Shylock Is a Jew in a Predominantly Christian Society Essay Example for Free

moneylender Is a Jew in a Predominantly Christian Society EssayQuestion loan shark is a Jew in a predominantly Christian society just as Othello isliving in a predominantly white society. But contradictory Othello, usurer rejects the Christian community as firmly as it rejects him. (W.H. Auden, The Dyers Hand, 1963. Quoted in Shakespeares Comedies, edited by Lerner, Penguin 1967.) In light of the preceding(prenominal) quotation, compare and contrast Shakespeares presentation of prejudice, considering how audiences of variant periods might react to it. (2000 words) shylocks presentation of prejudice has been received in immeasurably different rooms by audiences of different generations, and the portrayal of the attitudes of shylock and Othello towards their intolerant societies are ones that liquid arguably offer a valuable view towards prejudice in our present-day societies. loan shark is a Jew. Four words from the above quotation which arguably encapsulate the main runn ing theme throughout the whole of The merchandiser of Venice. From a Venetian viewpoint, Shylock is a Jew therefore he is different therefore we will exclude him. Shakespeare shows this through many different examples, from the racist views verbalized by good Antonio, to the expressions utilizationd by the high courts of Venice the Christian community expressing a certain divide and prejudice towards Shylock and the Jewish minority. This rejection of the Jews is notably explored in the views expressed by Antonio early on in the play, when the loan of three thousand ducats is negotiated. Bassanio attempts to convince Shylock through kind words and offers of dinner- the Christian way of kindness possibly the only instance of kindness offered to Shylock throughout the entire play. However, as soon as Antonio enters, the tone changes Shylock goes from being referred to as sir by Bassanio to The devil by Antonio. Antonio would spit on thee again, and this particular example highlights that, despite the fact Antonio is attempting to receive a loan from Shylock, prejudice is still inherent in his every word and action. The Christian community rejects Shylock, no matter what he may do of bene fail to them and, as a result, is rejected in like. The harsh treatment Shylock receives (such(prenominal) as curfew and a barrage of cuss-words) is reflected in the way that he rejects the Christian community as firmly as it rejects him for example,when offered dinner, Shylock launches into an expletive, hate-fuelled speech about Christianity, claiming that pork is the habitation which your prophet the Nazarite conjured the devil into, and firmly stating that he will not eat with you, drink with you, nor pray with you. Shylock is rejecting the Christian community with every moral fibre in his body, and seems to only take the bond of Antonio to hold some kind of leverage above him, to wit the term of the forfeit/ Be nominated for an equal pound/ Of your fair flesh a foolishl y agreed term that is taken full favor of. Shylock is treated harshly, and as a result takes full advantage of the fact that legally he can kill Antonio thus rejecting the Christian community.Othello, however, is the diametrical opposite of Shylocks stand-alone attitude though being the outsider in a predominantly white society, he attempts to fit in, and be loved by the aristocratic Venetians. Shakespeare presents the prejudice inherent in Venetian society in a slightly different way though Shylock and Othello twain are used by the majorities, and thrget out when not needed, Shakespeare presents a play that explores the prejudice through a different angle. Othello is the war-hardy soldier needed by the whole of Venetian society to fight the Turkish aggressors, who angers Venetian society by taking a white woman Shylock is a Jew whose possessions are needed by Antonio alone, who angers Venetian society by daring to claim what is rightfully his. In Othello the audience receives an impression that, though Iago is manoeuvring everybody towards his own aims, Othello is clearly in the wrong when murdering his wife therefore he is rejected by the society, and this is morally right. In The Merchant of Venice the audience feels that, actually, Shylock is morally wronged by the Christians and this rejection by society leaves a bitter taste. An audience in Elizabethan eras would experience been left with (in both plays) a whim of discontentment in the treatment of the two key characters despite the obvious inherent prejudice in society at this time towards moors and Jews, Shakespeares manipulations of stereotypes in his works (e.g. the kind, Christian Antonio is an oppressive character who almost gets his comeuppance) were aimed to alter (or at least make the audience question) their views on minorities. Shakespeares portrayal of Shylock can easily be seen as a plea for tolerance towards the Jewish community in England at thetime. For example, Shylocks famous If y ou scrape us, do we not bleed? speech is designed to throw a human perspective on the matter that the Jews- peoples that have been so discriminated against that any racialism against Jews has its own nametag are human too. Shylocks most memorable speech is a cry for humanity and equality, which has resounded down the ages. As Alexander Granach (a German actor who portrayed Shylock in the 1920s) in his autobiography From the Shtetl to the Stage The Odyssey of a Wandering Actor writes Shakespeare gave Shylock human greatness and spiritual military capability and a great lonelinessthings that turn Antonios gay, singing, sponging, money-borrowing, girl-stealing, marriage-contriving circle into petty idlers and sneak thieves. This will undoubtedly have had a slight effect on the audience, showing them that the supposed villain of the piece is simply following a twisted, unmerciful version of the Golden Rule, an ethic of reciprocity that is cited in Christianity do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In this play, Shylock is indeed doing unto others how they do unto him. Shylocks actions, instead of being a stereotypical cruel, vengeful Jew who only cares about his rhomb gone (that) cost me two thousand ducats, are transformed by Shakespeare into an often-misinterpreted statement about the hypocrisy inherent in both society and pietism at this time.Shakespeares magic lies in the fact that he managed to change two persecuted minorities, who prior to being dramatically personified by Shakespeare had been held up in plays as mockeries of creatures, to human beings with the emotional capacity to feel love and hate. Othello is no longer a black ram held up by Iago as crudely surpass (the) white ewe, he has become a symbol of the outsider used for others purposes. In Othellos doing of taen of Desdemona, he turns Venetian society against him, and is only needed for the purposes of defeating the Ottomans. 300 years on, and this example is still relevant P aul Robinson, a black actor who went on to portray Othello on Broadway in 1943, drew comparisons between Othellos situation and the situation of a coloured man in America in the 1930s while (Othello) could be valuable as a fighter he was tolerated, just as a negro who could save New York from a disaster would become a great man overnighthowever, as soon as Othello wanted a white womaneverything was changed, just as New Yorkwould be shadowed if their coloured man married a white woman. In this way, Shakespeares portrayal of minorities is relevant for all societies where ethnical persecution takes place, no matter what the time period.However, Shakespeares underlying meaning of equality has been twisted. David H. Lawrence famously quoted Never trust the artist, trust the tale and indeed, this ha what happened with Shakespeares intentions for Shylock and the grim reality. For example, the character of Shylock was used in anti-semetic propaganda by Hitler in Nazi Germany to promote the scapegoating of the Jews Shylock is held up by a local newspaper in Konigsberg, Germany in 1935 as cowardly and malicious when properly understood, a line that undermines both the intelligence and self-esteem of local people upon reading (in that they did not read enough into the play), and the true meaning of The Merchant of Venice. Upon saying that the deeper meaning is that Shylock is cowardly and malicious, they are mistaking the shallow, surface meaning for a deeper one. As Harold Bloom commented in 1999, It would have been better for the Jewish people had Shakespeare never written this play here, Bloom is obviously commenting on the fact that people only took away the shallow meaning, not the deeper, politically-charged (for the times) meaning that Shakespeare is attempting to convey.In a manner seemingly parallel to that of Nazi Germany, Shakespeares messages are being sorely misunderstood eve instanteradays. Shakespeare and his plays (in present-day, less(prenominal) in herently racist society) are being taken away from younger generations, such as in British schools whose teaching is becoming impeded by the P.C nature of todays Big Society. Texts and plays key to British education (such as Of Mice and Men and Othello) are being considered to blatent in their language (eg. mistress, moor) to be studied at an age of 15/16 in an age when arguably the anti-racist messages of Shakespeare need to be implemented. In this way, whilst previous generations of audiences may have held up Shakespeares Othello and Merchant of Venice as examples of injustice and hypocrisy, todays audiences are holding them up as too blatent in their use of inappropriate language. Shakespeares messages of equality are, once again, being misunderstoodespecially if people do not understand the messages that the Great Bard is attempting to convey. For example, in 2008, nine students at the Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls School (a Jewish comprehensive school) in Hackney in East London refused to sit an exam on The storm purely because they felt that Shakespeare was anti-semetic owing to his severely-misunderstood portrayal of Shylock. Othello has also often been held up and received down the centuries as purely a negative stereotype even as recently as 2008. Robert Fisk writes in The Guardian that Othello was a Moor, a black Muslim, a mercenary (in the service of Venice) and a wife killer. one can assume that this is how he would have been viewed in most predominantly-white countries up until the fall of racism and the increase of diversity thus missing the fact that Iago is both the catalyst and trouble-starter.The mannerisms and attitudes of the characters provide a key insight into the prejudices inherent in society, through both the actions and thought-processes provided by Shakespeare. For example, Othello almost unconsciously uses racist terms to withdraw himself, providing a derogatory edge to his words. This is shown best in the soliloquys given to O thello, especially when he doubts the good nature of Desdemona he feels that his name, that was as fresh As Dians visage, is now begrimed and black, As mine own face, i.e. that his previously good nature is now smeared. However, Othello associates his own face as begrimed and black, in that he sees his very self as something dirty- and that white (i.e. Dians visage, a marble-white Greek goddess) as something good, clean, and pure. Othello appears to have internalised the racist ideologies preached by Venetians such as Brabantio, and this especially comes to heed in the murder of Desdemona. Seeds planted by Iago act as a catalyst to the problem put in the open by Brabantio at the start of the play that Desdemona would never Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom Of such a thing as thou. This, ultimately, is something that the entire play relies on this comment, made in the heat of the moment by Brabantio, ultimately delivers death unto his daughter. Othello begins to doubt Desdemon as love and honour due to the fact that he has internalised such racist opinions as blacks and whites should not mix, and is driven crazy by this. As already mentioned, RobertFisk spoke of the ways in which Othello would have been viewed not as somebody noble, but as somebody different, and (though many in the Elizabethan audience may have been able to sympathise with the beating of Desdemona) a wife killer and indeed, this is a way in which some still see him today.Shakespeare, just like Othello and Shylock, lived in a predominantly white and Christian society, and recognised the prejudices inherent in English society indeed, his plays reflected society. However, as Chung-hsuan Tung wrote, Shakespeare recognizes the existence of racial differences but he is not a racist. Shakespeare isan impartial, humanitarian playwright preaching interracial liberty, equality, and fraternity.BibliographyAlexander Granach From the Shtetl to the Stage The Odyssey of a Wandering Actor Paul Robinso n My Fight for Fame How Shakespeare Paved My Way to Stardom The Merchant of Venice, Edited by tush Russell Brown, the Arden Shakespeare, 2007 Othello, edited by E.A.J. Honigman, the Arden Shakespeare, 1997 John Gross Shylock A legend and its LegacyRobert Fisk Offended by Shakespeare? Lets ban him. Guardian, 8th skirt 2008. Harold Bloom It would have been better for the Jewish people had Shakespeare never written this play, 1999. Chung hsuan-Tung The Jew and the Moor Shakespeares Racial Vision, 2008