Merchant Of Venice Term paper

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Stereotypes in "The Merchant of Venice" "Dumb jocks! ",

"Women don't belong there, doing that!", "He must be a criminal,

just look at his clothes." How often have we heard somebody mention these

things, yet, how often have we said something similar? Our society is based on

face values where we categorize people because of a few actions. All of the

above statements are prejudicial notions used to define members of a social or

an ethnic group, and are called stereotypes. Stereotypes are explored greatly in

the Shakespeare play "The Merchant Of Venice", as most of the main

characters are looked upon with a stereotypical point of view. However Not all

of the main characters are, some take a different perspective and are a

completely different breed of character compared to the others. A good example

of a stereotypical character in "The Merchant of Venice" would be

Shylock. Shylock is a Jew, and in this time period, Jews where used mainly as

loan officials. The stereotype that he is placed with is that of a Jew, or as it

was seen back then. While the character Portia is a good example of a character

that hasn't been implemented with any stereotypes. Some of the play's characters

have some stereotypical aspect about them. Antonio is the main character, and is

affected by stereotypes. He is noble, rich, high class, dominant and couldn't

care less for the Jew and always wants to make a buck. This was the stereotype

for a rich businessman, and this is how the audience views Antonio. " You

call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, And spit upon my Jewish gabardine,"

(A1, S3, Ln103-104) Here Shylock is telling us what Antonio has done to him in

the past, which shows that Antonio is both a snob and high class, as he looks

down upon the Jew and spits on his clothes. "... I thank my fortune for it,

…Upon the fortune of this present year: Therefore my merchandise makes me not

sad" (A1, S1, Ln41-45) Here Antonio is expressing his sadness for his ships

that are at see. He is sad because he is unsure if they will return bringing him

his riches or if that they will sink on their mission. This is when the audience

is first shown his greed and businessman like attitude. His nobility is shown

well in the courtroom scene. "For Herein Fortune shows herself more kind

Than is her custom: it is still her use To let wretched man outlive his

wealth" (A4, S1, Ln263-265) Antonio is saying that it was fate's choice to

let him die here, and he has accepted that. This shows his nobility, as he is

ready to accept defeat to the Jew and receive his punishment, instead of trying

to wriggle out of it. Another character that is also very stereotypical is

Shylock, the villainous Jew. He is a man who is sought after only for a loan, as

it was only Jews who could give loans and receive interest....

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