WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR’S THE MERCHANT OF VENICE IS PORTRAYAL OF RACE AND RACE
RELATION
With
Abubakar
Sulaiman Muhd
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is throughout a
portrayal of race and race relation based on racist bias against a particular
human race.
The text narrates a story of two merchants from different
race and religion, but both living in Venice.
One is a Christian, Antonio, that
is the one that the title of the text is referring to; and the other called
Shylock the Jew. The former is a native of Venice while the latter is a stranger. At the
first place, the citizens of Venice
consider the Jews as strangers; they don’t treat them well or equally as they
treat their fellow Venetian citizens. Rather they insult them, maltreat them
and even spit at them. With these all maltreatment, disregard and disrespect of
human being, in Venice
nobody dare to stop the undoing.
Antonio, the merchant of Venice is trading in many enterprises in
different countries, and he lends money to other people without interest, while
Shylock, the Jew is also a merchant but lends money to people base on interest
rate system. Basanio, a close friend to Antonio gets the news of a lottery of a
richly left lady in Belmont.
Her father’s condition before his demise was that anybody who wants to marry
her most be given three options of boxes to choose from and whoever chooses
rightly will be the person to marry the lady. And Basanio wants to go there to
participate in the competition lest he might be lucky to choose the right casket.
Princely suitors had shown their interest to participate in the lottery.
Basanio has no money of which to be used to make the journey to Portia’s town,
Belmont and compete with richly suitors, prince of Morocco and prince of Arrogan. He
went to his friend, Antonio the merchant of Venice to lend him the money to make the
journey. Unfortunately Antonio had no money with him at that time because he
invested his money in his various business and the goods he bought from other
countries were on the ocean. He explained this to Basanio and assured him to go
anywhere in Venice
to find somebody that would lend the money, he, Antonio will be his security
for the loan. Basanio went round Venice
to find someone to lend the money and found nobody but Shylock, the Jew.
Shylock bore grudge against the Christians that he considered
as his persecutors and determined to use the advantage to take vengeance of
what the Christians have been doing to him. He stipulated regimented terms and conditionality
of which based on to lend the money. He said to them that he would only lend
the three thousand Ducats, and if they failed to pay back the money within
three months; he would cut a pond of flesh from any part of Antonio’s body.
Basanio was hesitant at first instance to agree with the terms. He said to
Antonio that if only on this condition the money would be lent, he would
abandon the journey. But Antonio insisted on, saying that he should not bother himself
because his goods on the ocean were very soon to arrive and when they got to
him he would pay the money before the agreed period. Basanio capitulated in the
Antonio’s words. Shylock lent them the money after they signed on the pond.
Basanio
made the journey to Portia’s home to participate in the lottery. And luckily
all the two princes made the wrong choice and Basanio chose the right box in
which Portia’s picture were put and won the lottery that qualified him to marry
her.
When
the stipulated time of coughing the debt came, unfortunately to Antonio for his
goods on the sea got misfortune and sunk by the storm in the ocean and he could
not pay the debt. There in Belmont,
amid the merry making of the nuptial affair, a news came that Basanio’s friend
Antonio was taken to court for the execution of cutting a pond of flesh from part of his body.
Basanio had already told Portia how he got the money to come to the town and
she took pity of him and promised to pay the debt in double of the actual
amount. In Venice
all the stakeholders and influential persons persuaded Shylock to abandon his
mission but he refused to accept their request.
In Belmont, Basanio and his accompanying friend Lorenzo set
to reach Venice
with the money given to them by Portia to save the life of Antonio. Portia in
person decided to come to Venice but would stop
in a town called Padua
on her way to consult a brilliant lawyer on how to deal with the situation. In the
court, Shylock said his version of event and Antonio was asked if what shylock
has just said was true and he answered ‘yes’ without objection. On the verge of
cutting the flesh a letter came informing the court that a lawyer was outside
to defend the plaintiff. It was Portia in disguise, she tried to persuade him
to forgone his mission but he turned deafening ears, rejected the offer flatly.
Even in the court all the Venetian citizens continued to curse at him. On the
nick of cutting the flesh, then lawyer Portia stopped him to ask if they agreed
that he would cut the exact measure of the flesh without spill of blood which
is quite impossible. This means changing the rule at the middle of the game
which is unjust and unfairness. They unjustly connived to turn the case against
the Jew by accusing him of killing a Venetian citizen, without providing
evidence from the law of the land; they denied Shylock of his right to cut the flesh
from part of Antonio’s body. While Shylock on other hand did present solid
proof accordingly and was not considered fairly.
When
they turned the case hopelessly against him that he should cut the pond of
flesh in exact measure not less than or more than his debt, Shylock found it
impossible and demanded for the pay of his three thousand ducat without
demanding the offer of six thousand Ducat that Basanio had offered to pay
previously in the court. But even this demand was denied, and in the mean time
they accused him of killing a Venetian citizen. For this, they confiscated all
his wealth and possession and they even demanded that he should convert to
Christianity and at the end they sent him away from the city.
These all disregard
and disrespect of human race, in Venice
nobody dared to stop the undoings, even the Authority was giving a legal
backing to its citizens and stood to its people even they happened to be on the
wrong side. Venetians were elevated to a high position than any other race, for
whatever a citizen of Venice,
done it was good and right. But any attempt to get back on him of what he did
to you is a serious offence which will attract a grave penalty. For if not so,
why the Authority and the stakeholders and any influential body did not stop
the people to refrain from denigrating Jews? It is because he is not their
kinsman and their religious fellow. And they came together to dissuade Shylock
to abandon his mission because they considered the life of a Venetian citizen as
more important than the rest. The Venetian’s Authority seems to be so myopic
and narrow-minded, because they didn’t consider one’s religion to give him his
right to practice his religion without aversion and persecution against one’s
religion. If Jews practice the system of loan base on interest, it might be the
teaching of their religion, so, another person in another religion. Should not force him to leave his religious
practice and adopt the practice of someone’s religion. The question here is, why didn’t the court pay
damage to Shylock or punish those who cast insult and offensive words against
him in the court while the proceedings was taking place, not talk of the
insults he received outside the court in
the city. It might be in the law of Venice
that to insult non-Christian is not crime. And this means that there is race
conflict between Christians and the Jews.
Finally, the play is a portrayal of race against
race by way of scheming, plotting, insult and offensive words against a member
of particular race and it is based on race relation in form of collaboration
and coming together of a particular race to defeat a non-family member of
another race and showing of high superiority of one race against the other. The Merchant of Venice is a text
thorough racist!
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