Merchant of Venice: Prejudice and Discrimination

Shylock’s Treatment
1. Hath Not A Jews Eye speech (Act3, Scene 1)
  1. "Hath not a Jew eye?"
    1. do we not have eyes to see?
    2. emphasis that they are human through imagery
  2. "If you prick us, do we not bleed?"
    Annotations:
    - "if you tickle us, do we not laugh?"
    1. syntactic paralellism
    2. shows that they have emotions
    3. they feel pain, when hurt
    4. rhetorical question
    5. obvious answer 'yes'
      1. Making the Audience agree
    6. Shakespeare 0saking the audience think if they are treating Jews inhumanly
  3. "Disgaced me,.hindered me...laughed.. mocked.. scorned...thwarted"
    1. cumalitive of verbs
    2. what Antoni has done
    3. presents him as a victim
    4. helps us understand how badly he was treated
  4. " the same food,.. the same weapons. same diseases"
    1. repetition of "same"
    2. reinforcing humanity and how they are similar to Christians
    3. how they are not lower or superior to Christians
  5. Shylock's Monologue
2. Act1,Scene3: The Deal
  1. "You that did void your rheum upon my Beard"
    1. flemming on his beard
    2. inhumane
    3. disrespectful
  2. "You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog"
    1. not accepting his faith and religion
    2. name calling, insulting
    3. 'dog' unhygienic wild animals
  3. "Spit upon my Jewish Gaberine"
    1. spat on his Jewish cloak
    2. disrespecting Shylock as a person as well as his religion
  4. "Hath a dog money? Is t possible that a cur can lend 3,000 Ducats"
    1. Antonio cursed him in the past and now is asking for money
    2. Mocking Antonio's decision
    3. Shylock has power to control Antonio
    4. Rhetorical Question
  5. "For Sufferance is the badge of all our Tribe
    1. the long suffering is the characteristic of the Jews
    2. 'BADGE' Venetian Jews had t wear a yellow 'O'
    3. physically and mentally/emotionally
Racist views
1. Portia
  1. Her suitor
    1. Prince of Morocco
      1. “Fair as any man I’ve looked upon yet”
        Racial comment
    2. "I rather be married to a death-head with a bone bone in its mouth than either of these."
Prejudice & Discrimination
1. Prejudice
  1. preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.
  2. against Jews = anti-semitic
2. Discrimination
  1. Treating someone unfairly because of their race/religion/background
Elizabethan Attitude
1. Jews were exiled from Britain
2. Jews aren't able to go to heaven
  1. Go to Hell
3. Happy to Force Jewish Converso
  1. Believed they were helping them go to heaven
  2. "That you Presently become a Christian"
    1. not entirely merciful
    2. Moderne aud. immoral, not right
4. Hated Jews
5. seen as a threat to the Queen
religious conflicts
1. "For he is a Christian"
  1. presents religion as the main source of their conflict
  2. religious difference= disagreement with Shylock's business
    1. antonio criticises Shylock for charging interest
    2. believes his trade is justified
    3. 16th C Venice Context
      1. Christians thought lending money profit =SIN
      2. but Jews didn't
      3. why Ant. + Shy. disagree about business

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Merchant of Venice: Prejudice and Discrimination

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	Created by Aleena Vincent about 5 years ago