How does Merchant of Venice relate to modern issues?

Bullying in Schools
1. Name calling, Physical abuse, Manipulation, religious discrimination
  1. Shylock's name calling and physical abuse
    1. "Signior Antonio, many a time and oft In the Rialto you have rated me About my moneys and my usances. Still have I borne it with a patient shrug (For suff’rance is the badge of all our tribe). You call me misbeliever, cutthroat dog, And spet upon my Jewish gaberdine" (Act 1, Sc. 3 116-122)
      1. Throughout history Jewish people have been discriminated against
  2. Those in power do little to stop violence
    1. The Duke agreed with Shylock's extensive punishment
    2. A Staten Island man whose daughter was caught on tape delivering a wild beatdown on a Tottenville High School classmate says the school knew the fight was imminent and did nothing to stop it (Daily News, Father says Staten Island school ignored his warning about daughter’s brutal bullying attack caught on video)
      1. Often victims of bullying look for ways to express their pain and can become bullies themselves
Religious conflict
1. Conflict of religious based morals
  1. Stereotyping someone of a different religion, religious hate crimes, forceful attempt to change one's religion
    1. Mosque burned down in the GTA
      1. A fire set deliberately at a mosque in Peterborough, Ont., in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Paris is being investigated as a hate crime (The Canadian Press, Mosque fire in Peterborough was hate crime, say police)
        Increases fear levels and PTS of those effected
    2. Muslim stereotyping in America
      1. To many Americans, there are stereotypes about Muslims. One of the most common is the belief that Muslims share a single united set of ideological or political beliefs. Those who believe this, most often believe that single set of beliefs is rooted in Sharia law. (The Fifth Column, What do human rights look like from a Muslim perspective?)
        Often over generalizes a group of people. Restricts originality
    3. Shylock forced to become a Christian
      1. He presently become a Christian (Act 4, Sc 1. 403)
        Restricts free speech and right to expression themselves
    4. Jewish discrimination
      1. Let me say “amen” betimes, lest the devil cross my prayer, for here he comes in the likeness of a Jew. (Act 3, Sc 1. 20-22)
      2. He hath disgraced me and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies— and what’s his reason? I am a Jew. 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? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge! The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction. (Act 3, Sc. 1 53- 72)
        Discrimination is often unjustified and strips someone of their human identity
Immigration
1. Strict immigration laws, forced to change parts of their cultural practice, isolation from friends and family, no place of worship
  1. People of Hebrew origin were rare in Italy during Shakespeare's time and suffered discrimination from the predominate Christian society
    1. Stops people from other countries from feeling welcomed and may hide their religion
  2. Potential new immigration laws in America
    1. Programs that permit foreigners to enter the United States to work put American workers at risk, a top Republican senator claimed at congressional hearing on homeland security on Tuesday. "American workers are increasingly at risk because the United States admits so many foreign workers," Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said during the hearing. His comments come as proposed changes to end extensions of H-1B visas under the Trump administration's "Buy American, Hire American" plan prompted widespread fears in recent months that hundreds of thousands of workers, predominantly Indian, could be forced to leave the country. (News Week, H-1B VISA PROGRAM PUTS AMERICAN WORKERS AT RISK, REPUBLICAN SENATOR SAYS)
      1. A country may chose to put the needs of their citizens before immigrants
  3. Citizenship and integration in a new country difficulty
    1. For many low-income immigrants hoping to become citizens, the price tag is daunting: $725 just to file the application, plus hundreds or even thousands more if you need English classes or consultations with immigration lawyers. Charitable organizations have stepped up to provide free language training, legal advice, and help navigating the paperwork. But the application fee has only become more burdensome, rising by 800 percent in real terms since 1985, when it was $35 (or $80.25 in today’s dollars). The federal government offers a fee waiver for the poorest immigrants–those with incomes below 150% of the poverty line–but for many others who aren’t destitute but struggle to make ends meet, that fee alone can put citizenship out of reach. (Eurasia Review, Lifting Barriers To Citizenship For Low-Income Immigrants)
      1. Low income can increase stress of immigrants and lower their way of living
Racism
1. Unfair treatment and consideration because of the colour of your skin, or culture
  1. Portia's dislike for the prince of Morocco
    1. "If he have the condition of a saint and the complexion of a devil, I had rather he should shrive me than wive me." (Act 1, Sc. 3 129-131)
      1. Portia doesn't know the prince of Morroco but thinks of him as a devil for his black skin. Similar to the way Antonio calls Shylock a devil for being Jewish
      2. The first thing the prince says to Portia is "Don't judge me by the complexion of my skin" and that he would change his skin to win her affection. "Mislike me not for my complexion, The shadowed livery of the burnished sun, To whom I am a neighbor and near bred. Bring me the fairest creature northward born, Where Phoebus’ fire scarce thaws the icicles, And let us make incision for your love To prove whose blood is reddest, his or mine. I tell thee, lady, this aspect of mine Hath feared the valiant; by my love I swear The best regarded virgins of our clime Have loved it too. I would not change this hue Except to steal your thoughts, my gentle queen." (Act 2, Sc 1 1-12)
  2. Police shoots involving people of colour
    1. "Chicago students witness many different acts of violence in their local communities. In just the past year, there have been 400 shootings involving people of color within the city of Chicago. As White teachers who did not grow up in the city of Chicago, we understand that we do not share the same lived experiences as many of our students." (Education Post, What We’re Saying When We Don’t Talk to Students About Violence in Chicago)
      1. Having black skin increases the likelihood of unfair treatment by police
  3. Unfair treatment of indigenous people and the effects that poverty has on their families
    1. Between 1989 and 2012 indigenous children have spent over 66 million nights in foster care. According to this years census, kids under 4 made up over 50 percent of foster children despite being 7% of the total population (Maclean's, Why Indigenous children are over represented in Canada's foster care system)
      1. Living in foster care can lower a child's sense of self worth, and moving between households can increase instability in a child's life
  4. Schools in black communities get less funding than schools in white neighborhoods
    1. At any given poverty level, districts that have a higher proportion of white students get substantially higher funding than districts that have more minority students.(The Alantic, The Data Are Damning: How Race Influences School Funding)
      1. Lowers the education of people of colour and thereby restricts their potential in society
Social and wealth standing
1. Bassanio's plan to seduce Portia with his money
  1. Neither have I money nor commodity To raise a present sum. Therefore go forth: Try what my credit can in Venice do; That shall be racked even to the uttermost To furnish thee to Belmont to fair Portia. Go presently inquire, and so will I, Where money is, and I no question make To have it of my trust, or for my sake (Act 1, Sc. 2 185- 192)
    1. Marriage based on wealth and social standing was common in Shakespeare time and still exists today
      1. Being poor and of low social class my lower your chance of marrying someone who is rich even if they are compatible
2. Taking Shylock's wealth as punishment
  1. The law hath yet another hold on you. It is enacted in the laws of Venice, If it be proved against an alien That by direct or indirect attempts He seek the life of any citizen, The party ’gainst the which he doth contrive Shall seize one half his goods; the other half Comes to the privy coffer of the state" (Act 4, Sc. 1 362- 369)
    1. Wealth is considered so important that taking it away is considered a good punishment
3. Job discrimination
  1. In a report on minority issues submitted last year, the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) special rapporteur noted that there had ben a significant increase in crimes against Dalits. Worryingly, the report also pointed to state complicity in institutionalising the practice of manual scavenging, which continues to kill Dalit sanitation workers and is rampant in India despite laws to the contrary. (The Wire, India Must Not Shield Itself From International Scrutiny on Caste Discrimination)
    1. Lower social standing can relate to higher amount of crimes

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How does Merchant of Venice relate to modern issues?

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	Created by Alisa Baxter over 6 years ago