Shylock: His Position as an Outsider in The Merchant of Venice
...tonio, Shylocks biggest business rival, clearly hates Shylock due to his religious and business practices: “He hates our sacred nation, and he rails Even there where merchants do most congregate On me, my bargains, and my well won thrift, Which he calls interest” (I, iii, 48-51). Antonio attempts to justify his hatred toward Shylock by claiming to lend money without interest out of the kindness of his heart (out of Christian virtue) as oppose to Shylock, a Jew, who charges exorbitant amounts of interest out of the money he lends. In addition to being characterized as an usurper, Shylock is also dehumanized in the play by other characters. In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is referred by name only three times (in the trial scene, when addressed by the Duke twice, and once by Portia). Throughout the play, he is referred to as “the Jew” as well as “dog Jew” (II, viii, 14) and “currish jew” (IV, I, 292). He is stripped of his humanity and is given the role of an animal or a demon, such as when Gratiano curses Shylock with “O, be thou Damned, inexecrable dog!” (IV, I, 128) and when Solanio refers to Shylock on the street: “ Let me say amen betimes, lest the devil cross my prayer, --for here comes in the likeness of a Jew” (III, I, 19-21). These labels strip Shylock of his humanity and his religious identity. These types of labeling are further examples of anti-Semitic attitudes during this time period, especially since all other characters in the play show distaste and disrespect toward Shylock, who is a minority Jew among the Christian majority. Shylock himself is an alien in a society of Christians. His clothes, customs, and race make him an object of scorn in Venetian society. The pileups of mistreatment and negative attitudes toward Shylock forces him to put a “hard shell” around himself. He has to appear to be hard-edged and cold for the sole purpose of survival. If Shylock shows any sign of weakness, the Christian majority will easily spot any vulnerabilities and he will become an easier target for further discrimination. There is a moment, however, when Shakespeare reveals Shylock’s humanity in his moving speech: “I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, heal’d by the same means, warm’d and cool’d by the same winter and summer, as a Christian i...