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Differences and similarities between Christianity and Judaism
Discrimination in merchants of venice
Religion in a merchant of venice
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The Jews in The Merchant of Venice are “the wealthy money lender Shylock, his daughter Jessica, and his wealthy friend Tubal. None are likeable. Jessica is disloyal and ruthless, stealing her father’s money and a ring her dead mother had given him. Tubal fans Shylock’s desire for revenge. As for Shylock himself, Shakespeare is most explicit in having him say: I hate him for he is a Christian; / But more for that in low simplicity / He lends our money gratis, and brings down / The rate of usance here with us in Venice” (Opie 1-2). These three Jews play a significant role in the play to help influence the idea of a Christian versus Jew conflict. I will focus more on Shylock and Jessica from The Merchant of Venice. “In contrast with the …show more content…
Articles tell the emotions of hatred that Shylock has for Christians; “Is Shylock acting the part of the cruel Jew because that is what he is, or because he has been mistreated so much that now he has become hardened or seeks revenge” (Wonnacott 7). Shylock, as described in this sentence, might be acting cruel because that is what he is, or because is it because he is being mistreated. I believe that Shylock is acting rude because he has been mistreated. There have been multiple causes for him to want to show revenge to the Christians, not only for taking away his religion, but also for his daughter who ran away to be with a Christian. Through the play, however, there are a few lines that Shylock speaks that relate to God creating everyone equal, the purpose behind Shakespeare writing this text was to put the emphasis on equality rights during that time. “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew 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 by the same winter and summer as a Christian is?” (Act 3;1, 49-53). This is an important quote to take from the play because Shakespeare is trying to get the readers, or an audience to understand that despite religion everyone is equal. We have the same organs, we live in the same places, we eat the same, we all get sick, and there are multiple other ways that make everyone
Some of the audiences in the 16th century, believed that Jews were at a lower stage than them, and they only believed this because the Jews were a different (“different” referred to as “wrong “for Christians who lived in the 16th century), religion they believed they were not people, like them. The play Merchant of Venice shows the evil side of the Jews. The character’s name is “Shylock”. He is the character of evil doing; he is also the character that Shakespeare chose to represent a Jewish character. As a Jew, he represents the race as being wicked, evil etc.
Shakespeare creates a caricature of a Jew, just as he might have seen done by Christopher Marlowe in "The Jew of Malta". Shakespeare's "Shylock" was easily recognisable as a Jew, wearing traditional clothing, immediately showing the audience that he is different. The money lending profession adds to the Jewish look, and the way he acts, without even a care for his own daughter, making references to his desire for Christian blood, allows Shakespeare's audience to create a strong hatred for the Jew. Although nobody had actually met a Jew, probably the entire audience had been brought up to despise such an awful religion, hearing terrible tales of sin and misery.
The second reason is the fact that the modern world is less prejudiced. When the play was written Shylock would have had two main disadvantages for the Shakespearian audience. Firstly he is a Jew, and in a predominantly Christian country would have been hated for his religion, and secondly a money-lender, the main profession open to the Jews. To a modern audience neither of those things would affect how they perceive the character. This means they are more likely to give Shylock a chance before they judge him and would be more willing to let their views about him change. In the Elizabethan period Jews were hated for two main reasons. The first was superstition, myths and legends told tales of brutal murders carried out for the Jewish faith. The second was dislike of anybody who was different, and religion gave the Christians a good reason to persecute the foreigners who lived among them. Although the modern world is not completely free of prejudice it is certainly less narrow-minded than before. Nowadays the racism and anti-Semitism shown in the play would not be considered acceptable.
Everyone who reads The Merchant of Venice must bear in mind that it is, like any other literary work, a creation of a skillful writer, rising a case that can be a subject for many interpretations and not necessarily revealing a specific view of its writer, however it aims to convey a certain moral to the readers. Therefore, the character of shylock, being stereotyped or not, with its controversy is a tool manipulated to convey a moral message: when people live in a society that is open to cultural diversity and that values the contributions of all society members – regardless of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, race, life styles, and beliefs – they will be one step closer to living in a civil society. Works Cited 1) Encyclopaedia Britannica, the definition of "Anti-Semitism". 2) E. E. Stoll, Shylock (an essay in Shakespeare Studies, 1927). 3) John Palmer, Comic Characters of Shakespeare, Shylock. 4) John Palmer, Comic Characters of Shakespeare, Shylock.
In looking at Shylock, the sixteenth-century audience would deduce all view except the greedy, selfish, manipulating, Jew. In accordance with the normative view, Jews were believed to be out of tune with the universe. This is re-enforce in act 2 scene 5 lines 27-30 when Shylock is comment...
From this we can see that he is so concerned with his money, and so enraged at his daughter that he wishes her dead. This to the audience would be seen to be a very evil thing to be, and so they would believe that all Jewish people were like that. If the play were not anti-Semitic then the plot would be that Shylock would not care about the money, he would be angry no doubt but he would want to know what was wrong with his daughter to be like this, and he would want to talk to her. Shakespeare has clearly made the plot like this in order to show the audience that Shylock is evil and his being Jewish had clearly influenced this decision.
It is so important for people to recognize how Jews were portrayed during Shakespeare’s life so that historic events such as the holocaust do not repeat themselves. Teachers who plan on presenting their students with The Merchant of Venice should also present them with articles explaining how Jews received their negative stereotype and explain to them that Jews are not as evil as Shylock. The play can still be useful as a high school reading experience only if taught correctly, in a manner that avoids Jews being insulted and non-Jews getting a completely flawed idea about Jews. Although comedic during the 16th century, The Merchant of Venice can no longer be viewed as a comedy in the 21st century due to the diversity of people and general acceptance of their cultures throughout the United States.
When most people think of justice, it commonly brings forward the words positivity, fairness, law, order, and other familiar words. However, in the Merchant of Venice, this is not the case. Justice is used negatively in a court case that reverses from putting Antonio, the convicted Christian merchant, on trial to Shylock, the Jewish money loaner asking for justice, to be put on trial. In the play, both mercy and justice are rejected because of the obvious influential bias that the character’s actions portray.
Venice, where this drama takes place, is a largely religious Italian City. Although filled with spiritual people, the city is divided into two different religious groups. Venice was primarily and dominantly a Christian society with Jews as it’s unfairly treated minority. Stereotypes classified Jews as immoral, evil, and foolish people while the Christians were graceful, merciful, and loving. Representing the Christian belief is Antonio who is summoned to court by a Jew who goes by the name Shylock. The cross between Christianity and Judaism begins as Antonio and Shylock create a legally binding bond. The bond’s fine print expresses that if Antonio cannot fulfill his debt to Shylock, Shylock will receive a pound of Antonio’s flesh. As learned in the play, Antonio cannot repay his debt and Shylock publically exclaims his need to receive fulfillment of that bond. Hastily, Shylock is determined to obtain his pound of Christian flesh. Shakespeare provides his audience dist...
Amidst the global warming crisis in the Arctic and subsequent lack of food, there have been reports of polar bears eating their own children due to the lack of food. While gruesome, being threatened causes one to take drastic actions to protect oneself. If bears can lose their most maternal instincts for self-protection, how easy is betrayal among friendships? As seen in William Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago’s deliberate and carefully thought out betrayal demonstrates the theme that one often loses sight of humanity in a quest for revenge.
This is where Shakespeare evokes our sympathy, by making us realise how Shylock has suffered because of the prejudices of the Christians around him. He explains his motives for revenge in a rational way, showing how his actions are no different from the Christians'. Look carefully at the language he uses, as well as the insulting and mocking language used by the other two. At the end of the scene, Shylock mourns the loss of his daughter, although our feelings towards him are a bit mixed, for he seems to care more about the money. He does give evidence, however, of his love for his wife, which again, creates sympathy.
... is simply a text about a villainous Jew that is eventually “conquered” by his conversion, it is more rewarding to view it as a treatise on the fallibility of stereotypes since we are allowed to understand that Shylock’s actions are more a result of his anger at insult rather than because of something inherent in his nature. Similarly, we see that Othello’s final “savage” act of murdering his wife was not because he was inherently barbarous due to his color, but simply because he was driven to this final act because of base trickery. In light of this, it should also be stated that Shakespeare doesn’t attempt to form the idea that the white characters are any better than those who are subject to the discrimination. They are also, in both texts, prone to malice, trickery, and falsehood—perhaps even more so than those whom they detest simply because they are different.
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).
Shylock is a wealthy Jew who invests money into shipments and trades. When Shylock’s enemy, Antonio, requests a loan of 3000 ducats, “Shylock adopts this Christian model of "kind" lending in his bond with Antonio as a means for lawful revenge.” Shylock’s agreement is that if the ducats are not returned, Antonio must repay his loan in human flesh. This is a way for Shylock to either make money or kill a Christian, either will satisfy him. Lee describes Shylock’s feelings towards Christians, “Indeed, although Shylock will neither "eat," "drink," nor "pray" with the Christians, he is willing to "buy" and "sell" with them.” This is where Shakespeare first introduces the devil inside Shylock. Had Antonio been a Jew, there would not have been a payment of flesh. Shylock’s hatred propels the story from start to finish. His hatred causes him to lose his daughter, drives Portia to use her money and wit to save Antonio, and why he ends up losing
It is difficult to say if Shylock is a complete villain or a victim, as his character is complex and ambiguous. However, it is difficult to view Shylock as anything other than a devious, bloodthirsty and heartless villain in the majority of the play. There are a few points in the story where he can be viewed as victimised, as most Jews were at that time, but Shakespeare has purposely portrayed Shylock as a stereotypical Jew, greedy, and obsessed with money. Shylock has been written to be very inflated and exaggerated. Even when Shylock makes his first appearance in the play, his first words are “Three thousand ducats,” Act 1, Scene 3.