonerated. He is not contrite and it is believed that his appalling birth cannot be absolved (Bonnell).
Stereotypes are a fixed image of all members of a culture, group, or race usually based on limited and inaccurate information resulted from the minimal contact with this stereotyped groups. stereotypes have many forms; people are stereotyped according to their religion, race, ethnicity, age, gender, coulor, or national origins. This kind of intolerance is focused on the easily observable characteristics of groups of people. In general, stereotypes reduce individuals to a rigid and inflexible image that doesn't account for the multi-dimensional nature of human beings. One example of stereotypes is the categorization of the Jews in Elizabethan era. In fact, Elizabethan era was an age of prejudice, discrimination, and religious persecution particularly against minorities. Jewish people were one of those minorities who was suffering and struggling for survival. This racist attitude was rife not only in England but also across Europe. "Christians tended to see the Jews as an alien people whose repudiation of the Christ had condemned them to a perpetual migration. Jews were denied citizenship and its rights in much of Europe and forced to wear distinctive clothing to identify themselves in public (the yellow star, or badges of shame). There were forced expulsions of the Jews from several regions across Europe." (1). Jews were even believed to worship the devil.
“Othello” is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare. The play focuses around a core group of characters that includes Othello, Iago, Desdemona, Michael Cassio, and Barbantio. These characters shape the story. The protagonist is Othello, who is a high ranking member of the Venetian army. Othello falls victim to betrayal by his “right-hand man,” antagonist Iago. Iago gives Othello the impression that he is trustworthy and a close friend, but this is a mask of his true feelings for Othello. Throughout the play, Iago repeatedly expresses his hate for his general. He devises plans to try to humiliate Othello. His first plans center around Michael Cassio, who is Othello’s lieutenant. When this scheme falls through, Iago then focuses on Othello’s