Merchant of Venice

Religious discrimination is a constant theme in 'The Merchant Of Venice' which also applies to the villainous nature of Shylock and Antonio. They are on opposing religions and during the time period which the play is set, there was a social ranking based on religion, Antonio is a Christian so he has a higher social rank than Shylock who is a Jew. Due to the clear division between the two religions, in the play Antonio feels superior to Shylock, he has no shame in talking down to him or making fun of his beliefs. Throughout the story, Shylock on multiple occasions brings up the wrongs that have been committed against him, yet characters such as Antonio still feel that it is appropriate to "call ...[him] misbeliever" and "spit upon ...[his] Jewish gaberdine". Despite how much prejudice Antonio has displayed from his nature, he isn't the only one who shows signs of discrimination. Shylock has become a victim to Antonio's bigotry however, there is evidence of Shylock doing the same to Antonio. Regardless of the amount of money Shylock has, he will still receive less status than Antonio. As a Jew he doesn't have many rights and is looked down upon however, he uses this in his advantage. Through the ridicule which Shylock receives from Antonio, Shylock has made an assumption that all Christians are inequitable people and has built stereotypes on their religion to bring them down. He often uses stories from the bible and compares them to the way which he acts to get what he wants and to put down the Christian religion. Shylock has gained a hatred towards the religion and he no longer trusts or appreciates a Christian which he has shown with phrases such as "I hate him for he is a Christian".

Antonio and Shylock show their nature and their values is many different ways but some can be hard to interpret such as their desires. Their hopes and wants aren't necessarily just written on the page, they are spread across the whole play and by identifying them, the kind of people Antonio and Shylock are can be established. Shylock's desires aren't hidden too much since there is a common theme in the things which he cares about most, which is money. Shylock even desires wealth over his daughter, Jessica. When she ran away with Lorenzo, she took a sum of Shylock's money and a number of his precious jewels. After Shylock discovers what has happened he doesn't seem to care that his daughter ran away, he only cares about the fact that she went with a Christian and that she took his precious fortune. When he sent people out to find Jessica all he said was, "find the girl! She hath the stones upon her and the ducats!" He doesn't seem worried about his daughter in anyway he just wants the fortune he lost and couldn't care less about Jessica. Antonio is quite different, he doesn't care too much about his wealth but he does care about his religion. There are many other things which Antonio cares about, such as Bassanio but his commitment and appreciation for Christianity brought out a side of him which is quite questionable. It is no secret that Antonio and Shylock constantly discriminate each other because of their religions but Antonio is actually quite different from Shylock in the terms of how they discriminate. Shylock just simply doesn't want anything to do with Christians, as unfair as it is to stereotype all Christians, Shylock doesn't make the first move when it comes direct inequity. He fights back but he doesn't start the fight. Then there is Antonio he is insistent on bringing Shylock down. At the end of the trial scene where Antonio should have been the one facing consequences, the tables turned and Shylock found himself begging for mercy. Antonio then went as far as to give Shylock only two options either "he presently become a Christian" or he will die. In the end Shylock did choose to become a Christian but he was stripped of all his morals and was forced into a lifestyle which he never believed in.