Intro

This essay will be answering the question ‘Is the merchant of Venice an anti-semetic play?.’ Anti-Semetism is racism or discrimination towards Jews. There are a lot of examples of this in the play. One example of this is in the beginning of the play Shylock gets spat on by a Christian named Antonio. The Merchant of Venice has a lot of tension between Christians and Jews. This is because back in 1596 Jews were known to be money lenders and not a part of society. They were seen as an outcast. To answer this question thoroughly I will be sharing my,Shakespeare’s and Jonathan Freeland’s (2004) point of view. Using the play and the evidence from the history of Jews in 1596, I will try and answer this question. The first paragraph will be talking about Jonathan Freeland’s (2004) point of view.

Paragraph One

Jonathan Freeland (2004) thinks that the Merchant of Venice is an anti-semetic play. He says that Shakespeare portrays Shylock (the Jew) as a villain. In the beginning of the play a Jew gets spat on. This already shows some anti-semitism in the Merchant of Venice.The reason why he thinks this is because in his article called ‘A very Jewish villain’ he says that in the play Shakespeare makes Shylock look like a selfish man. He says that Shakespeare shows this by making Shylock cry about his riches being lost and not his daughter.

Paragraph Two

We know this because in the play he says ‘My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter’ Jonathan Freeland says one way how Shakespeare makes Shylock look selfish is because his first words are ‘Three thousand ducats'(this was what the money was called back then.) When Shylock signs a contract with Antonio saying if he does not pay him back in three months he will take a pound of Antonio’s flesh. Freeland says that this is meant to stir the memories of when Jews took Christian blood for Jewish rituals. He says that Shakespeare is clearly trying to use anti-Semitism here. He also says that Shakespeare does this to try and make people laugh. This shows Anti-Semitism because Shakespeare is trying to make Jews look bad and say that they are not very good people. If this message gets across to the audience then other people could change their mind about the Jewish religion. Then the person may not talk to Jews. This is another reason stating that the Merchant of Venice is anti-semetic.

Paragraph Three

Another way to see that the play is anti semetic is that when Shylock wants to take his bond on Antonio, the court says that what he is doing is not right when they buy flesh theirselves. This is another  example of antisemetism in the play. I personally think that the play is antisemetic at times because in the play Shakespeare makes Shylock talk about money a lot. By doing this he is trying to make Shylock selfish. Another reason why I think this play is antisemetic is because Christians are seen as these people that need to be treated better than Jews, which is not true because in the bible it says everybody should be treated equally. This means everybody should be respected in the same way. Shakespeare thought that by making an antisemetic play he would make people laugh, which he did but it also made people such as Jews offended. This is not right, which is why I respect Jonathan Freeland(2004) for writing an article defending his religion. 

Paragraph Four

I personally think that Shakespeare doesn’t care what he’s done because in the end he got what he wanted, which was for people to laugh at his antisemetic play. Maybe if people stood up and said they didn’t like what he was doing like how Jonathan Freeland was doing then he would feel guilty. I reckon people did still feel angry but they didn’t talk because everybody would think they were crazy. Anti-Semitism was a normal thing when Shakespeare was around so everybody was cool with Shakespeare making anti-Semitic plays. Shakespeare knew that by doing this he would get a positive reaction from the majority of people that watch the play. He obviously didn’t care about offending Jews or anyone else.

Conclusion

To conclude this essay I will leave you with this. The Merchant of Venice is an Anti-semetic play, or at least thats what I think. The author of this play, Shakespeare clearly wanted a reaction which is what he got. We cannot change the past but we can change the future. So instead of dwelling on the fact that the play is anti-semetic and Shakespeare is to blame for it, make plays and movies that embrace the fact that everybody should be treated the same. The merchant of venice is only a mistake that we can use to make the world a better place.

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Research Notes: 

. Jews were prosecuted in England.

. Jews were not allowed to own any land

Jews have been present in England as early as 1066, when the establishment of the first Jewish settlement as recorded. Jews followed William the Conqueror to Britain from Rouen. As in Europe, the Jews faced persecution in England. They could not own land outside the towns or join guilds. Consequently, many turned to money lending, an occupation forbidden to Christians. This at least allowed them to have some financial independence in society, though it was a role for which they were despised.

Essay

I Think that the reason why Shakespeare decided to set the Merchant of Venice in Venice was because Jews first came to England in 1066
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1st Diary Entry

Dear diary,

Why did i join the army? I’ll tell you why I joined the army. I joined this army for various reasons. The first reason is because I was forced by my mother anyway so even if I didn’t want to go, it would not make a difference. The more my mother kept badgering me, the more I wanted to go. So in the end I was willing to go. Part of this was because of the posters I was seeing around my town. All the posters were linked to the war. They were all saying that as men, we need to fight for our country. As I saw more and more men signing up I was feeling increasingly relieved. I felt proud of myself… I felt like a warrior

2nd Diary Entry

Dear diary,

I just came back from daily training and I am knackered. I’ll try and make this entry quick and snappy. To be honest I hated today’s training. All we done was practiced our fall backs and backups. If you don’t know what that is then I will explain it to you. Fall backs are when you realize you are going to be out numbered and you return to your trench before they attack you. Backups are when you are already out numbered and you cannot fight by yourself so you call your troops to help you. I am tired right now so I am going to bed. See you later.

3rd Diary Entry

Dear diary,

Posters say that trenches are good but it is all part of their trick. Their little plan! The trenches are nothing like four walls protecting you with a roof to keep you dry. With beds and covers to keep you warm. In fact, it is more like a ditch in the floor with sandbags, wood planks and mud to keep the walls from toppling on top of you. It is nothing like what they say it is. One of my mates even cried when he saw what we were staying in. Throughout the whole journey to the trenches he kept reminding us that he wants the top bunk because he does not want anyone wetting themselves though the mattress and dripping on him in the night. Others were just very disappointed. I do not understand how some people in my trench sleep through gunshots, fireworks and grenades being thrown. I am trying to be as clean as can be. I don’t think anybody knows this but very early in the morning I sneak of into the woods where there is a pond. I wash in there unless I’m on night duty. I also wash my boots. Once I wake up in the morning I go and collect my shoes that have dried over night. I do all this so that I don’t get trench foot. That’s enough from me now. I’m off to daily training. See you in my next diary entry.

4th Diary Entry

To start this entry I am going to tell you

Summary of Portia’s suitors

In today’s lesson we were talking about how Shakespeare used stereotypes in his stories. An example that we used in today’s lesson was the way Portia was talking about her suitors. She was talking about how English men have no style and are very messy and don’t look after other peoples belongings. She also spoke about the Scottish suitor and said that they always borrow money from other people and don’t pay them back.  Shakespeare uses stereotypes in his stories so it is easier for us to understand the story a bit better. He also uses it so we can think about why these stereotypes even exist.

“The Bible is the best guide we can have when making moral decisions”

Agree 

I agree with the statement “The bible is the best guide we can have when making moral decisions” The evidence for this is self experiences. The bible helps you to make wise decisions because it was inspired by wisest person of all, which is God. People in the bible were inspired by God and he never makes mistakes. If God never makes mistakes then he is probably the best person to go to when making very important decisions. The bible is written by God because he told people what to write in the bible. The bible is a book that has passed down throughout the generations which explains how loads of people have written in it. This is the first reason why I believe the statement “The bible is the best guide we can have when making moral decisions”

Another reason why I agree with the statement is because of the outcomes I have seen happen in other peoples life. I have seen people struggle with making a decision, and they have used the bible as a guide to help them make a decision. They have also been happy with the decision they have made. This means that they have done the right thing and they were not wrong to read the bible. They have also thanked God after for helping them. When people are happy with someone else they thank them and that’s what people do. Reading the bible is a way that God can speak to you. Sometimes we don’t need to use the bible or God as a helpful resource because they can make the decision out of their own willpower.

Disagree

I disagree with the statement “The bible is the best guide when making moral decisions”. The reasons for this are because anyone can make a decision using a responsible adult or someone who has gone through the same thing. If someone has gone through the same thing then they can tell you what the best decision based on their experiences.  For instance if I use an atheist. There are many successful atheists who have not used the bible and had similar outcomes as to if they had used the bible. This is why I believe that the bible is not the best guide when making moral decisions.

Another reason why I don’t agree with the statement is because people can be very happy with their life and the choices they have made throughout their life without using the bible. If the bible was the best guide to use when making moral decisions then everyone’s life would be great, but because not everyone knows God they can’t interact with him and ask him questions. There are some decisions you can make by yourself and you don’t need to use God because the outcome is not that bad. Such as if I didn’t know whether to choose a chocolate biscuit or custard cream biscuit. This is  the other reason why I believe that the bible is not the best guide when making moral decisions.

This is the end of my arguments FOR & AGAINST

Task 1

a) Portia feels like her dad is being very controlling because he is choosing who she can and can’t marry. She feels like she has a right to choose who she wants to be with for the rest of her life.

b) 

Five main points

1) Jews were seen as a threat to christianity

2) Venice tolerated jews and looked after them

3) The jews were crammed into one flat

4) The jews were useful because they gave to the poor

5) The jews were also useful because they were very good at handaling money

Summary

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Jews were not tolerated, they were seen as a threat to christians and humanity wanted nothing to do with them. Venice were the only place who tolerated them. they used the Jews talents as an advantage and used them as workers. Although the Jews helped the christians in Venice they crammed the Jews into one big flat. One thing that the Jews were good at was handaling money and making profit. The Jews were very nice and often gave to the poor.

These to religions might be different but they are both very nice people and should like each others differences.

Strongly Disagree

• I strongly disagree with the statement “This house would not donate to charity” because I personally think that without the kind people in the world donating to charities, the death rate would increase rapidly. If people donate, the people who are in need of help and money will know that we care about them and that we want them to leave those conditions. 

Disagree

• I disagree with the statement “This house would not donate to charity” because think about it from their point of view. Nowhere to live, just on the dusty road with no food or water. Wouldn’t you feel sad because no one felt generous enough to give you even just ten pounds to let you live.

I agree with the statement “This house believes that you should be able to vote at 16” because at the end of the day they are humans as well as us. If you don’t give them a chance to vote they will feel alienated. Sixteen year olds are usually in year 11 which means they will be going to university soon. They will have to pay to get in to university is a lot to pay. If they got to vote then the university fees would probably decrease. If they think that there is improvement needed a specific area and a party is strong in that area, they could vote for that party. If 16 year olds are allowed to have sex that automatically makes them an adult. Adults are allowed to vote aren’t they and sex makes them an adult which means they should be able to vote.

That is the end of my debate hope you vote for opposition.

I disagree with the statement “This house believes that space exploration is a waste of time and money” because space is actually a beautiful place, where you can experience seeing some of the most amazing things in this universe. By exploring space we can find a lot of answers to the phenomenons that occur and are unexplainable. Via our great highly trained astronauts, they can give us feedback and pictures of space. Space exploration has actually helped us because in the 1960s, engineers at a Laboratory (JPL) first developed the function of the digital camera. In the 1990s, a team at the JPL worked to create cameras that are small enough to fit on spacecraft while maintaining scientific quality. One third of mobile phone cameras contain the technology developed from this research. Space exploration has also given us
sunglasses lenses more resistant to scratches and spotting. A technique for creating diamond-hard coatings was developed and patented, and in the late 1980s a company got a license to use the patent. The technique was further developed and later used to make lenses that are scratch-resistant and shed water more easily.