Essay about Shakespeares Bias on Religon in The Merchant...

In Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice there is a palpable hatred between the Jewish moneylender Shylock and the privileged prodigal Christians Bassanio, Lorenzo, Antonio, Gratiano and Portia. History shows that Jews have long been persecuted and despised for not accepting Christianity, Islam or other religions of the majority as their own. Yet choice of religion is not the cause for the two cultures abhorrence. Their detestation is much more deep-rooted; it stems from their antithetical cultural beliefs. Shakespeare depicts lifestyles; morals and values that completely oppose each other, the very natures of his Christian characters cancel Shylock’s defining characteristics. The closed-off, cautious, restrained, simple, lonely man is†¦show more content†¦Shylock can be viewed as the villain cackling over his jewels, his daughter and his ducats, or as the victim, striped of his religion, daughter and wealth; but Shakespeare has another purpose. More compl ex than a caricature, Shakespeare uses Shylock to underscore the differences between the Christians of the time and people who think differently. The wealthy Christians in the play live decadently and lavishly, while Shylock lives a more restrained and paired down life. His speech, unadorned with figurative and metaphorical talk, is logical and plain, paralleling his simple Jewish gaberdine apparel. He values the physicality of money and is therefore frugal with his wealth. This is juxtaposed to Bassanio’s and Lorenzo’s spendthrift natures, which exhaust all their prosperity and cause them to search for wealthy wives in order to sustain their prodigal lifestyles. Bassanio’s first description of Portia, â€Å"In Belmont is a lady richly left† displays his interest in her wealth and fortune. Similarly Lorenzo states of his wife â€Å"In such a night did Jessica steal from the wealthy Jew, and with an unthrift love did run from Venice.† In another bifurcation of the two cultures, Shylock is shown to live a